Snow Loading for Trusses: Why Specifying a Roof Snow Load Isn’t Enough Kelly Sias “Winning is about having the whole team on the same page.” Bill Walton You might wonder what a quote about winning basketball games could possibly have to do with snow loading on trusses. As with basketball, the importance of close teamwork also applies to a project... Read More February 2017 Issue #10211 Page 70
The Last Word: A Super-Bowl Wake-Up Call Joe Kannapell, PE If you’re hiring or looking for a job, watch the Super Bowl telecast just before half-time. You’ll see the seriousness of the struggle for good people in our industry. After viewing, you may question the Super-sized investment. But, in your business, you know that you have to spend... Read More February 2017 Issue #10211 Page 77
Advertiser Forum: New Year’s Resolutions at Work Anna Stamm Over the next few weeks, we’ll be bombarded with commercials for fitness club memberships and all of those other things we’re supposed to have in our new year’s resolutions designed for “self-improvement.” While most people give up on their resolutions by February,... Read More January 2017 Issue #10210 Page 4
The Growing Interest in Wall Panels Sean Hubbard On a trip abroad in 2004, I was first introduced to an alternate method of wall panel construction. I was in awe at the cleanliness, the organization, the material flow, ergonomics, and simplicity of the concept. Not a single staff member raced up and down the wall. No one was carrying or... Read More January 2017 Issue #10210 Page 8
Simple Truths for the New Year Todd Drummond Lean manufacturing principles help people break through their mindset by helping people challenge what they perceive is an absolute. Beside equipment upgrades, how long has your group been doing what they are doing without any changes or refinements to the methods in other areas besides the... Read More January 2017 Issue #10210 Page 24
Is This an Allowable Repair? Glenn Traylor There is nothing worse than running a truss out the door and then realizing one of the truss members is broken. The question is – can I make a quick fix using a connector plate? The short answer is – no. But there are many who may not realize that specific engineering is required for... Read More January 2017 Issue #10210 Page 28
Question of the Day: Bottom Chords and Gable End Frames Stan Sias Why do some still insist on placing flat bottom chord gable end frames adjacent to vaulted or scissor trusses when the codes clearly do not allow such framing without special engineering requirements? Can you point me to the code sections that say “No, thank you!”? This is a... Read More January 2017 Issue #10210 Page 34
Industry Priorities for the Incoming U.S. Congress Robert Glowinski On January 3, the 115th U.S. Congress convenes for its opening day proceedings and the first orders of official business begin. The annual budget process will commence over the coming months and Congress will largely determine federal spending allocations, including how funds are distributed by... Read More January 2017 Issue #10210 Page 57
Lumber Briefs: Anticipated 2x4 Prices H1-2017 Matt Layman Part Three in the Save Money Series I certainly do not have crystal ball, but I do have something almost as good. I have history and the ability to analyze the market from a fundamental and technical perspective. Together they provide an 86% accurate forecast of when prices will rise and... Read More January 2017 Issue #10210 Page 59
Why Coaching is Important to Continuous Improvement Ben Hershey If you are like me, you spend the later part of the year setting goals for the coming year and planning how to accomplish them. For those who work for me, I always set goals, metrics, and participate in a conference on how we are going to achieve what we want together. Over the last few months,... Read More January 2017 Issue #10210 Page 67