Last month’s article, Continuous Improvement (Kaizen) for Enhancing Performance to Ensure ROI Retention, is a natural lead-in to Poka-Yoke. In lean terminology, roughly translated from Japanese, Poka-Yoke means to mistake-proof the process. A more accurate translation could be...

In “Cost-Saving Measures and Memorable Debacles,” I discussed the problems encountered on a site where the owner was acting as general contractor for his new house build and problems that ensued when an inexperienced framer was tasked with installing a complex truss roof. In that...

When I was little, being a fireman was never something I considered (see When I Grow Up from last month), but as a little girl there was the option to become a beauty queen. Watching the pageants on TV, I knew I had the self-confidence and talent to compete with anyone. But there was one...

I was taught early on in my career something referred to as the “Four Nevers of Customer Service”: Never Argue with The Customer. Never Make a Big Deal Out of a Complaint. Never Put The Customer on the Defense. Never Make Excuses. I was also taught something called...

In this final article about building our home, let’s talk about money and scheduling. We wanted our dream home to have the highest quality we could afford, built on time, without overspending. Here’s how we did it. Budgeting, tracking expenses, and cost accounting are in my DNA....

As this issue of The Advertiser is being published December 1st, I thought I would share my wish list for truss and component manufacturers this year. Feel free to use this in your letter to Santa, too! Dear Santa, I promise I tried to be a good component designer this past year. My...

Quality control starts before the first piece of lumber is set into motion. Every employee at each phase of component design and manufacturing plays a critical role to help avoid costly repairs, potential frustration, and additional workload. As an engineer that has seen many repairs, here are a...

This short article is dedicated to all those in our industry who must occasionally visit a job site but maybe it’s not a part of their everyday function or maybe it is, but it’s new to you. Our industry has an incredible number of people and companies involved with bringing a project...

When you are responsible for relaying a message between two parties, do you always tell the message as told to you? If not, how much do you change it, and why do you change it? Don’t Be Cruel Obviously, when it comes to altering messages, we can all agree that you don’t need to...

Some might say what makes a good salesperson is the results they deliver. In fact, I imagine this may be the most common response. I suppose I would have to agree, but I do think it matters greatly what results we are measuring. Are we merely considering revenue generated that can be directly...