Feed Any Component Saw with a Lumber PickLine Edmond Lim, P.Eng. Did you know that any existing automated saws output can now be boosted by switching from a forklift lumber picking process to that of a Lumber PickLine? That’s right, we have proven that a Lumber PickLine will boost the cutting output of all the major automated linear saws out there,... Read More August 2023 Issue #15289 Page 46
Unlock Your Factory’s Potential with Moducore’s Bill of Materials Thomas Griffin At Moducore, a Bill of Materials (BOM) is more than just a simple list of materials and parts. It is the backbone of your production process, and harnessing its true potential requires an advanced and interconnected system. Our BOM solution lies at the heart of our software, but its real... Read More August 2023 Issue #15289 Page 60
Increase Net Profits by Properly Understanding, Scheduling, and Processing Rush Orders Todd Drummond The summertime build season is upon the industry. For most wood component manufacturers (CM), and other manufactured suppliers of building materials, the lead time of new orders typically easily exceeds four weeks. Inevitably, a salesperson will ask, “Hey, can you do me a favor? I have an... Read More July 2023 Issue #15288 Page 25
Anticipation and Optimization Edmond Lim, P.Eng. A greenfield truss plant is a rare opportunity to implement processes as designed within start-up constraints without the push-back of change by existing plant personnel. It is a breeze to teach and train new people to follow our process organization technology as laid out in a brand new plant.... Read More July 2023 Issue #15288 Page 46
Four Examples of Process Improvement Considerations Todd Drummond Right now, many CMs are waking up to the increased pressures of a slowing home-building market, and all the capital investments they have made are just not going to be enough because all their competition has done the same. Now that the new build season is ramping up to full swing, the ones who... Read More June 2023 Issue #15287 Page 27
A “Feed the Beast” Hat Trick Edmond Lim, P.Eng. A Gordie Howe hat trick is accomplished when a player gets a goal, an assist, and a fight in a hockey game. A “Feed the Beast” hat trick is accomplished when a team of machinery wranglers installs a Lumber PickLine to feed a 3rd party automated saw, a standalone auto-feeding... Read More June 2023 Issue #15287 Page 48
Will ‘Too Little, Too Late’ Define Your Company? Todd Drummond Building history facts: Before the 2008 financial crash, there were about 2,100 wood truss and wall panel component manufacturing (CM) companies across North America. The vast majority of the locations were independently owned and operated. When the worst of the effects of the recession finally... Read More May 2023 Issue #15286 Page 27
Incremental CapEx and Accelerated ROI Edmond Lim, P.Eng. Dealing with the industry’s long machinery lead times actually has given everyone an opportunity to get creative, to stop procrastinating, and to complete those naggingly important process improvement projects — even though that’s easier said than done! This month, I am... Read More May 2023 Issue #15286 Page 50
A Message of Caution to New Component Manufacturers Todd Drummond This message is for the new component manufacturers (CM) who have recently and will shortly be entering the component manufacturing industry for wood trusses or wall panels. First, welcome to the industry – it is very rewarding, but I must caution you about this new endeavor. It is not for... Read More April 2023 Issue #15285 Page 25
A Tailor-Made Lean Lumber Picking Solution Edmond Lim, P.Eng. The implementation of a Lumber PickLine is a quick study in lean manufacturing tailor-made for each component plant’s building constraints and saws. A Lumber PickLine can semi-automatically feed any linear saw or any component saw. A saw that is fed lumber from a PickLine is a just-in-time... Read More April 2023 Issue #15285 Page 47