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Over twenty years ago, I struck out to help companies improve their operations through best practices based on lean manufacturing and industrial engineering practices. Helping hundreds of companies improve their operations has been an extremely rewarding experience. After all of the 35 years I...

It seems like a simple thing—connect lumber together with connectors creating a top or bottom chord for your floor trusses that exceed your lumber length inventory. It’s one of the simplest applications of metal connector plates. But, while the task seems obvious, there are several...

2023 was quite a year for Feeding the Beast of all sizes. That is a testament to the simplicity, utility, and robustness of our Process Organization Technology. The RetroC as a standalone auto-feeding component saw can anchor truss plants of all sizes from a single truss jig to over 10 jigs. A...

Wood Tech Systems (WTS) has traveled thousands of miles and spent several years researching robotics while trying to find the best fit for the North American wood component industry. There have been many challenges in our industry when it comes to integrating robotics, but the biggest one in my...

As the fiscal year draws to a close, it may be worth considering Section 179 to lower your tax burden for 2023. To refresh your memory, Section 179 allows a business to deduct the full purchase price of certain equipment for the year it was put in service. By deducting the full purchase...

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...

MSR Lumber has a long history of being the right choice for component manufacturers. This reliable and consistent lumber grading system revolutionized the construction industry when it was introduced to the market in the 1960s, and it continues to be a mainstay for truss producers decades...

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...