Celebrating 50 Years of Truss Design Innovation, Part X Joe Kannapell Part X: Windows Works Its Magic When David McQuinn recommended Windows to MiTek’s management in 1990, few expected that Microsoft could compete with the two giants of the computer industry: Hewlett Packard and IBM. HP was the dominant provider of engineering computers. For a decade, its... Read More May 2019 Issue #11238 Page 8
What Do I Know? Chris Scott I think the answer to the title’s question is the same as the answer to “am I beautiful.” Those who know me are screaming, “the answer is NO,” but the correct answer should be, “It’s in the eye of the beholder.” I believe knowledge and experience... Read More May 2019 Issue #11238 Page 14
Looking at Your Operation from a Different Perspective Ben Hershey My wife recently saw a book online (direct from the publisher) that she thought I would enjoy reading: “Lean Production for Competitive Advantage,” by John Nichols. There was, though, a funny thing about the book; it was printed upside down compared to the binding. I considered... Read More May 2019 Issue #11238 Page 20
Question of the Day: Where Can I Find Truss Technicians? Stan Sias “I’ve looked everywhere, even at my competitors, where can I find truss technicians?” This is a question heard at some point during almost every conversation with component manufacturers these days. The answer isn’t as simple as saying, “Oh, call Truss... Read More May 2019 Issue #11238 Page 60
Celebrating 50 Years of Truss Design Innovation, Part IX Joe Kannapell Part IX: Windows into Truss Design Two unstoppable waves merged to form the tsunami that swept over truss design in the 1990s. The first was the mass commercialization of the PC, accelerated by Michael Dell in the late 1980s. The second was the graphical user interface (GUI), exploited by our... Read More April 2019 Issue #11237 Page 8
Celebrating 50 Years of Truss Design Innovation Joe Kannapell Part VIII: Layout Without Windows At BCMC in Jacksonville in 1990, the PC had begun to “steal the show,” especially that of the upstart A.C.E.S. Their layout program was a quantum leap over the decade old work of C&G Micrographics on the Apple Computer. It also had several... Read More March 2019 Issue #11236 Page 8
Celebrating 50 Years of Truss Design Innovation Joe Kannapell Part VII: A Computer for Every Designer In 1980, for the first time, I witnessed the PC doing trusses. Then, over the next 10 years, I watched that machine take over every designer’s desktop. Getting to that end, though, wasn’t easy. Unprecedented technological change roiled our... Read More February 2019 Issue #11235 Page 8
Celebrating 50 Years of Truss Design, Part VI Joe Kannapell Part VI: Desktop Engineering Rocks the Design World One man, an accomplished CM, set out to ramp-up the efficiency of truss designers in the Eighties: Mr. Leonard Sylk. He did it by pioneering the in-house computer, and its user-friendly software. By use of this tool, he envisioned a plant... Read More January 2019 Issue #11234 Page 8
Is Automation the Right Direction to Take? Glenn Traylor After recently upgrading to a newer vehicle, I have been amazed at the new safety features. While it’s not self-driving, the features are definitely approaching an autonomous car. The basic functions are things like active cruise control with the “stop&go” function, which... Read More January 2019 Issue #11234 Page 32
Good Ideas Come from Many Places — “Necessity Is the Mother of Invention” Steve Rotzin You never know where the next great product idea or innovation is going to come from — some of our best new ideas originate with the customers who use our current products. At Simpson Strong-Tie, we welcome any inspiration that can help us serve our customers’ needs even better. With... Read More January 2019 Issue #11234 Page 94