Part V: A Prequel to Hands-On Design When Lou Lewis showed our engineers his $395 HP35 calculator in 1973, they barely blinked, but several in the truss industry did recognize its value. Perhaps we were too focused on our mainframe computer, and too invested in the programs that we had...

Part IV: In-House Computers Ten years after we installed our first computer, our turnaround of truss designs remained unacceptable. But one evening in the late Seventies, I saw daylight when a red, white, and blue van pulled up to our St. Louis office. I recall my wonderment back then, while...

The trip home provided for some much-needed quiet time to reflect on the most successful B.C.M.C. of modern times. I believe the equipment displayed well represented the advancements made by our industry over the last decade or two. It also offered a glimpse into the future where automation in...

Part III: In-House Computing (Almost) In 1971, for the first time, both On-Line Data and Gang-Nail, Inc. put computer software at the fingertips of truss designers. By 1973, our company responded, and so did most of our major competitors. This innovation was wrought out of near desperation on...

Part II: Leaps Forward in Computerization None of us would forget the strange sounds that signaled a new era in truss design: the pounding of the keypunch, the whirring of the card reader, and the ratcheting of the line printer that emanated from the 10x10 room in front of our drafting...

Struggling mightily to hand-design enough trusses, we suppliers aggressively pursued computer solutions. When mainframe hardware was introduced in the 1960s, our then-competitor, Gang Nail Systems, installed a Control Data “Cyber 70” in a customized, climate controlled computer room,...

Part I: Computerization Begins The arrival of the first computers 50 years ago signaled that truss design had come of age. And they came just in time. We urgently needed them to meet the growing demand for truss designs. But they didn’t come with experienced operators – in the...

“When will our computer project(s) be finished?”, we are often asked. Even after 50 years of trying, there is no easy way to explain what it takes to get “done.” However, one of our industry’s finest leaders offered the best advice 40 years ago. “We’ve...

A continuing strong house construction scene means that the North American frame and truss industry and supporting supply chain are busy. Frame and truss manufacturing remains highly competitive, and top performing companies are paying even closer attention to automation, quality, precision,...

So far in this series, I’ve talked about how job descriptions have evolved as the industry has matured. Along the way, I’ve emphasized that the objective is not to impress you with the advanced power of the servo—it is to impress upon you the importance of the journey of...