What to Do If Someone at Your LBM Operation Gets (or May Have) the Coronavirus Craig Webb The rapid rise in cases of Americans infected or possibly infected with the coronavirus made it inevitable that the lumber and building materials industry would be affected eventually. Here are some expert recommendations on how you should respond if one of your employees gets the virus. Note... Read More April 2020 Issue #12249 Page 90
8 Intrinsic Values of Modular Home Construction Gary Fleisher Whenever a site builder asks me why they should go modular, they are really asking me how they can make more money going modular. Some of them are long time site builders that have looked at converting to modular construction and just can’t bring themselves to pull the trigger. It’s... Read More April 2020 Issue #12249 Page 98
Sixty Years of Machines, Part IV: Early Roller Gantries Joe Kannapell The roller gantry dominates today’s truss production, but it hasn’t always done so, despite the fact that it hasn’t changed much over sixty years. The reason for its relatively slow ascendency is found in its origins and in its adaptations over this period. And along the way... Read More March 2020 Issue #12248 Page 10
BCMC Planning – The Great Debate on Saws Wendy Boyd We’re now starting the daunting but exciting task of planning for the next Building Component Manufacturers Conference, being held September 22–25 in Indianapolis, IN. As we gear up, we ask ourselves – what is the most important piece of equipment to show, what is the message... Read More March 2020 Issue #12248 Page 17
Knowing the Ideal Manufacturing Cycle Time Ben Hershey Building components is really great! It was a lot of fun in the 1970s when several plants had competitions on who could build the fastest run of trusses (for example, see Joe Kannapell’s article, Vertical Presses—The World Record). Back then, it was really easy to calculate cycle... Read More March 2020 Issue #12248 Page 28
Too Many LBM-Owned CMs are Operating at a Mediocre Rate Todd Drummond An anonymous former lumberyard CEO of 17 lumberyard locations (LBM) explained to me that his two component manufacturing (CM) plants made up only 10% of his sales yet contributed 30% of his net profits. He wished he had given the CM division far more focus and resources. As a guru for process... Read More March 2020 Issue #12248 Page 51
A Case for Innovation in the Building Industry Craig Savage For years, I’ve been interested in why the residential building industry has been so slow to innovate. Other industries constantly innovate. The U.S. automobile industry, arguably pushed along by Japan and European car makers, continues to advance its products and production methods.... Read More March 2020 Issue #12248 Page 72
This Chart Helps Spur Mega-Millions in Off-Site Construction Investments—But Can It Be Trusted? Craig Webb Go to a meeting about modular construction, mass timber, and other off-site components manufacturing and odds are one of the speakers will show this chart [See PDF or View in Full Issue]. I’ve been to events where four consecutive speakers showcased it in their presentations. Some of these... Read More March 2020 Issue #12248 Page 90
Sixty Years of Machines, Part III: Table Presses Joe Kannapell More CMs are “doing it right the first time” via vertical presses, taking advantage of their flexibility and the quality of their production. But few realize that some of the most successful plants in our industry started with table presses. These presses have always had the... Read More February 2020 Issue #12247 Page 10
2020 Preview Chris Scott It’s been the time of year for reflection and forecasting, thinking about what can be learned from last year and what should be expected from the new year to come. The most successful of us are the best at applying those lessons learned and having the ability to anticipate upcoming changes... Read More February 2020 Issue #12247 Page 17