Design Connections: Training New Designers Geordie Secord Last month’s article, “The Designer Shortage—Where Can We Find Them?”, offered some suggestions for finding new component designers. This month, I have some suggestions for training those new hires effectively. And bear in mind, as I mentioned last month, I think it is... Read More May 2023 Issue #15286 Page 80
Should We Consider “Delivery” Load Cases? Glenn Traylor Years ago, truss design was focused on a simple calculation that determined the final forces that would be considered to be imparted on a truss component. These simple forces were used to determine the design. Things like snow, wind, and building materials weights were generally the only... Read More April 2023 Issue #15285 Page 35
Design Connections: The Designer Shortage—Where Can We Find Them Geordie Secord A challenge for the component industry is brewing no matter if you are located in an area where new home construction continues to be strong or your market is slowed by the combined effects of high interest rates and stubbornly high inflation. Be it single family or multi-family, new designers... Read More April 2023 Issue #15285 Page 78
Does Your Plant Have a Culture of Quality? Glenn Traylor Quality, productivity, and speed are intertwined and impact each other. My previous article, Where is Your Focus on Manufacturing?, emphasizes that improving quality starts with implementation of the ANSI/TPI 1 standard—and, with that process, you will improve proficiency and speed. The... Read More March 2023 Issue #15284 Page 35
Gain Insight into MSR Lumber Market at April Workshop MSR Lumber Producers Council As plans for the 2023 MSR Workshop come together, MSRLPC President and Workshop Committee Chair George Hamilton says members are getting excited to host another memorable event. “We are looking forward to experiencing San Antonio and all that our meeting venue has to offer,” says... Read More March 2023 Issue #15284 Page 69
Has Your Guideline Shifted? Glenn Traylor Recently after receiving a phone call from a client, I reflected on our conversation. I was a little caught off guard with the direction the conversation took and felt like I needed to make a few issues clear. And, it has led me to reflect on boundaries and guidelines – why they exist and... Read More February 2023 Issue #15283 Page 35
All Things Wood: Design of Wood Structures—an Introductory Course Frank Woeste Once again, Virginia Tech will be offering its popular two-day course on topics related to wood construction. This year’s course, to be held on April 26–27, will focus on practical code-conforming design of wood structures based on provisions of the 2018 National Design... Read More February 2023 Issue #15283 Page 74
Building Confidence: Understanding the Technology Behind MSR Lumber MSR Lumber Producers Council In our October article, Because Good Ingredients Matter, we focus on the word quality and the many ways that MSR lumber has become synonymous with high quality structural building components. Having laid the groundwork for why MSR has become so important for optimizing truss designs and an... Read More December 2022 Issue #14281 Page 94
Lessons From the Great Recession? I remember the Great Recession and how many displaced candidates we had. Some stayed active but many went their way, finding new industries and career paths. From where I sat, it was 5 years of trying to find jobs for folks, knowing it was like finding a needle in a haystack. Single Family was... Read More December 2022 Issue #14281 Page 98
Design Connections: “Making” a Truss Designer Geordie Secord Reading Thom’s article in last month’s issue, “JobLine Turns 30!”, brought back many great memories of the times I have worked with him. I’ve known Thom for over 25 years and worked with him numerous times, with one of our best projects being the training business... Read More December 2022 Issue #14281 Page 102