A current trend in our industry is that the component manufacturers are being advised that one should have a fully automated lumber retrieval system linked to an automated linear saw that pushes the cut lumber directly to the assembly table with an auto puck system. This type of setup is often...

Part 8 in our TIMWOODS Series Our journey through the various waste topics in Lean brings us to the final letter in our series on TIMWOODS: Skills. Many companies, managers, and supervisors forget when improving their operations to look at their team and review how their skills are being...

The housing industry has been begging for workers going on a decade now. The American citizen work force is not answering the call. Consequently, housing construction has become completely dependent on undocumented workers. Meanwhile, Artificial Intelligence and Robotics technology are...

The quickening of innovation will be on display at BCMC this month, and, undoubtedly, so will be the uptake. Suppliers use this platform to launch new products, sometimes rather humbly. Art DePauw sold his prototype “automated” saw to two industry giants, Charlie Barnes and Dave...

Growing a smaller company’s sales to that of a mid-size company has many challenges. The additional staffing and departmental growth can face unexpected roadblocks. Two key fundamental areas present themselves in unexpected ways. Communication – Communication is the act of...

With today’s complex profiles and configurations, many truss fabricators have been relying on staples to set assembly member contact and relationships. Stapling serves as a temporary means to insure tight joints and accurate locations. Often times, however, because of the ease of multiple...

A funny thing happened after Toll Brothers erected this “Board Foot Display” in their wall panel plant. Toll workers didn’t complain. In fact, they actually asked for digital readouts at their individual work stations. Hats off to Keith Fell, Toll’s Director of...

For many companies, properly staffing and retaining employees to meet their needs is a never-ending struggle. Let’s summarize what human resources gurus require years of training to understand and disseminate it to the masses for better results. Let us start by understanding some basic...

There is nothing like the scheduling of orders to bring out the worst in people. Timely delivery of orders naturally creates a division between salespeople on one side of the issue and production on the other. Management normally plays the role of referee, with a tendency to favor the...

How can we measure and improve employee productivity? It’s a common question now, one that I am often asked within the Component and LBM industry, but that wasn’t always the case. We’ve come a long way and learned a lot! Back in 1911, mechanical engineer Frederick W. Taylor,...