Robotics, continued Joe Kannapell Automation is advancing around the world, but will it yield the quantum leap promised? And how big a margin will it provide over conventional processes? Let’s first assess how various systems affect non-direct-labor inputs to the production process. Later we’ll balance these against... Read More June 2017 Issue #10215 Page 6
Trade Shows Sean Hubbard I have attended my share of trade shows over the years, from work events to leisure activities. Every time I attend, I consider the effort put forth to assemble each booth. Displays range from pop-up displays, while others are thrown together overnight or on strict budgets. Then you come upon... Read More June 2017 Issue #10215 Page 8
Three Practical Ideas for Better Margins and Net Profits Todd Drummond Too often a repeated mantra within our industry is that everyone sells components at too-low margins. The blame is always on the other guy, meaning the competitor, for selling at a lower margin than what should be market pricing. Well, what can your company do to raise margin pricing? During... Read More June 2017 Issue #10215 Page 24
So What is the Big Deal About Member to Member Gaps? Glenn Traylor Compliance with ANSI/TPI 1–2014 requires maintaining member to member gaps at less than 1/4 inch. An exception would be for floor truss chord splices where the limit is 1/16 inch. Let us take a look at two different situations, the first being a roof truss and the second being a 4 x 2... Read More June 2017 Issue #10215 Page 30
Open Your Eyes to Overproduction Ben Hershey Part 5 in our TIMWOODS Series Piles and piles of production all around you. No, I am not talking about inventory, I am talking about WIP, finished goods/staged jobs—Overproduction. Overproduction is making products in too great a quantity or before actually needed, leading to excessive... Read More June 2017 Issue #10215 Page 48
Spida’s Expanding Product Lines Sean Hubbard Well known for the best radial arm saw in the world, Spida Machinery has had a much broader product offering for many years. Square 1 Design has been expanding Spida’s product line offerings within North America in recent years. Returning from touring Spida Machinery, multiple component... Read More May 2017 Issue #10214 Page 8
Willful Blindness Culture Todd Drummond Willful blindness is the common practice of knowing that something is wrong, but either pretending that the problem does not exist, or being unwilling to make a change or even discuss the issue. I was inspired by a TED talk video about the willful blindness of the town residents of Libby,... Read More May 2017 Issue #10214 Page 24
Robotics in the LBM & Component Industry Ben Hershey A book I read in 2015, “Rise of the Robots,” by Martin Ford, talked about the threat many people see that robots present to the employment marketplace. At the time, I was working with several different equipment manufacturers and clients on their automated/robotic equipment... Read More May 2017 Issue #10214 Page 48
Truss Robotics Joe Kannapell The path of factory innovation is leading us to automated systems rather than true robotics. Though industrial robotics has been used for 30 years in our industry, it has served mainly as a forerunner to later systems. Its earliest commercialization, the robotic arms of the Koskovich component... Read More April 2017 Issue #10213 Page 6
Truss Stackers Sean Hubbard With the resurgence of new home construction we have seen unprecedented interest and growth in our outdoor equipment division. There are certainly many ways to accomplish the conveying, stacking and banding of the truss package. Numerous truss plants continue to stack trusses manually,... Read More April 2017 Issue #10213 Page 8