With the introduction of lasers, setting up a truss while accurately controlling its perimeter and profile has never been quicker or easier. But do lasers do the job by themselves? The answer is no. They cannot. Here is why. Lasers provide excellent and accurate information to truss builders...

Lewis Carroll had a great line: “If you don’t know where you want to go then it doesn’t matter which path you take.” This advice came from a cat in Alice in Wonderland given to Alice when the cat asked Alice, “Where are you going?” Believe it or not, this...

Let’s face some facts. Eventually your truss building equipment needs repair or replacement. Exactly when do you pull the trigger? When do you take the big jump? In a perfect world with endless resources, it’s an easy calculation—replace or repair the equipment when there is a...

Mill cuts are common in our lumber today, especially with machine evaluated lumber, so it is important to know how they should be addressed and used in your product. Mill cuts are random saw cuts or planer cuts not intended to have been made. Sometimes they do not present a problem. Other...

On a recent plant visit, we came across a situation that is hopefully rare. The truss builders had hand-cut floor truss webs at the table in several places because the webs provided with the cutting were mis-cut. The result: a truss that might “look” okay but would not be safe to...

The simple answer to the title question, can designs be changed during manufacturing, is yes. But, the situation is rarely straightforward and simple in reality. The better question is: What considerations are necessary when making modifications to the design while manufacturing a truss? To...

The way we evaluate a stick of lumber may be changing, but that is not without risk. I’m reminded of a song written by Baker Knight and recorded by American country music artist Mickey Gilley in the 1970s. You might remember the tune, but I wanted to update you on some new...

Quality, Productivity, and Speed are intertwined and impact each other. Most managers create this Venn diagram in their mind [for image, See PDF or View in Full Issue]. We often hear: “First we need to work on efficiency before we can focus on quality.” “We can’t...

The simple answer is no, not normally, but the reasoning behind that answer merits discussion. It should come as no surprise that truss connector plates are tied to design software and ultimately engineering design. The problem is one plate manufacture is not equivalent to another plate...

On a recent truss plant visit, I watched a group of truss builders quickly assembling a structural gable truss. Most of the webs had been installed and the builders were top and back plating the truss. As I approached the builders, they relaxed their pace just a notch as I walked up to the web...