A lot of people have been talking about production tracking lately, so now is a good time to talk more in depth about some of the issues involved. With increased demand for the handling of metrics, levels of complexity and ever-changing conditions, manufacturers have been moving toward more...

Sometimes people give me a variety of answers when I ask them to describe lean: tightening the belt; doing more with less; reducing inventory; cost-savings program; waste elimination; quality program; reducing head count; and turnaround tool. The word has meaning to many different people...

I have heard the same thing many times over and over. People want a better method of understanding truss manufacturing labor efficiencies, but they use the same flawed units of measurement they have always used. “Todd, I’ve been in this industry for decades as a ‘fill in the...

The differences between high density attached and tract style detached housing extend to the shop floor. Though truss designs may be similar, the project size, location and degree of repetition differs, influencing unit labor costs and material requirements. High density means “maximum...

Continuous Improvement  – Success is achieved, not from the program, but from the mindset Theory of Constraints. The Houlihan Labor Method. Quick Response Manufacturing. Six Sigma. Lean. Total Productive Maintenance. Total Quality Management. The lexicon, tools, and methods...

“The least number of touches,” says B. J. Louws, “equals the least cost.” That’s what he learned by careful study of his truss plant operations, and by continual experimentation to increase efficiency. B.J.’s strategy, which has enabled Louws Truss to become a...

Often component manufacturer facilities’ owners and managers state how floor truss fabrication is generally more straight forward and simpler to train when compared to roof truss fabrication. The guidelines are easy to follow and drawings generally do not require special rotation or...

In the first part of the Primer for Wall Panels, we discussed the fundamentals of wall panel production and how they may figure into your wood component business. In summary, we asked the reader to remember that wall panels were built for decades with little more than a blueprint,...

Many lumberyards still do not have their own wood truss and wall panel manufacturing as part of their offerings to their contractors but are contemplating whether this might be a good investment. There are pros and cons to this type of big investment; if you have been doing any research, you...

Truswal Systems Corp based out of the Dallas-Ft Worth region designed and built the first Rolsplicer in the early 80's. A revolutionary piece of equipment for its time when hydraulic units were populating the industry. Early marketing efforts even included a trailer mounted, traveling...