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...

Did you know that it is possible to achieve greater than $3 million in sales on one build table, even with severe seasonal fluctuations causing winter sales to be nonexistent? I define a build table as one build group of three to four assemblers building roof trusses. Did you know an automated...

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...

If you live in a wood frame home it was made with “wall panels”. No way? Way; because every wood frame home is built with “wall panels”. That’s right - wall panels have been used on every wood frame home since the onset of dimensional lumber and the invention of...

Sometimes we lose focus of the main goal of creating more net profit for the company by focusing too much on one aspect of our business. Too often individuals focus too much on perceived labor efficiencies while limiting their overall capacities. Does reducing labor cost always produce more net...

Alpine recommends that truss manufacturers conduct regular, comprehensive plant efficiency reviews to improve productivity. The goal of these audits is to increase board feet production rates and evaluate production effectiveness. Audits also help prioritize equipment replacement schedules to...