The building construction industry faces several challenges created by traditional building methods. One of the bigger challenges is that each trade is largely siloed from the other trades on a project, which can lead to schedule conflicts and communication gaps. MiTek sees the Design, Make,...

As climate patterns continue to shift, an increasing number of communities around the globe are not only experiencing extreme weather events with increased frequency, duration, and intensity, but also some are experiencing these hazards for the first time in their histories. As a first line of...

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...

You probably wouldn’t ignore a “warning sign” on the highway, as you can easily imagine the consequences of doing so. We can face similar situations when designing trusses, and the end result is that whatever we do in the software can end up in the real world somewhere on a...

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...

Learning from our current landscape and the stress the pandemic has forced on our infrastructure, it has become abundantly clear that society must put a greater emphasis on the task of strengthening our buildings, both residential and commercial, to create safe and structurally strong...

Over the past few years that I’ve worked as an engineer for Simpson Strong-Tie in Texas, work-related events have brought me to a few great beach destinations: Clearwater and Destin, Florida, to name a few. But tightly packed schedules always left me feeling like I didn’t get to...

So you won the order. Congratulations. The designs and the submittals were approved. Sounds great. The trusses were built with care and meet all of the necessary requirements. Awesome! Does it stop here? No, not really. The customer has not had a chance to really get a rock-solid impression....

Recently while traveling, I photographed a load of structural components being delivered to a jobsite. It was a little of a double-take to comprehend what was on the truck, because our products really shouldn’t be that curved when they’re designed to be flat. As shown in the photo...