Mass Timber Aerospace Project Uses Innovative Truss System Johanna Knapschaefer A new museum/hanger in British Columbia mirrors the shapes and curves of a plane Reprinted courtesy of Engineering News-Record, copyright BNP Media, February 7, 2022, all rights reserved. While having lunch with his executive director at the Four Points hotel in British Columbia’s... Read More June 2022 Issue #14275 Page 112
Guides to Making I-Joist Connections — Simpson Strong-Tie® CSGs Make EWP Designs Easier Michael Weber Connector Selection Guides (CSGs) are tools Simpson Strong-Tie has created to assist users in designing and building with engineered wood products (EWP). They consist of a series of short fliers (available as PDFs on strongtie.com for printing or mobile use) guiding builders on how to select... Read More June 2022 Issue #14275 Page 120
The Last Word: The Last Word on Sixty Years of Machines Joe Kannapell From the quirky advance of truss machinery described in my Sixty Years of Machines series, one might conclude that we’re a quirky industry. We may be, but innovation in truss manufacturing is no different than advancement in U.S. industry in general. And, in fact, we are the epitome of... Read More June 2022 Issue #14275 Page 142
Advertiser Forum: Managing Uncertainty Anna Stamm It seems like every (Pick a word: day, month, year) we attempt to bring order to some chaotic part of our (Pick a word: jobs, homes, lives), only to be thwarted by something we didn’t foresee. Try as we may to maintain consistency, something always interrupts the balance. So, what can we... Read More May 2022 Issue #14274 Page 6
Sixty Years of Machines, Part XXX: Linear Saws Go with the Flow Joe Kannapell Downstream and upstream, the linear saw continues to improve the flow of truss manufacturing. Increasingly, cutting and assembly are treated as interdependent processes and have begun to be tied together. Jim Urmson started this, others have followed, and a “cut truss-by-truss”... Read More May 2022 Issue #14274 Page 10
A Retrofit or a New Truss Line – How to Decide Cullen Ellis and Chad Wickham Decisions, decisions – how do you decide between a retrofit for your plant or upgrading to a new truss line? It’s all about the options. Let’s Start with the Retrofit Retrofitting an existing table is not for the faint hearted, so it’s important to know you have... Read More May 2022 Issue #14274 Page 19
Detailed Process for Implementing an Effective Labor Incentive Program Todd Drummond One of my clients’ most often asked questions is, “How exactly do we track and implement an incentive program?” Most companies are willing to pay their manufacturing employees more wages (incentives) based on greater output. Yet, the vast majority of wood truss component... Read More May 2022 Issue #14274 Page 35
Is Perfect Lumber Required to Make Great Trusses? Glenn Traylor Due to the nature of wood, lumber characteristics can vary in every piece. Even “in grade” lumber can have drastic variations in performance. How can we deal with and adjust for natural defects and variability? We have discussed roof trusses in previous articles, including... Read More May 2022 Issue #14274 Page 43
Preparing for What’s Next in Your Market Tracy Roe One unique thing about our industry is the diversity among markets across the country. The upper Midwest does things very differently than the South. The methods used in the West don’t align with the those used in the East. None are wrong, but most are very different. At their core, each... Read More May 2022 Issue #14274 Page 48
Debunking the “Automation Takes Too Much Space” Myth Edmond Lim, P.Eng. Can you spot the Lumber PickLine in the satellite image? Contrary to the myth that it will “take up too much space,” a lumber PickLine can actually save space by utilizing existing truck lanes and by following existing forklift flow. For example, this outside PickLine has ample 35 ft... Read More May 2022 Issue #14274 Page 54