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When we were young, we often said, “I want to own that.” Whether it was a new car, a boat, or a specific type of computer, owning something had significant meaning. We felt a sense of accomplishment when we attained something we desired. As we grew older, some of us were inspired to...

One constant thorn in the side of truss fabricators is the cost of preparing quotes, often multiple times for the same job through the life of a project. I find that this is especially true for custom homes, as they often go through numerous revisions for aesthetic, budget, zoning, and other...

After years in which dealers struggled from crisis to crisis, a slew of public reports and economic indicators suggest we can expect many more months of muddling along. Our surfing metaphor of two years ago has given way to the paddleboard, where the only way to speed up is to paddle...

Typically, trusses are spaced evenly. The spacing shown on MiTek engineering drawings is a tributary area carried by the trusses. Each truss is designed to support one-half of the roof/floor load on each side. The spacing between the trusses may be of any combination if the tributary area does...

One interesting part of being a field engineer for Simpson Strong-Tie is having the opportunity to see how different structural engineers may take different approaches to similar designs. We at Simpson Strong-Tie have come to appreciate these different approaches and embrace this phenomenon by...

Component manufacturers have long been in search of “any practical technology that can lessen rejects”[1] when fabricating trusses from our imperfect supply of lumber. New machines and processes have increased material throughput, but they have also increased the time lost when...

Most will agree the adage, “better safe than sorry,” serves as a helpful warning sometimes. It’s an easy way for us to justify taking extra precautions, even when they seem unnecessary, because we’d rather do a little more first than suffer the consequences of a less...

By 1980, many component manufacturers were anxious to computerize their wall panel work, but they weren’t getting much help. Gang-Nail’s AutoPan was the only available solution, but it had such a steep learning curve that Gang-Nail no longer promoted it. Plus, they were singularly...

We take pride in actively working with industry and our customers to ensure the machinery and equipment we manufacture is fit for purpose, effective, and continuously improving. One such example of this is in wall sheathing. While machinery for sheathing wall panels has been around for a number...

If you are a manufacturer who desires high efficiency with high-quality products and services for your customers, then you know you need good employees to deliver them. Many claim that employees are the most important part of their business. So, it should not be a shock that poor productivity...