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It’s important to review our standards on a regular basis, so that we can update and improve them over time. Businesses evolve, technology evolves, and so too should our definition of best practices. For wood trusses, our current standard is ANSI/TPI 1–2014 National Design Standard...

As shown on this month’s cover, building with wall panels makes any location possible, including out in the boondocks. We may have to get creative, but we can get there! [For photos, See PDF or View in Full Issue.] These wall panels have been delivered to Kresge College at the...

When a candidate interviews with a company, they expect tough questions to determine their fit for the position. Employers want to know if the candidate has the skills, experience, and desire to fulfill their needs, both short and long term. The candidate should be frank about their abilities as...

Recession by definition: A recession is a significant decline in economic activity spread across the economy, lasting more than a few months, normally visible in real GDP, real income, employment, industrial production, and wholesale-retail sales. A recession begins just after the economy...

Insulation is a fundamental element in providing thermal comfort within a building’s indoor environment. Utilizing the correct, high performing insulant and the “fabric first” approach to building design allows light-frame system manufacturers to achieve low u-values through...

If you’ve ever spent a few hours working on your hands and knees to drill holes and drive screws, you know how time consuming and tedious it can be. Now, imagine spending consecutive weeks, months or even years fastening wood planks to steel on a manufacturing production line. For...

Has COVID-19, its aftermath, and raging inflation brought the multi-family truss business back to its roots? Bo Powers, co-owner of Panel Truss, sees fewer wraps and more garden style jobs further from cities. Kenny Shifflett, owner of Ace Carpentry, believes the plethora of these...

As I began my spring backyard clean-up in the same place where I always start, a story about my grandfather’s annual effort to paint his house came to mind. Is it right that we always start in the same place? Would a different approach be beneficial this time, or next time? More Work...

A second sales pro reacted to Jim Urmson’s Florida saw blitz, the redoubtable (now deceased) Jere Broedling. Few knew Florida CMs better than Jere, first as Gang Nail’s sales manager, then as Bemax salesman, and finally as a MiTek rep. Like Randy Yost, he relentlessly prodded his...

Starting in the maintenance field in the mid-1980s was an eye opener for me, to say the least I was very green. The manager of the truss plant could see I had mechanical aptitude and was driven to learn – but he also saw that I had no practical experience about troubleshooting machinery....