Raising the Bar for Design Efficiency Tracy Roe At Eagle Metal, our TrueBuild® software gives you an efficiency advantage. Our leading parametric 3D capabilities and app-free model sharing makes visualization painless and gives our customers more time to build. In the next two installments, we will explore some cutting edge, efficiency... Read More February 2021 Issue #13259 Page 56
Alpine Embarks on a New Era of Information Sharing John Croll Component manufacturers (CMs) are continually challenged with improving communication with customers and collaboration between teams. It is essential for design and production teams to receive live updates regarding orders, project lead times, and ongoing trends to operate at full capacity.... Read More February 2021 Issue #13259 Page 62
Massive Moves for Mass Timber Chris Scott Mass Timber, CLT, and Solid Wood are all terms that you have been increasingly hearing. As the Virtual International Mass Timber Conference is approaching (March 30 – April 1), let’s take a closer look at Mass Timber and how Stiles Machinery continues to strengthen and position... Read More February 2021 Issue #13259 Page 71
Are You Positioned for Take Off in 2021? Carl Villella A recent Wall Street Journal article written by Julia Pollack on 12/10/20 discusses the reasons why 2021 could be the year of a great comeback. In “Why the U.S. Economy Will Take Off in 2021,” Ms. Pollack touches on the pre-pandemic economy, when unemployment was at record lows and... Read More February 2021 Issue #13259 Page 77
The Hiring Waves After the 2020 recruiting season just about came to a stop in March, I saw a ray of hope early in November. While I hoped to see the usual limited activity before the holidays, I wasn’t holding my breath. Instead, it came in the form of a tsunami. The first week of November was refreshing,... Read More February 2021 Issue #13259 Page 80
Lumber Briefs: Softwood Framing Lumber Market Forecast Matt Layman COVID’s 2021 Reverse Impact Let’s see if we can get this one right. A member recently requested that I forecast when the misses were going to happen. Sounds difficult, but not impossible. COVID 2020 was a once in a lifetime paradigm shift in our learning curve. To date, I have... Read More February 2021 Issue #13259 Page 96
Women Are the Answer to Off-Site Construction’s Skilled Labor Shortage Gary Fleisher The construction industry in the US is facing a shortage of skilled trade laborers but many off-site housing factories are overlooking the opportunity women can bring to the table. The current skilled labor shortage is due to several factors, including the emphasis on getting a four-year... Read More February 2021 Issue #13259 Page 100
Component Designers and the “Wheel of Responsibility” Christopher Gould We are all familiar with the wheel, right? We all understand that a wheel rotates on an axis using ball bearings. When a wheel is properly lubricated, it keeps the heat away and the parts from rubbing together. Without that lubrication, the force and resistance would cause the parts to weld... Read More February 2021 Issue #13259 Page 102
Build Change: My Favorite Child Tim Hart, S.E. With the growing danger of natural disasters, the race is on to expand access to programs that safeguard lives from the human-made danger of poorly built housing. With the common mission of building safer, stronger structures, Build Change and Simpson Strong-Tie have partnered for the Simpson... Read More February 2021 Issue #13259 Page 120
The Last Word: The Last Word on Computer Transitions Joe Kannapell, PE My advice: talk to a helpful human before you transition to a new PC or cell phone. And make sure they’ll be there when you begin changing. This will spare you the anguish I went through as I was moving from MiTek devices to my own. I had presumed that I could do this on my own as I had in... Read More February 2021 Issue #13259 Page 139