The Elusive Production Manager Candidate Recruiting production managers is a huge challenge. It’s not that jobs are unavailable, as we usually have several Production Manager openings at TheJobLine.com. It’s finding qualified and willing candidates. Most often, it’s a problem when the move is lateral. Most... Read More January 2021 Issue #13258 Page 88
Take a Break from Everyday Business to Rejuvenate Gary Fleisher The Off-Site construction industry is having a great year despite COVID-19. Most builders and developers are too busy working with new buyers, planning projects, and doing all the “in your face” work that needs to be done right now to worry much about next month, let alone next... Read More January 2021 Issue #13258 Page 94
Lumber Briefs: Lumber Market Forecast Matt Layman America’s Achilles Heel I want to drift off topic for a bit. Last week we were advised that the U.S. was under a massive cyber attack. As of today, Sunday December 20, the attack is on-going, there is no determination of who is responsible, how deep the attack has penetrated, how to... Read More January 2021 Issue #13258 Page 106
Signal-to-Noise Ratio in Our Lives Omer Abdullah The signal-to-noise ratio measures the level of a desired signal to the level of background noise. It’s commonly used in science and engineering applications but, of course, it has as much application in our professional and personal worlds, metaphorically speaking anyway. When someone... Read More January 2021 Issue #13258 Page 110
The Important Role the Building Safety Industry Has in Society During the Pandemic and Beyond Dominic Sims 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... Read More January 2021 Issue #13258 Page 112
Specifying Simpson Strong-Tie® Products in Your Designs Just Got Easier Russ Anderson Specifying products into building designs is a daily process for engineers, architects and drafters. Simpson Strong-Tie understands that the specification process can be daunting and complex. And when it comes to the multiple steps involved in importing CAD content into your designs, we want to... Read More January 2021 Issue #13258 Page 124
The Last Word: Last Word on Floor Trusses Joe Kannapell, PE Retired now from MiTek (but not from this magazine), it is a fitting time to thank all of you I have been honored to serve. I was fortunate to have started about the time floor trusses were being introduced, and to have seen them revolutionize apartment building. In December, I observed four... Read More January 2021 Issue #13258 Page 140
Advertiser Forum: Holidays and Gratitude Anna Stamm When it comes to reflecting on our families and lessoned learned, there is no better time than the end of the year holidays. As we prepare for and celebrate Thanksgiving and Christmas (or Hanukkah or Kwanzza), our thoughts are filled with warm memories of the past. There is never a wrong time... Read More December 2020 Issue #12257 Page 6
Sixty Years of Machines, Part XIII: What’s Next in Truss Assembly Joe Kannapell, PE Even with laser projection and auto-jigging, assembly can still be expedited by good material handling and plating. The former can be optimized at reasonable expense, while to improve the latter will require a substantial investment. To calculate the potential impact, we can use data recorded in... Read More December 2020 Issue #12257 Page 10
How Can Equipment Choice Affect Long Term Success? Sean Hubbard Today’s equipment is ever evolving. Innovation has indeed added more complexity than ever for the building components industry. Capital expenditures should be planned and calculating rather than intimidating and emotional. There are several key steps entrepreneurs and businesses should... Read More December 2020 Issue #12257 Page 17