CM Toolkit Search

You Say Slowdown, I Say Opportunity

  • There are opportunities for improvement when we find ourselves a little less busy than usual. 
  • When using time and motion studies to improve efficiency, the key is to apply the data to all processes. 
  • A great book on the topic of lean manufacturing is called The Toyota Way by Jeffrey Liker. 
  • One way to capitalize on R&D is to challenge your management team and production staff to think outside the box.

It's Hammer Time!

  • Even though a hammer is a basic tool, it can be dangerous if not used properly. 
  • For heavier hitting, hold the hammer toward the bottom of the handle. For lighter hitting, grip the middle of the handle. 
  • Keep your wrist straight and use your whole arm to create the force behind hammering.

Parting Shots

Parting Shots

Market Your Company as THE Solution

  • Indications that the market is cooling down may temper some people’s enthusiasm, but I see it as an amazing opportunity for our industry. 
  • During the strong economic growth of the last decade, I believe our industry has forgotten to find new ways to market ourselves. 
  • To market our industry, the value we provide as manufacturers needs to be understood and effectively communicated to the customer. 
  • Use WTCA’s work in creating a support system for component manufacturers to convert it into a unique approach to marketing your company to b

Loading for Knee Braces

  • If knee braces are shown, the trusses must be designed for them using the loads provided by the RDP. 
  • In the Midwest knee braces are used in many post frame buildings for which an RDP is neither required nor involved. 
  • This rapidly forces the Truss Designer into the position of designing building elements that ought to be specified by the person responsible for the overall building design.

Aaaah-Choo: Cold & Flu Season Is Around the Corner

  • Influenza (flu), much like the common cold, is a respiratory illness, and its primary symptoms do not involve nausea and vomiting. 
  • Symptoms like fever, aches, excessive fatigue, and cough are more common and intense with the flu whereas colds, in general, carry milder symptoms.

Lateral Load Capacity of Toe-Nailed Truss-to-Truss Girder Connections

  • The relatively short spans and light end reactions associated with most jack trusses makes toe-nailing an efficient and effective attachment method.
  • An open end jack truss (see Figure 1) meeting the same design parameters would perform in a similar manner as a rafter and ceiling joist and generate comparable reactions. The top chord and bottom chord of the jack truss should correspond to the rafter and ceiling joist tables provided in the code. For these situations, the nail connections specified by the code are also applicable to jack trusses.

Reflections on a World-Class Year

  • These are Don Groom’s last few weeks as WTCA President.
  • WTCA’s transformation from the "Wood Truss Council of America" to "WTCA—Representing the Structural Building Components Industry" occurred this year.
  • Groom thanks each member of the WTCA Board of Directors for their significant commitment to the association.

The Eyes Have It

  • There is one largely untapped resource where manufacturers can make huge improvements in material handling— their suppliers. 
  • Follow the journey lumber takes through your plant from when it’s unloaded from the truck and proceeds to the saw to the press to the staging area. Every second counts. 
  • Talk to your peers to see how they address material flow at their plants.

Parting Shots

Maximize Material Handling Through CM/Supplier Relationships

  • There are a host of insects and spiders that can unexpectedly attack and leave you itchy, sore or even worse. 
  • Insects and arachnids inflicted 36,100 nonfatal occupational injuries and illnesses on workers from 1992 to 1997. 
  • Anaphylaxis is an extremely dangerous reaction to a bug bite or sting, can be fatal and MUST be treated immediately.

Pre-Start Checklists

  • Pre-start checklists can be likened to regular maintenance on your car at a “quick lube place”—fast and necessary. 
  • Having all of the safety hazards in order while managing your maintenance scheduling means that pre-start checklists will actually save you time in the long-run, and they may even save one of your employees from a possible injury, too!

Fire Resistance Rated Truss Assemblies

  • Deferred submittals are permitted by the model IRC code.
  • The building official, at his or her discretion, may or may not require the submission of TDDs at the time the permit for the structure is requested.

Parting Shots

  • Attending BCMC allows attendees to see the latest technology that could be incorporated into their equipment replacement programs. 
  • Manufacturers indicated that BCMC was the best place for an exclusive look at how they can gain the benefit of having all exhibitors in one place as a resource when creating a maintenance program or weekly, monthly or quarterly checks.

Immigration Tops List of Industry's Legislative Issues

  • Our industry supports immigration reform that emphasizes security while also recognizing manufacturers’ workforce needs. 
  • Immigrant populations play a vital role in helping meet our workforce demand. 
  • There is a lot we can do on the local legislative front. Get involved on the state and local district level by making contacts with your lawmakers.

Bracing Options for Webs

  • Without the diagonal brace, the only thing the lateral member(s) ensures is that the webs to which they are attached will be-have as a unit and buckle together in the same direction if and/or when the buckling load is reached. 
  • The single diagonal brace and web reinforcement options satisfy the need for bracing individual trusses and truss members, but not the stability bracing of the entire building system. 
  • BCSI-B3 Web Member Permanent Bra-cing/Web Reinforcement provides indus-try recommendations and methods for restraining web members against buckling.

When the Bee Stings…

  • There are a host of insects and spiders that can unexpectedly attack and leave you itchy, sore or even worse. 
  • Insects and arachnids inflicted 36,100 nonfatal occupational injuries and illnesses on workers from 1992 to 1997. 
  • Anaphylaxis is an extremely dangerous reaction to a bug bite or sting, can be fatal and MUST be treated immediately.