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Engineered vs. Prescriptive Wall Panel Design

Explore the two different methods used to calculate a wall panel’s capacity to resist applied lateral loads.

A Good Partnership

True House & Apex Technology find the right fit for trusses & HVAC

 

Renewing the Dream

This fall, two houses will be built on adjacent lots in the community of Jackson, WI, a suburb just north of Milwaukee. While the neighborhood is unassuming, and the homes themselves are of average size (2,200 sq. ft.), their impact on the structural building component (SBC) industry will be significant.

The Benefits of Acquisition

  • Being purchased by their biggest customer allowed Plum Building Systems to forge an even more positive relationship with closer, more effective communication.
  • Building partnerships with other complementary organization can benefit everyone in the supply chain.
  • A collective commitment to service can produce a greater impact in the community when companies join forces.

Better, Faster, Smarter: Componentized Rough Openings Are Making a Difference for Framers

  • Manufacturing rough openings in a plant improves site placement accuracy efficiency dues to consistent framing every time. 
  • Componentized wall sections also significantly reduce jobsite waste and allow for the use of alternative header approaches and materials.
  • Having the ability to deliver components just in time to urban jobsites alleviates the need for hard-to-find storage and staging areas.

Why NFC Growth Is a Boon for Component Manufacturers

  • CMs engaged in NFC membership de-velopment efforts will find their work rewarded with better organized, safer, more effective and more reliable framing crews.
  • Framers engaged in NFC will learn component installation best practices from other framers, with the goal of creating more efficient, safe and profitable framing outcomes.
  • By actively growing awareness of and membership in NFC, CMs will expand their framing community connections and naturally expand market share and revenue growth. 

Preserving & Growing Market Share

  • By conducting its own ASTM E119 floor assembly fire testing, SBCA has the data it needs to effectively fight the controversial IRC Section R501.3 code provision and help preserve CMs’ market share.
  • SBCA has drafted template best practice language CMs should consider using in their TDDs, customer contracts and submittal documents to counter the efforts of the lumber industry to shift liability onto end users.
  • Through Framing the American Dream and WorkForce Development efforts, SBCA is actively engaged in helping CMs successfully navigate today’s labor challenges and grow their businesses.

Labor Losses Open the Door for New Materials & Services

  • A quarter of a million people left the housing construction industry from 2002-2012, and many of them have found employment elsewhere.
  • Framers are feeling the effects of this exodus more acutely than most, prompting them to look for creative ways to do more with fewer people.
  • CMs can play a pivotal role in switching framers from sticks to components by offering installation training and expertise to new framing employees.

The Beauty of Components: Windsor Building Systems Shines on Custom Home & LEED Project

How does a business go from stick building in the 1960s to a growing component manufacturing operation today? 

Truss Blocking Panels

Learn more about a future industry testing concept for the SBC Research Institute.

Truss Industry Standard of Care: Part 5

Editor’s Note: The purpose of this article series is to identify truss-related structural issues sometimes missed due to the day-in and day-out demands of truss design/production and the fragmented building design review and approval process. This series will explore issues in the building market that are not normally focused upon, and provide recommended best-practice guidance.

Top 10 Employee Training Tools: Networking

Take an opportunity to share and learn.

Top 10 Employee Training Tools: Sales Training

Best practices for training & mentoring your sales team

Taking Trusses to New Heights

Things are looking up for The Truss Company. Overall, sales are strong, and a new location will soon open its doors in Pasco, WA.

Moment Resistance: Why Bigger Plates Are a Good Thing

Consider for a moment the basics of manufacturing a truss. Based on SBCA’s 2012 Financial Performance Survey, lumber accounts for roughly 40 percent of the total cost. Plates account for about eight percent of the total cost. Design and production labor account for 30 percent, and delivery, sales and overhead account for the remaining 22 percent (these are rough industry averages). All other things being equal, if you could decrease your lumber costs by a few percentage points while raising your plate costs a small amount, would you take the trade-off?

We Need You! Share Your Marketplace Challenges

  • A series of test concepts have been suggested. SBCA needs your input on these concepts to ensure the industry testing conducted in SBCRI helps improve market opportunities for CMs.
  • The goal of industry testing in SBCRI is to tackle the daily design and framing challenges CMs see, and find solutions that make components even more reliable and cost effective.
  • SBCRI was developed and built specifically for this purpose.

Overcoming Truss Installation Obstacles

  • Today’s complex truss designs can present significant installation challenges to framers if there isn’t good communication between the framer and the manufacturer.
  • From storage and lifting pick points to critical bearing conditions, safe handling and installation practices need to be effectively communicated to installers.
  • During the design phase, manufacturers can help ensure smooth installation by considering the framing challenges a complex design may create and facilitate cross communication between parties.

Top 10 Employee Training Tools: Designer Training

Best practices for training and mentoring designers.