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Eras of Innovation
As the industry heads into 2017 focused on solving workforce issues with greater manufacturing efficiency, it’s instructive to look back at the August 2006 issue of SBC Magazine, which featured an interview with Gene Woloveke, the inventive force behind the Idaco Machine & Equipment Company.
Meet Jasper Diederiks, Sales Manager at Heartland Truss.
Safety is often about statistics, inspections, reporting, paperwork…you get the picture. But Plum Building Systems in Osceola, Iowa has found a fun way to engage employees in the safety program: do-it-yourself safety posters.
Ric Thompson, a senior truss designer with Millard Lumber, is used to taking on a challenge. “I don’t do small jobs,” he said. “I only do monsters.” Still, some monsters are more monstrous than others. Ask him about BLUEBARN Theatre, and it’s clear that this project stands out.
TheTrussCo takes its workforce development efforts outside the box—and onto the airwaves.
As we wrap up last year and plan for 2017, it’s important to assess what SBCA has done in order to set goals for the future. I recently joined the SBCA officers for a few days of doing just that, meeting the SBCA staff in Madison, Wisconsin. We shared ideas and discussed the challenges we’re facing—it was most enlightening. I want to highlight a few of the issues we discussed with the hope of getting everybody’s perspective as to how we move forward.
This issue is full of some of the most valuable nuggets of advice presenters and attendees discussed at BCMC.
You have a lot more to offer the component manufacturing industry than you think. Beyond the skills and experience that allow you to do your job well, you have knowledge and a unique perspective from which other component manufacturers (CMs) could benefit. The pages of this issue are filled with tips, tricks and lessons learned, shared by speakers and attendees alike during the education sessions at BCMC this past October in Knoxville.
Chris Cozart of Builders FirstSource, John Holland of Clearspan Components, Greg Dahlstrom of Villaume Industries and Jason Hikel of Shelter Systems—all members of SBCA’s IT committee—used their BCMC presentation to cover several aspects of managing your company’s technology needs: change management, effective documentation, cybersecurity and industrial hardware.
Mike Boswell—production manager of Plum Building Systems—and Chris Lambert—a general manager with Builders FirstSource—both understand how critical it is to cultivate a safety culture that empowers their employees. One way they accomplish this goal is by proactively measuring the success of their safety programs with the often underutilized practice of near-miss reporting.
Dan Morris—a field service engineer at Apex Technology—and Kelly LaBlance—a technical manager with Builders FirstSource—are both convinced that developing and maintaining a design QC process has helped their companies. Their expertise in analyzing designs and finding creative solutions to solve or even prevent problems was on display as they guided BCMC attendees through common design mistakes and the issues they cause in the field.
Technical backgrounds aren't mandatory for students entering the industry with Grizzly Truss.
Using components to solve old challenges in new ways means time and cost savings for builders and framers—and an expanding business base for component manufacturers.
Can designing with lateral resistance in mind improve production QC?
"Work safely. Go home Safely." An expanded version of NFC’s FrameSAFE Safety Manual template was rolled out this spring and is taking hold in the marketplace.
Meet the chair of SBCA's IT Committee: Greg Dahlstrom, IT/IS Manager at Villaume Industries, Inc.
If you’re one of the hundreds of component manufacturers (CMs) currently challenged by finding and retaining a large enough skilled workforce to accomplish your business goals, there are no wrong answers to these questions. The only strategy to avoid is making decisions without good information.
SBCA has developed an online series of best practice design and installation guides on a wide variety of topics.
Big C Lumber shared a lot with their guests and learned a lot as hosts. They offer a few tips for CMs looking to hold their own event.
A decade after it began operation, SBCRI is making a new push for industry-directed testing to benefit all component manufacturers.