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- In addition to implementing a QC program and training staff, another good way to increase awareness of quality control issues is by creating QC posters strategically placed throughout the shop floor.
- A QC board can use photos or actual material examples to illustrate common QC dos and don’ts.
- Work is underway to revise and reaffirm Chapter 3 of the ANSI/TPI 1 standard on quality control.
You’re never too young to start designing and engineering structures. John Gruber, P.E. of Sheppard Engineering submitted this photo of his son Alex’s wood tower for his high school physics class. The project, which called for students to construct a tower of balsa wood (G=0.15), limited the tower’s height to 50 cm, with a maximum 8 cm diameter above 15 cm, and required the base to span a 20 cm opening with any orientation. The tower was loaded vertically from the top with both a hanging weight and weights applied to the top. While the tower only weighed 66.7 g (2.35 oz), it certainly stood up to the challenge, resisting 160 lb of applied load without failing—1,089 times its weight!
The structural building components industry lost one of its greatest champions, Don Hershey, when he passed away at home last November.
- In just under 10 years, BCSI has evolved from the booklet into Summary Sheets, JOBSITE PACKAGES, online courses and the much larger book.
- Including the JOBSITE PACKAGE or BCSI book on invoices is an excellent best practice in case a project heads in the wrong direction.
- SBCA Chapters have developed great relationships and reaped many benefits for their time and effort through BCSI educational programs in their markets.
- Two engineers involved in the design of structural building components respond to a previous Technical Q&A on bearing area.
- Both give their perspective on bearing area and ways that component manufacturers and truss designers can help engineers with this issue.
- Each engineer discusses his preferred method for dealing with insufficient bearing area.
- Not stating a SOW can also subject a CM to the prospect of increased claims and liability.
- A manufacturer should strongly consider developing a SOW template that can be used in its bids or proposals and as an addendum or attachment to the customer contracts it signs.
30,000 leagues under the sea? Depth of monster squid. 30,000 miles per hour? Speed of a meteorite. 30,000 pounds? Weight of a new U.S.bunker-busting bomb. 30,000 square feet? Size of a single-family home framed by Blenker Building Systems in central Wisconsin.
- President Steve Stroder gives an example of how SCORE helped reduce accidents at one of his company’s facilities.
- Collectively, the industry can raise the bar on safety through the SCORE program.
- The goal of SCORE is to provide industry best practices and generate data to help CMs track and manage their facility, following the belief that, if you measure something, improvement will follow.
- Be proactive and develop a plan to strategize how you might deal with a truss collapse and the subsequent investigation.
- Information is critical; visit the site, take lots of photos and document as much as you can.
- Remember that the only company looking out for your company’s best interests is your own. Take action with this in mind, and ultimately, it will save everyone money and time.
- The beginning of the year is a great time to ensure your forklift drivers are up-to-date on their training.
- For several years, OSHA has been pursuing more stringent regulations for the collection and disposal of “combustible dust,” including sawdust.
- Hearing conservation is a very serious concern, and one that can affect the component manufacturing industry.
- SBCA brought concerns over SYP visual grades to the forefront nearly two years ago.
- SPIB conducted testing, without requesting input from SBCA and other interested parties, which resulted in a recommendation to reduce Southern Pine design values by as much as 30 percent. This could have a considerable negative impact on light-frame construction and the U.S. economy.
- The key to solving this issue is communication; SBCA is working with a strong coalition to develop a more reasonable solution.
- Only scaffold-grade lumber should be used for erecting scaffolds.
- Scaffold-grade lumber meets strength criteria determined by the grading rules set by a recognized lumber grading agency or independent lumber inspection agency and meet the minimum requirements of OSHA standard 29 CFR 1926.
- The characteristics required for scaffold-grade lumber, such as number and size of knots, slope of grain and juvenile wood, are higher and more stringent than those for construction lumber.
- The ICC and AWC have published and through code adoption provide as law nominal unit shear capacity values, which are to be applied in accordance with the installation requirements of the building code and/or the code referenced WFCM and SDPWS.
- Our goal at SBCRI has been to provide a technically reasonable foundation upon which to make engineering judgments when designing braced wall panels for lateral load resistance.
- True creative innovation can only take place within the light frame construction industry when there is an accurate technical foundation.
- Meet SBCA’s new president, Steve Stroder.
- SBCA developed SCORE and other programs to help CMs run their companies as safe, productive, and risk-free as possible.
- Banding together and implementing these tools not only benefits individual companies, it elevates our industry.
- The Building Designer providing accurate wall or beam/header information in the Construction Documents is essential in order for the Truss Designer to arrive at the correct bearing width.
- There are two key bearing related considerations—bearing capacity of the truss and bearing capacity of what the truss is sitting on; often, the bearing capacity of this material is an unknown and an assumption must be made.
- The options for dealing with insufficient bearing need to be considered and specifically dealt with on a case-by-case basis.
"If I have one hand in the oven, and my other hand is in the freezer, on average, I would think I’m doing alright!” This was a typical analogy used by Dr. Stanley K. Suddarth, Ph.D., P.E., in this case, to demonstrate the potential problems associated with using averages in calculations. When Stan Suddarth passed away on June 9, 2011, in Newburg, Oregon, he left behind a significant legacy in academia and the structural building components industry. In 1986, he was one of the first two inductees into the SBCA Hall of Fame in recognition of his considerable contributions to the industry.
Grab a sneak peek at the wealth of educational sessions being offered at BCMC 2011 in Indianapolis!
Don't miss all that this year's show has to offer in Indianapolis!
The structural building components industry mourns the loss of Dr. Stan Suddarth, Ph.D., P.E. Most of those in the industry who knew him, knew of his great intellect and appreciated his straight-forward communication style. Below are two stories from Stan’s life, as recalled by his son, Steve, that may shed additional light on him as a man. Please feel free to use the comment section below to share any memories you may have of Stan for our readers to enjoy.
Mr. Truss kicked off the 2011 SBCA Annual Meeting at BCMC in Indianapolis with some important information about fall protection.
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Joe Hikel’s main focus for this year was to establish better connections with the supply chain. The foundation has been set.
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Collaborative work on the lumber design value issue and forging relationships at all levels of the supply chain goes a long way toward helping the industry survive today and thrive in the future.
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Hikel’s personal return on investment on time working within SBCA has been invaluable, both in business opportunities and the personal reward from the relationships formed.
- The Occupancy Category designates the nature of occupancy for a building, which affects the required design loads for the structure.
- There is a direct relationship between the Occupancy Category and the Importance Factor—a low category will result in lower loads and a high category will call for an increase in loads
It’s the end of an era for the structural building components industry. Richard Brown, former President of Truss Systems (Oxford, GA), retired May 31. The industry sends its best wishes to a “true Southern gentleman.”
Xoom. Galaxy. Slate. Iconia. iPad. Unless you’re a technology enthusiast, it’s likely you wouldn’t recognize the products these names refer to (except for perhaps the last one). They are all the latest and greatest tablet computers produced by the computing industry, and they offer a very simple, yet seductive advantage to the business community: mobility. For you, mobility translates into easier sales, quicker response times, more effective repairs, better marketing, streamlined manufacturing processes and, most importantly, more efficient communication and collaboration.
This year’s BCMC Build project will build not one but two single-family homes with help from partners Habitat for Humanity and Eli Lilly. Just one block apart, the two-story Taft home and the one-story Harrison home (see graphics at below) will be framed by BCMC Build volunteers within a two-day timeframe, showcasing the benefits of component construction.