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Meet two new members of the SBCA Board of Directors.
"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.
BCMC Sessions Focus on Doing Business Smarter
Student Day at BCMC is an opportunity to bring components to life for students.
This past year, the Emerging Leaders Committee held two leadership training sessions in conjunction with SBCA’s Open Quarterly Meetings (OQM).
Leading up to the March Open Quarterly Meeting (OQM) in Denver, the SBCA Executive Committee started working on an “Emerging Leader” initiative.
How do you learn about new federal regulations impacting the delivery of manufactured components and materials? Call in the experts.
A builder’s perspective on how CMs can grow market share
- Even with its many benefits, innovative framing faces resistance. Prescriptive codes don’t directly promote innovative framing, and markets are slow to adopt for many reasons.
- The earlier in the process CMs can get in front of building designers, the greater their ability to influence the use of innovative framing techniques to design buildable structural framing.
- In order to get innovative framing ideas into the market effectively, you need to have your ducks in a row prior to approaching the building designer.
With respect to your business, what do you dwell on before you go to sleep? What’s the first thing you think about when you wake up in the morning? If I were to hazard a guess, I would say the most common answer in our industry right now is related to labor challenges and greater production. Given all we have been learning at the SBCA meetings over the past year, I would argue we also need to be constantly focused on our exposure to risk.
If you haven’t watched an SBCA webinar recently, you are missing out. You’d be surprised how much you can learn from other component manufacturers not in your market.
When you decide the best talent isn’t next door, will you be ready with the tools your employees need to work remotely?
On February 7, 2017, the structural building components industry lost one of its leading advocates and innovators, Dwight Hikel. His contributions to the industry can be found today not only in the success of his company, Shelter Systems Limited, but also in the words and actions of many of the industry’s leaders who were his peers and fellow members of the Structural Building Components Association (SBCA).
So much has changed in just a few short years for component manufacturers supplying single and multi-family residential construction projects. It’s no surprise that the legal landscape we face while operating our businesses in this volatile market has changed as well. As you refocus to take advantage of opportunities as the housing market recovers, I encourage you to consider these legal trends.
Wilson Lumber improves training approach after hiring women.
How Framing the American Dream again shows there’s a better way to frame.
BCMC session evaluations indicated that the BCMC Committee hit a home run in choosing the topics they did. Take a few moments to catch up on what you might have missed at this year's show.
Shelter Systems Limited • Westminster, Maryland
Most of the conversations I’ve had with component manufacturers (CMs) about increasing production efficiency inevitably focus on one thing: bottlenecks.
Better understanding of project nuances can lead to an improved design
I’m honored to serve as SBCA’s new executive director.
Here’s a quick history lesson. In reviewing public documents surrounding the 2010 Final Action Hearing of the ICC with regard to proposals RB31-9/10 and RB87-9/10, one would gather the following information:
“Think more about the problems customers face and figure out a way you can solve it by improving upon what you already produce.”
Designers are under tight deadlines; they are constantly being pulled from one project to another, and are routinely being asked to make changes to a project. All of this can create an environment that burns them out and pushes them out the door.
About SBCA
Established in 1983, the Structural Building Components Association (SBCA) is the only international trade association representing manufacturers of structural building components. SBCA is the information conduit for our membership to stay abreast of leading-edge marketplace issues.
Getting IT staff more involved in operational goals takes engagement from both sides.
- 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.
- Sometimes the benefit of building a relationship is just the sense of camaraderie, but other times, the value can be much more profound for your business.
- Having a close working relationship with your local building officials can not only help you better navigate code changes and jobsite inspection issues, it can help increase market acceptance of your products.
- Forming relationships with your state lawmakers is an easy process, and given their broad connections throughout your community, they’re good people to get to know.