Search
Truss industry standard of care items are contained throughout ANSI/TPI 1,* The National Standard for Metal Plate Connected Wood Truss Construction. The focus of this article is ANSI/TPI 1 Chapter 2, Section 2.3.5.1 and companion Section 2.4.5.1, which require a truss designer to prepare truss design drawings (TDD) based on design criteria and requirements set forth in the construction documents. The truss industry should expect to get this information from the building designer (BD), which may include the building owner, contractor or a registered design professional (RDP). Particularly when there is an RDP for the building, the design community expects the truss industry to design components that conform to the truss framing plan and specified design parameters within the construction documents, unless instructed otherwise in writing.
- There are many published installation guides available for product-specific applications, but few account for framing tolerances when dissimilar materials are integrated into the overall building and the expectations for overall performance.
- NFC’s Standards Development Sub-committee will begin outlining framing practices performed everyday where tolerances and known good performance have not been detailed in depth.
- The subcommittee will take a “through the eyes of a framer” point of view and provide step-by-step implementation guidelines and options.
A look at safe and proper handling and storage
SBCRI Testing & SBCA Research Reports can transform your market.
The first two Standard of Care articles discussed deferred submittals and truss-to-truss connections. This article explores truss minimum required bearing width issues from the perspective of the design community.
- A lot has changed in the components industry over the past two decades, and a new Framing the American Dream (FAD) project would allow us to quantify just how much, as well as detail our product’s benefits over other framing methods.
- Beyond FAD, SBCA is also focusing on helping component manufacturers across the country fight an unfair provision in the model building code, R501.3.
- As you think about investing in the future of your business, think about how much you’re willing to invest this year in these two projects to ensure a bright future for our industry.
- You must have continuous training in order to have a training system work.
- In addition to FrameSAFE and Toolbox Talks, NFC will release FrameSAFE Safety Posters in early 2015.
- FrameSAFE is more than just a safety manual; we’ve created it to be a training tool that workers and employers can use to find everything they need in one product.
While one of the most critical concerns in a manufacturing facility, machine guarding isn’t as simple or easy as it sounds.
Good truck drivers make good decisions.
- When there’s no effective tie-off point for a building, framers have to use a job-specific best practices approach.
- Both Hull and Shifflett agree it is in the best interest of component manufacturers to work with framers to create best practice approaches to fall protection.
- The long-term goal is to host an online database that GCs and framing teams can visit to know who in their industry participates, trains and follows the same safety guidelines.
Many potential complaints and problems can be mitigated by an astute truss technician during the design phase.
Lean Six Sigma is a mountainous challenge, but there are some basic ways to prepare for the climb.
“We wouldn’t be where we are today without all our employees. They’re the lifeblood of what we do.”
Three key steps to get you headed down the right path.
Finding the best, fastest, most efficient process has always been part of the culture for this component manufacturer.
Communication is key to a successful construction project.
A-1 takes a start-from-scratch approach to training new recruits.
A sideline in heavy timber is a striking support to the main business of Rehkemper & Son.
Roughly 60 years after their inception, roof trusses are well-established in the market, a cornerstone of residential framing. Their natural counterpart, floor trusses, are quite possibly the most misunderstood product offered by our industry.
In 2001, WoodWords (later renamed SBC Magazine) began dedicating its June/July issue to a summary of the industry’s concerns and the activities of SBCA’s annual legislative conference. That tradition continued through 2014.
The worth of one’s efforts is sometimes a difficult thing to communicate to others, whether they be customers, employees or, in SBCA’s case, members. It helps to have a concrete example that illustrates the value your work provides.
- The focus should be on developing a system each company can continuously evolve in order to avoid becoming stagnant as the market improves.
- In order to bring in qualified people, initially, companies need to define, write out and fine-tune a recruitment process.
- You need to develop a pipeline of candidates and not wait for the need to arise.
- Component manufacturers have to be proactive locally in pursuing those outside the industry, including building officials, members of the fire service, specifiers, framers and lawmakers.
- It’s not hard to put a value on having eyes and ears like theirs in the market, when they are willing to look out for your business while they’re doing their jobs.
- The more smoothly the installation of CM products goes, the less issues we have to confront in the field and the less we have to overcome challenging building code provisions, the more builders will want to buy and install our products.
- Inadequate communication can fragment the various trades working on a project and lead to costly mistakes and frustrating delays.
- GCs are looking to turnkey framing as a way to minimize that fragmentation and reduce waste and the potential for mistakes.
- The efficiencies of the turnkey approach with componentized framing make it the best solution going forward.
- Before a new truss designer designs their first truss, it’s a good idea to have technicians work as a helper on a truss production team.
- Understand the personal characteristics, education and knowledge of your plant personnel because often talent is there that is unexplored and unrealized.
- Training a new designer is an ongoing process that takes time. When you have good designers trained, you will want to do everything you can to keep them employed with you.
- SCORE’s focus on best practices and risk management helps protect the component business and saves CMs on precious training resources.
- In an effort to make the program and costs more understandable, SCORE certification requirements have been streamlined, while still focusing on industry best practices that matter most to CM customers.
- The new package pricing gives CMs the opportunity to meet SCORE requirements, at a reduced cost, and begin to reap the benefits from key SBCA programs and products.