North Florida Component Manufacturers Association (NFCMA)
 North Florida Component Manufacturers Association (NFCMA)
Dan Morris, Chapter President
c/o Apex Technology
4745 Sutton Park Ct Ste 402 • Jacksonville, FL 32224-0255
904/821-5200 • 904/241-5126 (fax)
Email Dan
SBCA and Chapter Membership Application (699 KB)
SBC Industry News for May 18, 2010
North Florida Chapter to Present at BOAF First Coast Meeting
Every month, the Building Officials Association of Florida (BOAF) First Coast Chapter brings in a speaker to address members and interested building professionals on a current hot topic. Held over lunch, the forum continues to grow in popularity and attendance. As part of this educational initiative, BOAF has invited SBCA’s North Florida Chapter to offer an educational session.
On May 19, the North Florida Component Manufacturers Association (NFCMA) is presenting “Permanent Web Bracing for Roof Trusses.” Based on the new Component Technology Workshop (CTW) from SBCA, the presentation includes information on design and bracing responsibilities, permanent bracing functions, continuous lateral restraint and bracing, web reinforcement, gable ends, and Building Component Safety Information (BCSI).
SBCA and chapter members in the Jacksonville, FL area are welcome to attend, too. It is a good opportunity to support the North Florida Chapter and the structural building components industry while getting to know building officials and other industry members. Thanks for your hard work, NFCMA!
CHAPTER HIGHLIGHTS APPEARING IN STRUCTURAL BUILDING COMPONENTS MAGAZINE:
June/July 2009
The North Florida Chapter had two events in July. First, the chapter hosted a booth at the kick-off of the “Raise The Floor 2009 Design Challenge” in Jacksonville on July 23. Educational information, chapter rosters, and professional membership applications were made available for the more than 200 attendees at this event targeting home builders and designers. Second, the chapter held its quarterly meeting on July 30, welcoming Bob Esposito of True Design Studios to discuss green building for component manufacturers. Members were encouraged to bring their questions.
June/July 2008
Chapter President Dan Morris took on the presentation duties at the North Florida Chapter’s spring meeting. Beginning a meeting series on the components of a healthy business, he kicked things off by focusing on a healthy plant. His presentation highlighted production: teach the basics and make a quality product. With WTCA’s new In-Plant Basic Training program, Dan reviewed how this program can help component manufacturers improve efficiency, reduce training costs, streamline new hire training and expand production management knowledge. Bringing In-Plant WTCA QC into the equation, members considered how this can be a valuable tool for tracking quality, establishing benchmarks and signifying a commitment to quality in the marketplace.
At the meeting, the members discussed ways to increase attendance and involvement. A survey would be prepared to collect feedback on meeting times and locations as well as groups in the marketplace to which the chapter would like to provide education. The results of the survey will be discussed at the next chapter meeting on July 17.
September/October 2007
The North Florida Chapter held its annual roundtable with local building officials in July. Inspectors from 10 cities and counties were invited to discuss issues affecting the structural building components industry. The questions and answers that evening covered: bottom chord live loads, pitch in relation to the definition of storage, wind exposure category changes, engineer of record issues, moisture content of delivered trusses, and differences between the 2003 and 2006 building code. The guests were also provided with a flyer of the WTCA online Truss Technology Workshop (TTW) courses that are approved for continuing education credit in Florida. Chapter President Josh Frye thanked everyone for attending and encouraged the building officials to return next year, noting how important it is to keep open the lines of communication.
June/July 2007
The North Florida Chapter met at a new location in Jacksonville for its April meeting and two guest speakers were on the agenda. First up was Dan Morris of Apex Technology. Since questions have arisen on the interpretation of the bottom chord live load with regard to designing for garage storage or not, Dan covered the application of concurrent vs. non-concurrent loads in the Florida Building Code and the Declaratory Statement by the Florida Building Commission to address the issue. Will Warlick of WTCA staff covered the resources for chapters available through the Carbeck Structural Components Institute including the Fire Performance CD, online educational modules, truss plant tour resources and live fire demonstration protocols. Though members have not encountered problems with fire in their chapter, they agreed on the importance of knowing about these resources in case they were needed.
Under chapter business, Josh Myers was awarded a plaque in recognition of his three years as Chapter President. The next chapter meeting was moved from Thursday to Wednesday and will be held on July 18.
April 2007
The North Florida Chapter held a special Wednesday meeting in January in order to coordinate with the Central and South Florida Chapter meetings that week. Promising a presentation on the Florida Building Code (FBC) 2006 Supplement, the guest speaker for the evening was Mike Kozlowski of Apex Technology. Although this marked a glitch cycle supplement, the changes comprised nearly 300 pages and should be considered more like a full code revision for the 2004 FBC—Building and FBC—Mechanical. With the updated code, there were additional considerations from the point of view of the engineer of record and attendees were encouraged to bring their questions. In particular, Mike focused on the new wind exposure guidelines. The wind exposure must be specified before the trusses are designed, and wind exposures are based on the location and surrounding conditions. Addressed during the meeting were wind exposure category definitions, surface roughness and transition zones. Where the responsibility lies for making determinations was posed, and it was emphasized that it rests with the building designer. How that affects the job flow process in Jacksonville was considered, too. Also noted were the change requiring ring shank nails for roof decks and the replacement of SSTD10 with IBHS Guidelines for Hurricane Resistant Residential Construction. The chapter extended its thanks to Mike for a very informative presentation
Decmber 2006 SBC Magazine
The North Florida Chapter elected a new slate of officers at its October meeting. Josh Frye of Granger Lumber accepted the job of chapter president, Dan Morris of True House took the vice president position, Curt Joliecoeur of Lumber Unlimited became Secretary and Preston Ketchum of Lumber Unlimited became Treasurer. The 2007 chapter meeting dates were confirmed for January 18, April 26, July 19 and October 18.
The meeting attendees were able to review an update on the 2006 Supplement to the Florida Building Code. The 2006 glitch cycle supplement includes extensive revisions to the both the 2004 FBC-Building and FBC-Residential (plus extensive restructuring), as well as the FBC-Mechanical. The revisions are not trivial (comprising 300 pages) and the 2006 Supplement should be considered more like a full code revision. The effective date is December 8, 2006, except for Panhandle Windborne Debris, which is effective March 8, 2007.
January 2006 SBC Magazine
The North Florida Chapter invited local building officials to its fall meeting for a roundtable discussion on the Florida Building Code and other issues in the marketplace. Chris Rizer of Builders FirstSource and Michael Kozlowski, P.E. of Apex Technology outlined the changes due to the implementation of the FBC 2004, ANSI/TPI 1-2002 and the adoption of ASCE 7-02. Guest Thomas Goldsbury of the City of Jacksonville led the discussion on the beta-testing of electronic seals and signatures. It is being implemented in Duval County and things are going well.
Under chapter business, the members present nominated a new chapter representative to the WTCA Board of Directors. Mark Rose of Manning Building Supplies will take over the seat as soon as his nomination is ratified by the WTCA membership. The date of the next chapter meeting was moved from January 19 so as not to conflict with the Alpine Workshop. It will be held on January 12.
The recent NFCMA meeting included a roundtable discussion with building officials.
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June 2005 SBC Magazine
The North Florida Chapter's April meeting featured a roundtable discussion on the issues affecting members. Earlier that day, Barry Dixon of True House, Michael Kozlowski of Apex Technology, Chris Rizer of Builders FirstSource and Kirk Grundahl of WTCA staff met with Tom Goldsbury of the City of Jacksonville to discuss the electronic seals and signatures beta test site, so this update was high on the meeting agenda. The Florida Building Code was discussed with reference to a State By State Update from WTCA which pointed out that different interpretations and enforcements of the bottom chord live load provisions were cropping up around the state. Following up on the January meeting, chapter members returned to the plans and progress being made to prepare information on crane erection techniques. This tied into work by WTCA in the loading, transporting, unloading and installation arena, and all agreed it fit in well with the goal of educating builders, framers and crane operators so that everyone could work from the same set of standards and expectations. Also given was an update on The Load Guide (TLG): Guide to Good Practice for Specifying & Applying Loads to Structural Building Components. The next chapter meeting will feature education and be held on July 21.
March 2005 SBC Magazine
At the North Florida Chapter's January meeting, the top agenda item was crane erection techniques. The consensus from the chapter's October meeting was that training, coupled with enforceable responsibility, may be a viable option in reducing both product damage and liability exposure for truss plants. Members determined that dealing with crane erection issues should be the chapter's number one priority in 2005. Possible meetings with builders, framers and crane operators were discussed so that everyone could work from the same set of expectations and goals. The chapter is also looking forward to the new WTCA Truss Technology in Building (TTB) sheet on crane operation which will include information on appropriate equipment size, on-site crane placement, use of taglines and spreader bars, and proper hand signals. In addition, the April meeting will focus on the Building Component Safety Information series. Chapter members will review the Truss Technology Workshop program themselves so that they become more comfortable giving this presentation on proper handling, installing and bracing. Educating builders, framers, crane operators and building officials will be the focus of the chapter's energies throughout the year.
December 2004 SBC Magazine
The North Florida Chapter’s final meeting of 2004 was held on October 21 at the Embassy Suites in Jacksonville. After a delicious buffet dinner, BarryDixon gave a summary on both the recently completed BCMC show and industry trends pertaining to WTCA. Charlotte had the best and largest show ever with over 86,000 sq. ft. of exhibits and over 2,700 people attending. Regarding industry trends, total structural engineering for all structural components in a building is getting closer to becoming a viable reality. This, in turn, should foster a stronger interest in wall panels. Economically, the outlook is quite solid for the foreseeable future. Many new component saw packages are including front and rear feeding systems. Truss design training and assessment tools are readily available online with the TATO program being able to assess design strengths and weaknesses. Barry also updated the membership on creating the ability to electronically submit professional engineer sealed truss design drawings in the Jacksonville area by spring of 2005. Also, Jacksonville is highly regarded on the national level for being a leader for technological implementationin the truss industry.
After Barry's presentation, Tom Smith initiated a discussion on crane erection techniques. Everyone agreed that this topic needs to be a priority project for the association in 2005. The consensus is that training coupled with enforceable responsibility may be a viable option in reducing both product damage and liability exposure for truss plants.
The officers for 2005 will be: Josh Myers, President; Richard Tingley, Vice President; Chuck Bolline, Treasurer; and Josh Frye, Secretary. The chapter will continue to hold meetings on the third Thursday of the quarter unless otherwise noted. The next meeting is being planned for January 20, also at the Embassy Suites in Jacksonville.
November 2004 SBC Magazine
The April dinner meeting of the North Florida Chapter was held at Dave & Buster’s in Jacksonville and featured Dave Lewis of APA-The Engineered Wood Association. Dave explained the numerous benefits and services that his organization provides to the building industry and encouraged folks to contact him with their questions and concerns. For nearly seventy years, APA has focused on helping the industry create structural wood products of exceptional strength, versatility and reliability. The July dinner meeting, featuring Bill Tucker, Executive Director of FBMA, was held at the Embassy Suites in Jacksonville. Bill discussed the FBMA convention being held in Orlando on August 25-28. Truss designers were encouraged to participate in the annual truss design contest where cash prizes are awarded to the top three designs in each category. Richard Tingley of Lumber Unlimited described the highlights of his previous participation, which included a first place prize award. Other truss related endeavors at the upcoming convention included a truss round table discussion and "truss alley," which is a hallway designated for truss displays and products.
March 2004< SBC Magazine
The North Florida Chapter held its first meeting of 2004 on January 22 at Dave & Buster’s in Jacksonville. After everyone enjoyed a delicious buffet dinner, Kirk Grundahl announced that sealed truss placement layouts would not be required by the Duval County Building Depart-ment. Instead, the engineer of record will stamp the placement layout with a shop review stamp signifying that it has been reviewed and is deemed to match up with the building perimeter, truss load bearing walls and the truss design drawings. Kudos to Kirk and the WTCA staff, Jacksonville area truss fabricators and residential engineers, and the Duval County Building Department for working cooperatively to achieve a viable solution for everyone. Kirk also praised the building department, led by Tom Goldsbury, for its progressive thinking and WTCA has pledged to work with this organization on developing both product training and future electronic submission of truss drawings and layouts.
For the meeting presentation, Kirk also discussed on-going WTCA projects which include BCSI 1-03 replacing HIB-91, simplification of the QC program, online training and skill evaluation of employees, safety certification, and establishing a network of insurance brokers familiar with the wood component industry. BCSI 1-03 has been a joint venture involving both WTCA and TPI and will involve widespread utilization of graphics and illustrations. This document will also incorporate the use of shorter lumber lengths for jobsite truss bracing during erection.
December 2003 SBC Magazine
The North Florida Chapter meeting on October 16 resulted in a new officer slate for 2004. Josh Myers of Fernandina Lumber will be President; Josh is the son of David Myers, who served as Vice President in 2002. Richard Tingley of Lumber Unlimited will be Vice President; Richard recently was named the first place winner in the FBMA truss design contest for structures with greater than 4000 square feet. Having given the chapter its last two presidents, Granger Truss’ presence on the board will be continued with Chuck Bolline serving as Treasurer and Tom Smith as Secretary. Tom was an officer of the organization from 1988-96 and coordinated efforts on becoming a WTCA Chapter. Chuck is a first year designer. Each in this group of officers is involved in some phase of truss design. The new officers deeply appreciate the contributions of the 2003 officers: Brian Richardson (President), Bob Petty (Vice President), Everett Ogden (Secretary) and Josh Myers (Treasurer). Barry Dixon of True House, Inc. and past president of NFCMA will continue in his role as chapter representative to WTCA. Barry has been an articulate and passionate spokesman for our region on truss related issues.
September/October 2003 SBC Magazine
Risk management as it relates to human resources was the topic of the North Florida Chapter’s July meeting with guest speaker Mr. Bo Brewer. The president of The People Business in Ormond Beach, Mr. Brewer is a behaviorist with an extensive background in the human resources field. His specialties include: employment law, labor and employee relations, employee retention, leadership development, performance measurement, and conflict resolution. Given that our employees are one of our most valuable assets, this was a presentation not to be missed. Many questions were addressed, such as: Is your business prepared to deal with incidents involving employment law?; Will you be ready if sexual harassment issues arise?; Have you been looking at your human relations department with an eye on risk management?; What are your current risks and exposures? Everyone in attendance agreed it was an evening well spent. The chapter thanks Mr. Brewer for sharing his knowledge of human relations and risk management to help members better equip their businesses to deal with these concerns.
June/July 2003 SBC Magazine
In April, the North Florida Component Manufacturers Association and Northeast Florida Builder’s Association hosted a two-hour Continuing Education Class on Field Truss Repair. Chris Rizer, from Builders FirstSource, presented the information to a crowded room of 38 contractors. Chris did an excellent job presenting the Truss Technology Workshop presentation from WTCA and spent over 30 minutes answering questions dealing with all aspects of truss situations. Thanks to Chris for his hard work! NFCMA owes a debt of gratitude to the Northeast Florida Builder’s Association, and in particular, to Cyndi Austin and Arnold Tritt, for their hospitality and use of their facility at no charge. They even provided the coffee and doughnuts!
For its spring meeting, the North Florida Chapter invited Mr. Phil Copare, Safety Director of the Florida Building Materials Association, as guest speaker. Giving a presentation on “Safety in the Truss Plant,” he focused on the most common violations, inspection checklists and workman’s compensation issues. Given the legal environment in which we all work, everyone agreed that we should never be too careful about sizing up our performance and expectations. Chapter members learned to more accurately assess their current risks and exposures as well as answer the question of if they have a “safe” workplace. The chapter thanks Mr. Copare for sharing his knowledge of safety issues and helping them to better protect themselves, their plants and their employees. For its summer meeting, the chapter may again hold an educational program or roundtable discussion for local building officials.
March 2003 SBC Magazine
At its January meeting, the North Florida Chapter welcomed guest speaker Dr. J. Rody Borg, a Professor of Economics at Jacksonville University. The topic was “The Economic Outlook for Northeast Florida,” and Dr. Borg shared his insights into the current economic climate. He addressed such questions as: will 2003 be marked by stagnation, or can we expect growth; will we continue to experience problems protecting our margins; will it be a good year for housing starts; should we plan any expansions in our businesses, or remain cautious until more economic indicators improve? Also in attendance was Fred Parvy, President of the Florida Economic Round Table. The chapter wishes to thank these gentlemen for an excellent presentation and discussion.
In addition to its regular quarterly meeting in April, the chapter will be holding a two-hour Truss Technology Workshop for builders and contractors in Jacksonville in April. This course will offer continuing education credits.
January/February 2003 SBC Magazine
At it fall meeting, the North Florida Chapter elected its slate of officers for 2003. The new Chapter President is Brian Richardson of Granger Truss. The Vice President is Bob Petty and the Treasurer is Josh Myers, both from Lumber Unlimited. Everett Ogden of Granger Truss takes on the role of Chapter Secretary. In addition, Barry Dixon of True House begins another term as Chapter Representative to the WTCA Board of Directors. NFCMA will continue its regular quarterly meeting schedule in 2003, with the first meeting of the year falling on January 16.
September/October 2002 SBC Magazine
The July meeting of the North Florida Chapter featured a roundtable discussion with local building officials. Whereas last year the building officials were invited to an educational seminar, this year the format was looser and allowed for any relevant topics to be raised in conversation. With the goal of finding out what the truss industry can do to assist building officials in their jobs, response was excellent again. As summed up by Dwight Wilkes, Chief Plans Examiner, St. Johns County, “Not only was the meal very good, the opportunity to come together and discuss the needs and share information was even better. I’m looking forward to attending these meetings on a regular schedule.” Chapter members also found the evening to be time well spent, and they received much positive feedback on the jobs they having been doing. The chapter intends to make this an annual event.
June 2002 SBC Magazine
At its April meeting, the North Florida Chapter discussed the current controversy surrounding sealed placement plans. An example of a cover sheet already being used was distributed and debated. Chapter members were concerned about the effect that this development will have on the small businesses that cannot afford to put their own engineers on staff. Since this practice was already occurring in their respective counties, however, chapter members expected it to continue and increase. In addition, the regular 50/50 raffle collected over $100 for juvenile diabetes when the evening’s winner chose not to keep his half and have the entire sum donated to the charity. For its July meeting, the chapter is planning an educational session for local building officials. Because last year’s educational program was so successful, the chapter expects an even bigger turnout this year.
March 2002 SBC Magazine
Turnout was high for the North Florida Chapter’s first meeting of 2002. Held on January 31 in Orange Park, the evening’s topic was the new Florida Building Code. Several local engineers were guests of the chapter to add their expertise to the discussion. In particular, the most controversial sections of the code were examined. The large turnout added to the lively and provocative discussion. For its next meeting, the chapter is trying to arrange a training session for building officials, P.E.s and truss designers from the five local counties.
December 2001 SBC Magazine
At its October meeting, the North Florida Chapter discussed the progress being made by the new committees it formed this year including education, charitable contributions and golf. In addition, Dave Myers gave an update on the chapter’s efforts with the Juvenile Justice Division. Furthermore, the discussion featured a review of the September Florida Chapters Summit in Orlando and the progress that has been made on harmonizing the Florida Building Code with WTCA 1-1995 as well as recent work on sealed cover sheets and electronic seals and signatures. Last but not least, NFCMA re-elected its officers to continue their terms in 2002: Dan Mitola of Granger Lumber as President, Dave Myers of Lumber Unlimited as Vice President, and Tom Wootton of Santa Fe Truss as Secretary/Treasurer.
The North Florida Component Manufacturers Association and Turning Challenges Into Opportunities
When we look back at 2001 we may label it the year of the building code changes. States all across the country are implementing changes, many resulting from ICBO 2000. Though building code changes undoubtedly will present us with many challenges, the situation also presents an opportunity: component manufacturers and building inspectors can learn about the code changes together.
The North Florida Chapter (NFCMA), for example, devoted its April meeting to the changing Florida state building code and invited building officials from all of the surrounding counties. Kirk Grundahl, Executive Director of WTCA, gave a presentation on the evolving code with emphasis on the high wind provisions. This chapter meeting was a great opportunity to review the progress being made by a group of Florida truss manufacturers representing all Florida Chapters and WTCA that has been reviewing the pertinent sections of the code and has taken a first cut at harmonizing the language with WTCA 1-1995 (Standard Responsibilities in the Design Process Involving Metal Plate Connected Wood Trusses). Importantly, the building officials were eager to attend this chapter meeting, and all of them gave the presentation high marks. As many of our chapters have discovered, knowledge is a commodity in great demand and we are in a position to supply the information many building officials are grateful to receive. Not only do we share information, we also build relationships. It is a situation in which everyone wins.
As professionals in the truss industry, we realize it is critical to keep the lines of communication open with building officials. Discussing a changing code together enhances the prospects for genuine dialog. Especially when there are lots of questions surrounding code changes, the best approach is to hold a meeting where everyone affected can discover what is fact, what is rumor, and what is achievable.
CHAPTER HIGHLIGHTS APPEARING IN WOODTRUSS MAGAZINE:
March 2001
The North Florida chapter held its first meeting of the year on January 18 in Orange Park. The speaker was John Herring of A-1 Roof Trusses. Mr. Herring began with an update on the Florida Building Code Revisions as discussed at the Florida Chapters Issues Discussion Forum held earlier in January in Orlando. Following discussion of the topics covered at that forum, Mr. Herring turned to a program on the importance of good communication in business. The resulting roundtable discussion proved to be interesting and informative.
November 2000
At the meeting on October 19, NFCMA held chapter elections. Dan Mitola of Granger Lumber was ratified as the new president, and Dave Myers of Lumber Unlimited was ratified as Vice President/President Elect. Barry Dixon of True House will now take on the role of Past President. Also discussed at the meeting was the master detail package the chapter is creating. This master detail package will include general repair and hanger information in the name of the association. This is to create continuity among manufacturers and help keep a consistent package so that building officials can inspect houses more expediently.
September/October 2000
NFCMA held its summer meeting on July 27 at the Holiday Inn Orange Park. Turnout was high and many issues were discussed. Among the decisions made, the chapter will start developing a standard details package on truss details. The meeting also featured a presentation on WTCA QC by Jay Edgar from WTCA-National. This too raised many interesting points.
August 2000
Administration for the North Florida chapter is now being handled by WTCA-National. The first meeting resulting from this collaboration took place this spring when Kirk Grundahl of WTCA-National discussed “Putting a Human Face on the Truss Industry.” A good turnout made the event informative and productive. The chapter’s summer meeting took place on July 27 and focused on WTCA-QC.
November 1999
Barry Dixon reported that they are currently discussing the possibility of having WTCA-National handle chapter management. So far, the suggestion has met with favorable feedback and support.
WTCA staff assisted the chapter with a seminar for building officials in November. The topics were fire and erecting/bracing. The program was very well received. In January, the WTCA’s first Truss Technology Workshop of the year was in Jacksonville, with 60 people in attendance. Attendees included building officials, engineers, contractors and manufacturers. Again, this program had great feedback, especially from Building Officials. They are spreading the word on our programs. At the last Board meeting in Maine, the chapter set goals, and has accomplished most of these things. Upcoming programs that need to be scheduled include TTT programs - Level I and Level II. They will set up a fire seminar in the summer, and are investigating Risk Management in 2000.
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