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Article
2007 December
- This issue covers topics relating to quality assurance and manufacturing. Find a Recap of BCMC 2007 on page 64 and an exhibitor directory on page 71.
- Turn to pages 24 and 30 for updates on In-Plant WTCA QC and TPI’s 3rd Party Inspection service.
Article
2007 December
- The final WTCA Board Meeting of 2007 was held on October 5.
- Winners of the 8th Annual Membership Drive were honored at the meeting and outgoing Board Members recognized for their service.
- A social hour and the Top Chord Club Dinner followed the meeting.
Article
2007 December
- A 3rd party can assist with your QC program and be a valuable partner.
- Set-up location and representative sampling are two inspection criteria detailed in ANSI/TPI 1 that can be easily misunderstood.
- Being able to adjust inspection frequency as the production levels fluctuate is an efficient use of personnel’s time.
- By consistently logging QC data, one plant was able to lower their default settings to 5° because crews were plating at a lower plate rotational level.
Article
2007 December
- A new online resource for quality control inspectors makes learning the inspection process convenient and more efficient.
- Quality control teams get more out of in-person training sessions when they’ve pre-viewed the training modules.
- Online Inspector Training is included in the cost of In-Plant WTCA QC certification.
Article
2007 December
- Wood, like other structural materials, exhibits an inherent variability in strength properties from piece to piece.
- The design value is obtained by reducing the fifth percentile test result by a property reduction factor.
- The grading of lumber is not an exact science; a reasonable amount of discrepancy is to be expected between individual pieces graded by different graders.
- Cross-cutting stress-graded lumber into pieces shorter than the original piece is a common practice wherever lumber is used in construction.
Article
2007 December
- With the advent of component saws, bow and crook suddenly became an issue.
- There’s only so much the saw manufacturers can do to compensate for crooked lumber.
- We’ve all likely witnessed the snail’s pace of a complicated truss setup on a manually jigged pressing table.
Article
2007 December
- One Idaho manufacturer struggled with analyzing job costs with its existing system.
- Building Components of Idaho now determines the true costs of different jobs; this data ties directly to the general ledger.
- An incentive plan helped the company with accurate labor tracking and contributes to employee reviews.
Article
2007 December
- Being involved with the WTCA Board benefits individual companies just as much as the collective industry.
- Board members say participation helps them keep up with the latest trends and news in the industry.
- Several companies have collaborated with one another to meet orders in an efficient way that makes customers happy.
- In times of need, Board members say the first people they call for help are friends they’ve met at meetings.
Article
2007 December
- A bill was repealed in 1997 that allowed Caltrans to issue permits for transporting wall panels stacked horizontally.
- A coalition of CalESCA members, building contractors and homebuilders rallied to restore the bill that would allow wall panels to be hauled horizontally.
- In October 2007, AB 1612 was signed into law by Governor Schwarzenegger.
Article
2007 December
- Quality is something that no one should sacrifice, no matter what.
- Part of manufacturing is discovering the nuances that make a world of difference.
- Make it a goal to get your systems tuned up, in place and ready for the New Year.
Article
2007 December
- Solar panels—devices that convert solar energy into electricity or heat—are often installed in trussed and conventionally framed roofs.
- To determine if a truss can withstand the load of a solar panel, add the value of the panel to the maximum top chord dead load capacity.
- If a panel can be applied to a conventionally framed roof with the same design load capacity as a truss system, the application should also work in the trussed roof.
Article
2007 December
- The third largest cause of workplace injuries, slip and fall injuries can be expensive to employers.
- Tend to outdoor and indoor housekeeping during the winter weather months to minimize slip and fall hazards.