A
Th e
Component Manufacturing dverti$ dverti $ er
Don’t Forget! You Saw it in the
July 2023 #15288 Page #35
Adverti$$er
Are We Designing Our Components to Benefit Our Truss Builders and End Users? any years ago, early in my career as a truss designer, I was interrupted by the production manager. He loudly entered my office with a piece of 2 x 12 and a circular saw and abruptly slammed both on top of my drafting table that was sporting a newly created truss layout. (We did not have integrated layout programs at that time.) He exclaimed to me, “you designed it, you build it!” then stomped out of the office. Being obstinate, I followed him up the hill to the truss plant and proceeded to cut the 2 x 12 into a very long scarf cut. To my chagrin, the saw blade repeatedly binded in the sappy southern yellow pine, causing the saw to stop as the saw kerf closed as I cut, relieving the internal strain of the lumber. I was better suited to sitting in an office setting. I struggled to cut one piece, but I did not show my struggle. I exclaimed to the plant manager after I finished, “There you go! That’s how it’s done.” Although I proved to the manager that I could do his job and my job, I knew I was busted but did not want to admit my mistake. I walked briskly back to the office as the manager yelled “you have 38 more of these to cut!”
By Glenn Traylor
M
This experience caused me to reconsider my truss designs. With very little truss building experience, I was unable to comprehend the impact of my designs. I was not aware of how I could influence production, nor was I aware of how I could improve my output to the benefit of the truss plant. Admittedly, this process of learning compassionate design required years of design experience and empathic understanding of the production process. It wasn’t until I actually built a truss that I realized how important my efforts with a stroke of a pencil or pen could seriously hamper productivity. Not only that, but I was also creating problems and issues for our end user by not considering how my designs could be mis-installed or mis-built.
Example of simplified truss profiles to improve the build process.
Continued next page
PHONE: 800-289-5627
Read/Subscribe online at www.componentadvertiser.com
FAX: 800-524-4982