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Component Manufacturing dverti$ dverti $ er
Don’t Forget! You Saw it in the
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June 2022 #14275 Page #56
How to Squeeze Out More Truss Production
T
russes are complicated yet the fabrication description is quite simple – pick the lumber, cut the lumber, and assemble the lumber. Now try doing this profitably at high volume and you will need to automate some or all of these processes, which all truss plants have done within their current constraints. Edmond Lim, P.Eng. LimTek Solutions Inc.
So how do you squeeze out even more production within your constraints? By picking the lumber and cutting the lumber so that it ends up better organized in front of the truss jigs. If your truss builders are hunting for truss pieces and truss plates even after all the material has been placed in front of their jig, then there is room for improvement (times the number of assembly workers per jig). Don’t pick lumber just to maximize saw output. Don’t cut lumber just to speed up the lumber stacking/catching process. Don’t pick plates in total job/batch quantities just to speed up the plate picker. Truss fabrication is a team sport! Pick the lumber for the truss assemblers. Cut the lumber for the truss assemblers. Pick collated plates for the truss assemblers. That’s how you Feed the Beast! Pick lumber with the goal to get lumber better organized in front of the truss assemblers. Reduce inefficient and expensive forklift lumber picking if this is the constraint to picking lumber organized for the truss jigs. Cut lumber organized for the truss assemblers. Cut-by-truss and/or symmetrical left and right of truss cutting may take longer but the truss production increase is worth it.
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