Case Studies

Wood Roof Truss Manufacturer

Situation

A leading manufacturer of wooden roof trusses faced typical challenges felt throughout the construction industry.  The ever-increasing complexity of architectural designs was making it tremendously difficult for the building components industry to improve manufacturing efficiencies.  Finding and training skilled labor, improving efficiency and productivity, and ensuring the quality and structural integrity of the product was becoming increasingly difficult. As the complexity increased, production set up and changeover costs were deteriorating profit margins.

Solution

Assembly of cut components into a finished roof truss is the toughest operation to manage and control.  Working with multiple vendors, new applications were developed from existing technology to make this assembly process simple and virtually foolproof.  The new system included automated equipment, innovative material handling, laser projection of assembly drawings, and custom fixtures. 

Impact

Gone are the tape measures, the blue prints, the framing squares and the calculations that were required by previous set up systems.  This new system ensured accuracy and quality. Set up times were reduced from an average of over 1 hour to less than 15 minutes. Operator training was reduced from months to days.  With best in class quality, short lead times, and low operating costs, the owner commented that running his business was “like minting money”.