Efficient Building; Lumberyard to the Jobsite

As homeowner demand for conservation grows, more options are becoming available for builders to learn how to trim down their business practices. Builders looking for ways to be green can turn their focus to how lumber is utilized. Software systems, consulting firms and the National Association of Home Builders are assisting trade professionals in ways to tighten up their processes from start to finish, including eliminating lumber waste.

The amount of lumber waste from a typical 2,000-sq.-ft. home is astounding and pre-sents an opportunity for builders to step up to the plate. “The average 2,000-sq.-ft. home contains 13,127 ft. of lumber board. In terms of waste, approximately 1,600 lbs. of solid-sawn wood and 1,400 lbs. of engineered wood is wasted,” says Carlos Martín, Ph.D., assistant staff vice president, construction, codes and standards for the NAHB, who makes it clear that lumber conservation can greatly contribute to green building practices.

Trimming Material Selections

By focusing on the material selection process, builders can reduce waste by an average of 5 to 10 percent. One way builders can limit their material purchasing is by taking advantage of software systems available at many lumberyards. These software systems are intended to help the builder purchase exactly the amount of lumber needed and nothing more.

iLevel by Weyerhaeuser offers its Javelin software and a waste analysis which walks through a builder’s purchasing and delivery processes. “We use Javelin to create an efficient specification of our products. The next step is to look at how they are getting the material. Typically this is done through a [purchase order] system where they put the POs into the lumberyards they are buying from. If you walk through that process, you’ll find that there’s a lot of waste added to it from all different ends of the business — anyone who touches that process adds waste because each person is adding a little extra just in case they need it,” says Bill Rieger, structural frame specialists, iLevel by Weyerhaeuser.

The final step of the iLevel waste analysis is its NextPhase program. “It allows the builder to precision-enter the package.

The way a typical framing package is shipped today is it’s rounded to the nearest 2-ft. increment. So if you need a 17-ft. piece of material, you’ll get an 18-ft. [piece of material],” Rieger says. The NextPhase system is able to offer accuracy within 1/16-in.

John Olson, vice president of Generation Homes in Fresno, Calif., used the Javelin software for the first time while partnering with iLevel to build the iLevel Performance home, a 3,600-sq.-ft. home in Reedley, Calif. “The end result is we were able to build the home in the same amount of time [it normally takes]. We did have a slowdown at the beginning due to educating myself, framers and all the individuals who touch the components. If we were to do another home following this [process it] would be equal to what we normally do. And if we do a third, we would be ahead of what we normally do. It’s like anything new where it takes a little bit of time for people to get used to it — crews have been doing it one way for so long,” Olson says. Overall, Olson had a positive experience with Javelin and iLevel and would use both again.

“Anyone who touches the process adds waste because each person is adding a little extra in case they need it.” — Bill Rieger, structural frame specialist, iLevel by Weyerhaeuser.

Another software system that helps builders minimize waste and ensure structural integrity is BC Framer by Boise Engineered Wood Products. “It’s a stand-alone product we’ve designed specifically for the specification of Boise engineered wood products. Its focus is to give all the information needed to get an accurate material list to analyze the load so it has the proper structural integrity as well as length requirement,” says Matt Prince, engineered wood product software manager, Boise Engineered Wood Products.