BCSI: Something for Everyone

Balancing Process & Product to Get the Most Out of Component Built, System Driven Solutions for Every Link in the Value Chain 

The BCSI Handbook (BCSI) provides clarity and insight into the do’s, don’ts, and how-to’s for the installation of metal plate connected wood trusses (trusses). Employing trusses correctly adds value throughout the residential construction process.  

Successfully building with trusses as part of a component solution is as much about process as it is about product and BCSI is the bridge between. Trusses and other components are designed to consistently do more with less when used properly. Working together as a team in the early project stages and collectively becoming familiar with BCSI is the first step of the process. Proper utilization hinges on the processes employed by a project’s players.  

The process of designing a structure such as a single-family house or multi-family structure with structural building components is commonly known as off-site construction. This offers a greater degree of environmental and quality control that’s achieved through innovations in machinery, software, automation, safety, labor, and operational efficiencies. Components manufactured off-site they are then transported to the jobsite for on-site assembly or installation. Components are installed by a framing crew by assembling, hoisting, restraining, and bracing each individual component together according to the guidelines outlined in BCSI, the corresponding component layout and design drawings, and project plans creating the structural enclosed frame.  

Component manufacturing implements lean manufacturing principals and modernizations utilized in cutting-edge industries like automotive and semiconductor manufacturing while balancing the ubiquitously distinct parameters of the construction sector. Parameters such as the project site itself, means and methods of material supply and delivery, jurisdictional building code and regulatory variances, available qualified labor, or uncontrollable elements moods of mother nature.  

BCSI was developed to provide guidance when installing trusses including specific practices such as moving, stacking, shipping, hoisting, retaining, to securing the structures final brace.

The instructional information and resources included in BCSI safeguard the structural integrity and continuity of quality designed and manufactured into each individual and translates throughout the whole building system.  

With trust in the manufacturing and installation process every stakeholder in the value chain can capitalize on the ample benefits that come from designing and building components. Saving time, money, and resources allows for increased quality, value, and reputability. Additional benefits include a faster time-to-market. BCSI is a critical resource at every stage of a project’s life cycle and every role within the process. From architects, designers, specifiers, and engineers, to contractors, builders, investors, and developers, to regulators, code officials, and inspectors.