Director's Message: Add More Value

Why wall panels simultaneously frustrate and excite me

Component manufacturers (CMs) are sensational at adding value for their customers. They typically take lumber and metal connectors and transform those raw materials into incredibly efficient structural framing solutions. Those solutions work on any project, in any corner of the country, and seamlessly incorporate into existing building codes no matter their requirements. No major excuses as to why components don’t have a larger market share. Both roof and floor trusses have no equal in how well they triangulate against gravity and other loading conditions. Similarly, wall panels do their thing, framing the windows from which their inhabitants view the world and the doors with which they access it. Yet it’s the wall panels that simultaneously frustrate me and excite me to a great degree.

Let’s start with the frustration.

Whomever first developed wall panel design software for CMs thumbed their nose at the founding fathers of the truss industry. Roof and floor trusses utilize smaller members than alternative stick-frame solutions and leverage specially-engineered connectors that are applied in quality-controlled manufacturing environments. The result is a solution that is easier to install that doesn’t require technical/engineering decisions to be made on the fly in the field. It’s a win-win-win-win solution for everyone involved in the project. 

On the other hand, typical wall panels are designed, manufactured, and installed in a manner that is meant to exactly replicate existing field-frame methods. Where is the removal of wood fiber? Where is the triangulation or at least some semblance of engineering efficiency? What makes wall panels easier to install than site-built solutions? You might get better quality control from the wall panel, but you’re asking the installer to offer a discount for it. This seems like a difficult strategy to successfully advance the broader use of wall panels, and yet several CMs across the country have done just that. 

The big question on my mind is how do we make it easier for CMs to convert field-framed walls to panels? The simple answer is to add value. When you think of the various functions of a wall, manufactured solutions align well for efficiently providing value. For example, walls can be prepped and drilled for electrical, plumbing, and HVAC lines and connections. Advanced sheathing materials and specialized studs are emerging building science measures that are best applied in a manufactured environment to meet upcoming energy code changes. 

From my vantage point, the most successful wall panel manufacturers today are those who engage framers in the process and look to serve their needs as they design and manufacture the panel, as well as organize the panels on the trailer for efficient delivery and installation. Each framer I speak with has very specific opinions on how to coordinate panels, whether it’s a multifamily, residential, or commercial project. Why wouldn’t you engage your local framers, specifically those who intend to install your product, to understand how to best meet their needs? 

Longer term, wall panels provide a tremendous opportunity for CMs to provide the ultimate structural solution. Not only do panels allow CMs to better provide the most efficient load path solutions, but they can also look to provide even greater value through “closed” panels, adding cutting-edge insulating solutions, integrated mechanical systems, and moisture management systems with the benefits of factory built, quality control supervised manufacturing techniques. CMs have the potential to provide all of the benefits of the most sophisticated and advanced modular solutions while maintaining all of the design flexibility currently enjoyed by design professionals. 

This is what excites me and has me bullish for the long-term future of CMs and SBCA. But it all starts with a a proactive step, typically a conversation with those who utilize your products, and seeking to better understand how you can add more value to the customer through your knowledge and expertise.

I remember when Kenny Cloyd, a large component manufacturer in Southern California who passed away a few years ago, used to come to SBCA OQMs and preach the benefits of adding more value to wall panels. He’d passionately argue that just replicating field-framing was not going to win anyone over. Instead, he argued CMs should use their manufacturing capabilities to do small things like pre-drilling studs for electrical wire runs. It would save considerable time in the field, and that would win people over.

Jess Lohse, Executive Director