The PEGG
June, 2000
Home |
Past PEGGs | Ad Rates |
Back to June Index | Contact
Western Wood Truss Association
Adopts Code of Standard Practice
Responding to needs of the specifying community, members of the Western Wood Truss Association of Alberta (WWTA) voted with a two-thirds majority to accept a Code of Standard Practice for wood truss manufacturers. The full text of the Code is now posted on the WWTA website: westernwoodtrussab.com. Thirty-two out of a possible 36 truss manufacturing plants in Alberta are members of the association. The member companies produce well over 90 per cent of trusses used in the province.
The purpose of the Code of Standard Practice is to ensure that all WWTA members adhere to the highest standards in the industry. It also clarifies the relationships and responsibilities between the truss fabricator, specifying community and installation contractors. The code covers all facets of the truss development process from design to proper installation. The manufacturers have endeavoured to define the tasks that are under their control, such as component design, manufacturing, marking, documentation and delivery. They also provide a positive influence on the tasks of others that includes product specification and installation.
The industry has agreed to strict quality control guidelines leading to plant certification. The certificate will be re-issued yearly subject to an on-going audit and the list of certified plants will be posted on the Internet. Implementation of the code will lead to increased involvement of truss design professional engineers in the production plants.
The specifiers can be assured of quality controlled structural wood trusses by specifying that trusses are manufactured by a plant certified under WWTA program, keeping in mind that it will take about six months to certify all participating plants. The association encourages the consultants to use the industry generic specification that can be downloaded from the WWTA website.
The code requires that certified manufacturers adhere to industry best practices relating to the design, fabrication and erection of wood trusses. These practices will be kept current to reflect evolving technological advances in the industry.