As a member of the Confederation of Timber Industries (CTI), the Trussed Rafter Association has participated in developing a market statement intended to calm fears about the current demand/supply and price imbalance of structural wood. The partner associations within the CTI do not believe the current situation is a ‘new normal’ that will continue into … Continue reading “Timber supply tension will ease given time, say major associations”

News that publication of the Building Safety Bill will delay the date for ending recognition of CE marked construction products in the UK is a bit of a dilemma for UK-based TRA members. As most construction product manufacturers in the UK almost exclusively supply to their national market, many TRA members have been keen to … Continue reading “Disappointment or relief about CE Marking recognition timetable?”

TRA members have always had key safety and quality information to hand, but they now have the opportunity to put it to good use. Dame Judith Hackitt’s ‘Building a Safer Future’ report in 2018 highlighted the need to record details of how a building was designed, built, and will be maintained. A so-called ‘Golden Thread’ … Continue reading “The Golden Thread for Trussed Rafters”

The new Building Safety Bill and National Regulator for Construction Products will ensure homes are built from safe materials. But how will this affect TRA members? Major developments in the wake of the Grenfell Tower tragedy are leading to big changes in the construction of many homes, In particular, provisions within the Building Safety Bill … Continue reading “Emphasis shift for building product safety”

Photo: Artist’s impression of the new CATT building at NMITE In 2008 the TRA formed its relationship with Edinburgh Napier University (ENU) to deliver training for design engineers and since 2014 the online course has seen more than 150 young people take part. Richard George is chair of the TRA training and apprentice committee and … Continue reading “TRA training on course for new development”

TRA members are being encouraged to use the Construction Talent Retention Scheme website to help them find new talent to address any skills shortages. The website enables people looking for new careers in construction-related businesses to upload their CVs and to showcase their skills and experience to employers throughout the UK. Supported by the Construction … Continue reading “Are you making use of the CTRS free recruitment service?”

Everyone is painfully aware of the skills shortages across the industry and recent figures from the CITB show that the UK construction industry needs to recruit 200,000 people if we are to keep up with demand. With the timber trades including carpentry, joinery, and timber engineering in the top five disciplines desperately needing new talent, … Continue reading “Careers campaign used to target job centre applicants”

A new briefing note for TRA members and their customers sets out the likely picture on softwood shortages and cost increases for 2021, and warns that “these increases are significant and look set to continue at unprecedented levels throughout Q2 and Q3 of 2021.” Many trussed rafter manufacturers and others in the timber engineering sector … Continue reading “New warning from TRA on softwood shortages and cost increases this year”

A new campaign to support the recruitment of new talent into the timber engineering industry has been launched by the TRA. The ‘Careers in Timber Engineering’ campaign promotes key roles in design and estimating, manufacturing, sales and management within businesses involved in trussed rafter roofs, metal web joists and related products. The TRA has created … Continue reading “New TRA campaign launches to promote careers in timber engineering”

“This month our Hundegger Turbo cut arrived on site. This saw is becoming widely known as the best saw of its generation for cutting truss and timber frame material. Fuelled by files from Mitek software, the speed and accuracy at which it cuts timber is second to none. This allows Roof Profiles to produce more … Continue reading ““Roof Profiles and Hundegger Turbo Driven technology is a perfect match””