Faster, safer, better framing

Multinail’s Automated Frame Line at AAA Advanced Trusses in Victoria

Installing a new Multinail frame line has lifted productivity and satisfaction at this truss plant – and at a cost that isn’t scary.
By Donyale Harrison

Central to the success of any frame and truss manufacturer is production levels. They’re vital to profits and the ability to expand. Anything that can reliably and economically increase production is an attractive prospect, which is what led Victoria’s AAA Advanced Trusses to investigate the new automated Multinail frame line.

“We’ve had a long relationship with Multinail,” says Andrew Clements, CEO at AAA. “For years we’ve been running three of their PieceMaker saws and we’ve always used their presses. As their machinery arm has developed, we’ve bought more from them and we were actually running one of their old frame lines from about 10 years ago, which has been great.

“But one of the things that has driven our relationship with the company is that they’re always innovating, so when they were telling us about the new automated frame line, we took a good look.”
That good look turned into a purchase order and at the time of this interview the new frame line had been up and running for about six weeks.

“We saw improvements straight away,” says Clements. “Wall frames are about 40-45% of our business and we’re now able to produce more, at higher quality and with less stress on our team members.

“At the moment, in an eight-hour shift, we’re getting 35-40% more out of those frame lines with the new machinery than we did with our old, and we have room to improve on those numbers when we hit our next peak production period. The quality was important to us, too, and we immediately saw an improvement in the reliability of high- quality frames because the automation removed a lot of the variability.”

On the production side, it’s a clear win, but what did it take to get there?

Left: This nocking station is where the noggins are cut to length and nailed to the studs.
Right: The unique curved conveyor allows the stud and noggins to travel to the auto framer.

STAFFING WINS

AAA Advanced Trusses began life in 1986 in Narre Warren East, with Andrew’s father Colin at the helm.

“He began with two employees, cutting trusses on pull-out saws,” says Clements. “Over the years we moved into frames, which were just nailed up on the floor in the early days, and then posi-struts. Now we’re on a five-hectare site in Dandenong South with 200 employees selling all these products plus all the posts and hardware builders need to complete their frames.”

Like every manufacturing business in Australia, AAA has faced challenges holding onto old staff members and recruiting new ones. “A lot of what we do has traditionally been pretty hard work,” Clements says.

“Framing has been a big part of our business and in the past, we’d be: ‘Guys, come and nail up frames,’ and to be honest, the response was usually ‘urgh’. The job got done, but no one was racing to do it. With this new automated line, framing is suddenly more attractive.”

Even in the short period of time since installation, the AAA team has felt the difference.

“At the moment, in an eight-hour shift, we’re getting 35-40% more out of those frame
lines with the new machinery than we did with our old.”

“There have been a lot of updates,” notes Clements. “The new automated frame line really takes the human element out of it, so the guns are set at the same angle and held at the same distance every time, which means you very rarely get a skewed nail and if you do, it’s because of a fault in the timber not because someone got tired and didn’t have the nail gun at the right angle.

“From the staff side, it’s all less labour- intensive. There’s a lot less bending down. They’re not having to use nail guns so their fingers aren’t hurting. There are a whole lot of small but stressful manual jobs that have been removed.”

Instead, there’s more engaging work making sure that the machine can get things right. “The operators are now doing things like looking out for upcoming bits of timber with knots or other problems and saying ‘Yeah, that’s going to be in a bad place’ and putting in new timber,” Clements says. “They can use their expertise to make judgement calls like that and the various jobs on the line have distinctions between being more or less physical.”

The installation of automation has also changed who Clements can have working on the frame line. “Some of our employees have been here a long time, so if I have an older employee with, say, a bit of a bad back, I can put them on different parts of that machine that are less labour intensive,” he says.

“There are jobs where they can literally just sit there all day and not have to lift, or be lifting one piece of timber at a time, rather than doing the more arduous work of nailing. So that also means I have more jobs that are suitable for smaller people and people with less upper body strength. And of course, from an OH&S point of view, it’s much safer.”

The safety improvements don’t just come from the automated frame line taking on many of the more physical roles. “The new machinery has infrared laser stops near the dangerous parts,” says Clements. “So, if someone leans in and puts their hand to a certain point, the machine will cut out. We all make mistakes, so it’s great to have a backup when people accidentally stick their fingers where they shouldn’t be sticking them.”

The training requirements are also lower for staff moving onto the machines compared to traditional models and the digital nature of the machinery also makes it more attractive to younger hires.

“Training someone up happens pretty quickly,” Clements says, “And because it’s all computerised, the machines work directly from the designs done in the office, which makes life easier for the guys on the floor; they don’t have to think too much and can get into a good flow of pushing out the metreage.”

Left: The auto framer, where the top and bottom plates are nailed to the stud and noggins, to create the wall frame.
Right: Computerised nocking station which is fast and simple to operate.

A GOOD FIT

As with any machinery addition, there were physical changes at AAA. “You need a bit of space in your plant,” says Clements. “There’s a fair bit happening with the conveyor belts and different components, including the nog nailer, and obviously you need somewhere to set down the wall frames at the end.

“But a thing I liked is that Multinail could modify the length of the wall framing unit to suit the space available and my needs, because they understand that every truss and frame plant is set up a bit differently.”

“You get good productivity out of it at a price point where most fabricators can afford it…
Ours is already paying for itself.”

One other key reason behind his decision to go with this particular option was that Multinail offered various levels of automation for the line. “They make other machinery that you can add on, like an automated stacking system that you can put at the end of the frame line,” Clements says. “We didn’t think we needed that at this time, as our processes mean our wall frame stacks aren’t too big for the team to lift onto trucks, but other truss plants swear by them because of the safety factors. Because we were able to buy just what we needed, it made the whole thing a much less risky financial decision.”

Especially in the current market, that lowering of risk has been deeply welcomed by Clements and the team at AAA. “For me, the best thing about this frame line is that, while it’s not fully automated – it’s not doing the whole frame including cutting and everything else – it still does a fantastic job,” he says. “You get good productivity out of it at a price point where most fabricators can afford it.

“And I think that there’s a real reassurance in that. We don’t know what’s around the corner. We’ve just gone through Covid and timber shortages, all these sorts things you can’t necessarily predict. That sort of uncertainty is scary, but it’s reassuring when you’re not outlaying that much money yet you’re still getting most of the improvements you’d get from a fully automated line. Ours is already paying for itself.”

The Multinail marque also played important roles in Clements’ decision. “It being Australian-owned and -based was a big part of that,” he says. “We’ve had some great European saws over the years that do a fantastic job, but the one time something goes wrong, which is always the worst time, you need to be on the phone at night talking with the engineer in Germany or Switzerland and then you might have to wait for parts.

“These guys are based outside of Brisbane and they’ve got a warehouse here, around the corner from us in Melbourne, which makes life a lot easier. I think that too often we take service needs for granted, but having that ready support makes a real difference.”

Last year, the company changed nailplate suppliers to Multinail, “So we don’t actually make posi-struts, they’re MultiStruts now,” Clements corrects his earlier comment.

“One of the things that drove that change was the relationship we had with Multinail, because we had such positive experiences with the machinery arm over a long period of time.

“We’ve had such positive experiences with the Multinail over a long period.”

“It’s not just that they’re always trying to come up with new ideas to help truss and frame manufacturers, it’s that they want our input. As they say, they can supply all the software and machinery, but they’re not truss manufacturers. They want to hear about our needs physically building the truss or the frame.”

Underpinning all these plusses has been the support provided by Multinail. “I can’t fault them,” says Clements. “They’ve always been great and if there was ever an issue on their side, they’ve never hidden away from anything, just put their hand up and sorted the problem out.

“If I ever had any cynical idea that this level of quick and thorough response was all to encourage us to change to them for nailplates, I reckon that since we’ve changed, they’ve gone up another level, which has been even more reassuring.”

Left: Finishing table, where any final components are installed, like bracing and fixings.
Right: Auto framing simplifies the process but can make both common and raked walls.

IMPACTS ON BUILDERS

AAA isn’t the only business that has benefitted from the new frame line. Its customers have also been noticing the difference.

“Most of our work is residential, with a bit of medium density around metro and regional Melbourne,” Clements says.

“At times when we’re up and really firing, we probably do around 80 to 90 house frames a week. Things are a bit quieter at the moment, but already our builder clients have certainly noticed the difference with the quality and the way we manufacture.

“It’s not just that we can get a frame out faster, it’s having a better-quality frame.

There’s less stuff they have to do on site. When their lock-up carpenters are coming through and buzzing walls, everything is more flush. They don’t have to worry about bowed studs or people putting studs in the wrong way or skewed nails hanging out. The next tradesmen down the line appreciate it as well.”

Thanks to the reliable increase in precision on the automated frame line, the already low levels of error at AAA have dropped again. “When we do have an issue, it’s usually a minor human error by the front office team rather than in the actual manufacturing, but now we’re getting more frames out with fewer mistakes, which has positive impacts all the way down the line from installation to certification,” says Clements.

“So our clients know that their orders will come out that bit faster and even better than the great frames we were already delivering.”

Clements is already looking ahead to the next boom periods. “With the new frame line, we can plan to do more,” he says. “It’s given us confidence to go and get more work, knowing that when we need to, we can turn it right up and get things happening quickly without endangering the quality.

“It’s really encouraged us to look at more automation, in fact, we’ve got something in the pipeline at the moment, but I’ll keep that under wraps for now. Stay tuned!”

PHOTOS: COURTESY AAA ADVANCED TRUSSES