Saturday Shifts and On-Time Trusses: Inside CAC Wall Panels Weekend Production Team

Most of the work that keeps a jobsite on schedule happens long before a truck pulls up. At CAC Wall Panels, some of it happens on Saturdays. Our weekend production crew recently came in to keep a run of floor trusses moving, and this post is a look at what that work involves and why it matters to the builders we supply.

What does a Saturday production shift do for a builder? A Saturday production shift adds capacity when a project's framing schedule is tight. At CAC Wall Panels in Harlan, Indiana, weekend crews build and stage components such as floor trusses so they ship on the date the builder planned around, which keeps framing crews working instead of waiting on material.

What the Crew Was Working On

The photos from this shift show floor trusses at different stages. Inside, the team lays out chords and web members on the assembly tables, where each piece fits into a set position before the steel connector plates are pressed in. Pieces are marked as they go, so a member labeled for its spot in the truss ends up exactly there.

Outside, finished trusses are stacked on the conveyor with the job name and floor sprayed on the end of the bundle. The bundle in the photo is marked for a third floor, which tells the framing crew on site where it goes without anyone having to sort through a stack.

How a Floor Truss Comes Together

A floor truss is an engineered framework of lumber held together by steel connector plates. Its open web design lets it span longer distances than solid joists and leaves room for plumbing, ductwork, and wiring to run through the floor system.

Each truss starts from an engineered design. The lumber is cut to length and angle, then laid into a jig on the assembly table so every member lands in the same place on every truss in the run. Once the pieces are set, connector plates are pressed into both faces of each joint. That consistency is what lets a crew set trusses quickly on site, since each truss in the bundle matches the one before it.

Why the Schedule Matters on Multi-Story Projects

On a multi-story building, framing moves floor by floor. Walls go up, the floor system goes down on top of them, and the next level of walls follows. If the floor trusses for the third level are not on site when the second-floor walls are finished, the framing crew has nothing to set, and the delay carries through to every trade behind them.

Weekend shifts are one of the ways we keep that from happening. When production gets tight, adding hours on a Saturday lets us hold the delivery date a builder is counting on. Our team has been willing to cover those hours when a schedule needs it.

Built in Harlan, Labeled for the Jobsite

CAC Wall Panels bundles and stacks every delivery in the order it will be installed, and that habit starts on the production floor. The job and floor markings on the trusses in these photos follow the same approach we use for wall panels: the crew on site should be able to unload and build without guesswork.

CAC Wall Panels is a third-generation, family-owned manufacturer of wall panels, floor trusses, roof trusses, and stairs, with facilities in Harlan and Butler, Indiana. The people on the line are the reason those components arrive right.

To our Saturday production team, thank you for the extra hours and for the care you put into every run. Builders notice when material shows up on time and goes together the way it should, and that comes from your work.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does CAC Wall Panels run production on weekends? When a project schedule calls for it, yes. Our Saturday production team adds hours to keep components on track for their delivery dates.

What is a floor truss? A floor truss is a prefabricated framework of lumber members joined by steel connector plates and used to support a floor. Its open webs allow longer spans and leave room for mechanical runs.

How does CAC Wall Panels label trusses for delivery? Bundles are marked by job and by location, such as the floor they belong on, so site crews can install in sequence without sorting.

Where does CAC Wall Panels build its components? CAC Wall Panels builds at its facilities in Harlan and Butler, Indiana, and serves roughly a 250-mile radius, with larger projects possible up to about 1,000 miles.