2026 Education Sessions - BCMC 2026. Online registration by Cvent

Session: Regulations, Compliance, and OSHA Reality
Room: C150s
Regulatory compliance can be complex and intimidating. This session provides an overview of recent OSHA updates, current compliance expectations, how OSHA inspections are conducted, and what manufacturers can do to prepare for regulatory walkthroughs. Learn practical approaches to maintaining compliance, strengthening safety programs, and reducing regulatory risk.

Session: Reducing Burnout Without Reducing Standards
Speakers: Zachary Hubbs, Paragon
Room: C160s
Burnout often becomes visible only after engagement drops, mistakes increase, or a valued employee leaves. This session helps component manufacturing leaders understand the true causes of burnout and the role leadership plays in preventing it. Attendees will leave with practical strategies for improving resilience, retention, and long-term team performance without lowering standards.

Session: Using AI to Improve Production Decisions: Practical Approaches for Analyzing and Optimizing Plant Operations
Speakers: Dan Troesser, Simpson Strong-Tie, Jill Meems, Simpson Strong-Tie
Room: C170s
Discover how AI can help you make faster, smarter decisions to improve plant productivity with no technical background required. See how to evaluate material flow, batching, and scheduling using your own data. Identify bottlenecks, compare options, and uncover tradeoffs with confidence. Walk away with practical ideas you can apply immediately using commonly available AI tools.

Session: Building a Workplace That Wins Talent
Speakers: Shawnee Roy, Trussworks Operations, Chad Johnson, Truss Company of Washington, Rachel Hoops, Alpine, Josh Hendrickson, Wilson Lumber Company
Room: C150s
Labor shortages remain one of the most pressing challenges in the industry, but attracting talent is only half the battle. Long-term success depends on creating a workplace where employees feel valued, supported, and motivated to stay. This session explores practical strategies for recruiting, training, and retaining skilled workers—while building a culture that drives engagement and loyalty.

Session: AI Agents: Where to Apply Them Across Your Project Lifecycle, From Bid to Delivery
Speakers: Craig Mooney, AutoBuild Solutions
Room: C160s
Most component manufacturing leaders struggle to know where to start and how to apply AI across their project lifecycle. Meanwhile, the same problems continue to show up on every job: miscommunication between sales and design, revisions that don't make it to production, and follow-ups that fall through the cracks. Following one real project from bid intake through delivery, you'll learn where AI agents can safely monitor, decide, and act automatically within the systems and workflows your team already uses. By the end of the session, you'll design your first agent using a simple one-page framework. You'll leave with a practical roadmap for applying AI in your business and a clear first step that moves your team from constant "Reaction Mode" to real Control.

Session: The Data Behind the Demand
Speakers: Ed Hudson, Home Innovation Research Labs
Room: C170s
Market cycles shape nearly every decision component manufacturers make. This session explores builder sentiment and other economic indicators that highlight impacts to component manufacturing over the next 18–24 months.

Session: Operational Efficiency on the Plant Floor
Speakers: Connor Laughlin, Builders FirstSource, Scott Schulte, Builders FirstSource
Room: C150s
Small operational improvements can create major productivity gains. This session highlights real-world practices used by component manufacturers to streamline production processes and reduce bottlenecks.

Session: Navigating Building Code's Reference Standards: Key Changes, Impacts, and Essential Updates Every CM Should Know
Speakers: Dave Rothweiler, P.E., Alpine, Bill Krick, P.E., Alpine
Room: C160s
Confidently adapt to evolving building codes and newly referenced standards. Attendees will gain insight into critical updates across ASCE/SEI, ANSI/TPI, and other safety criteria, including changes to wind, tornado, and snow load provisions as well as material and design requirements. These updates carry significant implications for component design, manufacturing practices, and detailing. The session is tailored for truss designers, engineers, managers, and architects, to translate complex code language into practical guidance that supports compliance, structural performance, and effective risk management.

Session: AI Meets Component Manufacturing
Speakers: Dr. Sidd Goyal, MiTek, Noah Daniels, Simpson Strong-Tie, John Holland, Paragon, Matt Blue, Alpine
Room: C170s
AI is rapidly transforming industries across the globe, and its impact on component manufacturing is beginning to take shape. This session explores the adoption of AI, ROIs, and the way AI influences decisions, efficiencies, and demands across design, production, and operations.

Session: Mass Timber Stair, Elevator Cores, and Firewalls: Modern & Cost-Effective Alternatives to CMU & Other Fire Assemblies
Speakers: Dave Johnson, Lam-Wood Systems
Room: C150s
Think mass timber panels are only for entirely mass-timber buildings? Think again. While familiar to most commercial framing professionals, using mass timber as a high-performance alternative to CMU and traditional fire assemblies in shafts and firewalls is a game-changer that many have yet to explore. Join our presentation to discover the unique advantages of this application. We’ll break down available product options, installation strategies, and vital technical considerations, while showing you exactly how these products can elevate your project's sustainability goals.

Session: Digital Tools That Drive Performance
Speakers:Greg Dahlstrom, US LBM, Jason Hikel, Shelter Systems Limited
Room: C160s
Digital solutions are increasingly used to manage inventory, improve quality control, and streamline communication. This session explores emerging technologies and the measurable benefits they can bring.

Session: Successful Succession Planning
Speakers: Michael Leytem, Catching Leadership
Room: C170s
All companies face leadership transitions. Whether you’re at the end of your career or just starting out, positioning yourself to take the next step is one to carefully prepare for. This session explores succession planning strategies that help businesses thrive through generational change.

Session: Adding Value with Incomplete Plans
Speakers: Chris Breedlove, Ace Carpentry, Jacob Knott, Ace Carpentry, Ryan Hikel, Shelter Systems Limited, Tony Acampa, Shelter Systems Limited
Room: C150s
Incomplete or evolving plan documents are a common reality in today’s construction environment. These situations create an opportunity for component manufacturers and design professionals to step in as problem-solvers. This session explores how to navigate gaps in information, communicate effectively with project partners, and add value through proactive design insight and collaboration.

Session: There Has to be a Way - Building Layout, Robotic Technology, and the Future of the Framing Trade
Speakers: Arnel Onchuck, Botmark, Dean Onchuck, Botmark
Room: C160s
In 2013, as a father asking my son if there was any hope the next generation would want to enter this trade, I knew there had to be a way — for the skilled people this work was wearing thin, and for the next generation with no clear path in. Together we built a framework from decades on the job site and 13 years of development — one that tests any robotic system against simplifying what you face every day and shows where technology excels and where human reasoning has value. Join us to walk through that framework yourself, and leave knowing exactly how this technology must be considered as a partner in resolving both ends of our labor demands.

Session: Building Value with Builders
Speakers: Brett Welch, Meritage Homes, Sean Shields, SBCA
Room: C170s
National and regional builders increasingly expect more from component manufacturers than product delivery. This session explores what builders and developers really value in today’s market, and how component manufacturers can position themselves as indispensable partners.

Session: Succession Planning in Action: A Practical Workshop
Speakers: Michael Leytem, Catching Leadership
Room: Show Floor
Succession planning doesn’t end with strategy - it requires practical steps, honest evaluation, and intentional development. In this interactive mini workshop, Michael Leytem will guide participants through applying succession concepts to real-world scenarios, helping you identify gaps, clarify next steps, and build a more actionable path forward. Whether or not you attended Michael’s main session, this workshop stands on its own as a hands-on opportunity to strengthen your approach to leadership transitions.

Session: Critical Updates to the 2024 I-Codes All Component Manufacturers Need to Understand
Speakers: Greg Greenlee, P.E, SBCA, Zach Shepherd, Engineered Building Design
Room: Show Floor
As more jurisdictions transition to the 2024 versions of the IBC and IRC, component manufacturers are challenged with understanding some of the new code provisions and code changes. This session takes a focused look at the ASCE 7-22 snow load provisions, along with new ANSI/TPI 1 requirements for person loading and multi-ply girder loading. The presenters will break down the requirements of each of these new provisions and explain how they can successfully be incorporated into the truss design.