MiTek Australia organised a series of Fabricator Forums throughout 2015, wrapping up the year in style with a cluster of three events in eight days during November in Queensland, the ACT and Victoria.

Queensland was the first stop with the Fabricator Forum taking place at The Pavilion Conference Centre, Alan Border Field in Albion. MiTek Queensland State Manager Wayne Hondow said the event had an excellent turnout with 60 guests plus staff in attendance.

All State Managers were in attendance, with the event providing an excellent platform for customers and staff across the country to exchange ideas.

The Queensland leg of the Fabricator Forum series listed OptiFlow Scheduler, Truss Plant Analysis and SAPPHIRE as key topics for discussion.

A highlight of the day was a presentation by Richard Moulton, National Software Support Manager and Darren Campbell from The Truss & Frame Factory in Bathurst. Having used SAPPHIRE Management to run his business for the past six months, Darren shared all his operational details with the group. Two other plants using SAPPHIRE, Redland Bay Roof Trusses and Northside Frame & Truss were also present to share their experiences. Both were using SAPPHIRE for Walls and Floors, so guests could see the program from yet another perspective.

The ACT Fabricator Forum at the Best Western Garden City saw a smaller, yet equally enthusiastic group of ACT and Southern NSW fabricators in attendance. The content of the presentations was similar to the Queensland forum but tailored to the local market. MiTek NSW State Manager Tim Rossiter explained that they wanted to revisit SAPPHIRE by elaborating on the experiences of both Redland Bay and Northside. He added that the presentations covered in detail, real jobs that were done with SAPPHIRE, and were very educative for the audience.

The last of the three conferences at the Moonee Valley Racecourse in Victoria had an audience of more than 50 fabricators and their staff. SAPPHIRE Management, floor truss detailing and design, and wall frame detailing with SAPPHIRE Structure, an update of the progress of roof truss design with SAPPHIRE Structure, and an introduction to MiTek Business Performance Analysis (BPA) were some of the items up for discussion.

MiTek Victoria State Manager Mark Smiles explained that they opted for a longer agenda this time instead of the usual shorter conference format since there was a lot of interest in SAPPHIRE.

Andrew Bricknell opened the proceedings with a brief overview on the state of the Victorian market as well as the opportunities and challenges that lay ahead. He assured all participants of MiTek’s continuing support and commitment to helping fabricators in 2016 and beyond.

Andrew Scane made a presentation on MiTek Business Performance Analysis (BPA) followed by Richard Moulton and the very experienced, Jamie McCulloch going through floor truss design and wall frame detailing with SAPPHIRE Structure.

Andrew and Richard then spent two hours covering SAPPHIRE Management, giving examples of workflow, set-up and general operation. Richard followed with a ‘live’ demonstration, based on actual plant experiences and data feedback, while explaining in detail, the features and benefits of SAPPHIRE.

MiTek Australia has planned for more conferences in 2016 with the rollout of new SAPPHIRE features.