About This Book

BCSI Guide to Good Practice: Overview

The BCSI (Building Component Safety Information) Guide to Good Practice serves as the structural truss industry's definitive reference for jobsite safety, handling, lifting, and the temporary and permanent bracing of metal plate connected wood trusses. Published by the Structural Building Components Association (SBCA), it provides detailed procedures designed to prevent catastrophic failures during erection.

Core Focus Areas

The guide spans ten technical chapters and summaries — including the BCSI B-Series — offering practical guidance for contractors, framers, and builders across four key areas:

• Safe Handling & Storage: Best practices for banding, lifting, and unloading truss bundles, as well as preventing physical damage or joint distortion on the jobsite.

• Erection & Installation: Step-by-step sequencing for setting initial reference trusses, maintaining plumb alignment, and securing bearing connections properly.

• Restraint & Bracing: Prescriptive instructions covering temporary lateral restraint, diagonal bracing, and permanent force-based reinforcement of webs and chords.

• Regulatory Compliance: Direct alignment with OSHA regulations, applicable building codes, and standards established by organizations such as ASCE and the IRC.