MiTek University Surpasses 3,500 Online Training Students

MiTek University Offers 78 Courses for Structural Modeling Truss and Panel
Design, Available 24/7/365 in a Self-Paced, Web-Based System

MiTek a leading manufacturer of code-approved structural connectors,

developer of software tools for structural design and product selection, and
distributor of anchors, epoxy, tools, and safety equipment, today announced
that it has seen dramatic adoption rates for MiTek University, the Company’s
online training and certificate system for truss and wall panel designers.
Enrolled student numbers have far surpassed early projections, jumping
267% in just one year. Today, more than 3,500 users have accessed MiTek
University’s online training system, which is focused on teaching efficient use
of all of MiTek’s software systems, including its award-winning SAPPHIRE™
Suite.

MiTek University’s education content is presented in a self-paced format,

available 24/7/365. (MiTek University is available in the U.S., Canada,
Australia, and South Africa.) Within the MiTek University online system, a
number of course modules are set up for mandatory sequenced study, after
which MiTek offers a Certificate of Completion. (Certificates of Completion
are offered to complying students in Component Design 101: Floor Only,
Roof Only, and Roof and Floor.) Other courses are available even for
students who are not seeking Certificates of Completion. You must be a
MiTek customer to access MiTek University. MiTek software is not required
for each student, but training is truly optimized when software is used to
follow along with the online exercises.
There are 78 courses in all (categorized by the software the student is using
in their design work), and if recent jumps in attendance are any indication,
MiTek University’s online content has garnered an increasingly large
following. In one recent month, student count leapt from 401 students to
639. (Student activity increased 267% from the same month in 2013.)
Many new students are accessing MiTek University to view brand new
content, which is being added on an ongoing basis. Recent course additions
include new features for SAPPHIRE™ Structure and MiTek® Truss Engineering
software.

“MiTek University is an essential part of our onboarding process when hiring

new designers in training or bringing on experienced designers without
Sapphire experience,” said Patrick Coulter, Director of Component Design,
with ProBuild. “The new individual can focus on learning SAPPHIRE at their
own pace, and we don’t have to allocate valuable design resources to
support that training. This assures us that the training is done in a short
amount of time and there are no gaps in their knowledge. Bottom line, the
overall training timeline is compressed and our new designers are ready
much sooner and have a more complete understanding than would have
without the MiTek University resource.”
 MiTek Releases “SAPPHIRE™ Mobile Viewer” for Windows, a
Collaboration Tool for Designing, Building, and Inspecting
Wood Frame Structures

With This Free Download, “SAPPHIRE Mobile Viewer” for Windows

Users Can Access 3D SAPPHIRE BIM Models and View Them on Tablets
or Phones

MiTek Industries announced the release of SAPPHIRE Mobile Viewer.

With SAPPHIRE Mobile Viewer for Windows, users can receive links to
3D SAPPHIRE architectural BIM models via email, and view them on
Windows 8.1 tablets, PCs, or Windows Phones.

With this free Windows Store

download from MiTek, link,
SAPPHIRE Mobile Viewer
users can control what
structural features they see
with “visibility switches.”
They can also fly through the
SAPPHIRE Mobile Viewer users can
BIM model, or use a turn on or off the visibility for all
object types.
placement tool to choose
which rooms to view and compare as-built field framing to the 3D BIM
model to detect discrepancies. SAPPHIRE Mobile Viewer users can
easily take a picture and email a visual comparison of the model to
actual field-framed conditions.

Using SAPPHIRE Mobile Viewer as a collaboration tool, users can also

quickly find and navigate to selected areas of the BIM model with
“bookmarked views,” placed in the BIM by component manufacturers
or other allied trades for quick, effective communication of issues and
solutions. For a full list of SAPPHIRE Mobile Viewer features, visit this
link.

“Up-front collaboration is the key to profitability when designing

framing using trusses and prefabricated wall components. SAPPHIRE
Mobile Viewer enables great collaboration across the various trades
with enormous ease,” said Dick Marriott, Group President of MiTek
North America. “The real-world benefits of accurate estimating, great
cost control and high speed installation are being realized today as
builders bring this toolset into their home building process.”
 MiTek’s New Face-Mount Joist Hanger
Requires No Joist Nailing

THFI Hanger Features Seat Cleats® That Lock the Bottom Flange of
the I-joist to the Hanger, Eliminating the Need for Joist Nails

MiTek Builder Products, a division of MiTek Industries, announces the

release of a game-changing joist hanger. The new THFI hanger is a
“face-mount hanger” designed to attach I-joists to wood headers, and
it can accomplish the task while requiring no joist nails.

Entirely unique to other hanger options,

the THFI face-mount design combines the
installation ease of a “top-mount” hanger
with the installation flexibility of a “face-
mount” hanger. The THFI hanger features
strategically placed Seat Cleats that lock
the bottom flange of the I-joist to the
hanger, eliminating the need for joist
nails.

THFI’s seat cleats eliminate

The THFI’s side flanges extend to the top the need for joist nails.

chord of the I-joist, so web stiffeners are not required, saving material
costs. What’s more, alignment tabs simplify the proper vertical
alignment of the THFI, which has cleats to hold the hanger in place.
(If the alignment tabs are not needed or are in the way of larger joists,
the tabs can be easily bent out of the way at no loss of strength to the
THFI. “Speed prongs” allow temporary placement if alignment tabs
cannot be used.)
News of the new THFI comes on the heels of the launch of MiTek’s new
MiTek Builder Products division, which integrates a number of MiTek
businesses, building products, and
brands, including USP Structural
Connectors, the Z4 Tie-Down System,
and the Hardy Frame Shear Wall
System, as well as specifying and
collaboration software tools such as
SAPPHIRE Supply and SAPPHIRE
Viewer.

“Our USP brand has quickly become a

national leader in innovative hanger
design, and the THFI is just the latest
in a long line products that will save
contractors time and money,” said
Tom Manenti, Chairman and CEO of MiTek. ”The fact that we also offer
software tools for specifying and collaboration only makes the USP
product line more valuable.”