About Us

For over 20 years, Lumber Buddy™ has been helping Building Materials Distribution Centers and Pro Dealer Lumber Yards work safer and work smarter. Our Lumber Buddy™ portable workstations are working smart in 50 states and all the Canadian Provinces.

Working Safer and Working Smarter has been our focus since we began in January of 2000. It continues to be the driving force in our company. Our focus is not only providing equipment but also on-site training and optimization consulting services. We offer multi-unit order discounts and also work with Associations to promote LEAN-Continuous Improvement and Safety Training to their membership. 2020 will mark the 20th Anniversary of our Lumber Buddy™ Portable Workstation. To mark this milestone, we will be introducing a few new products and services

WorkSafeWorkSmart.com will be promoting LEAN optimization to our industry. With increasing pricing pressure, we feel LEAN is an excellent way to maintain margins, by decreasing costs through the elimination of waste. Doing more with less is what LEAN is all about. As part of our LEAN optimization effort, we have re-engineered the Lumber Buddy™ portable workstation. Through that effort, we were able to reduce the footprint of the unit from 6'x8' to a 4'x8'. The new unit size makes it even more mobile and easier to use in tight locations. We kept the same 10,000 lb load limit and were able to add or improve many features.

We were able to decrease the weight of our adjustable Banding Channels by 50% while designing them to accept all common sizes of dunnage (2x4, 3x3, even 1-1/2" grooved dunnage). It will also work with most types of strapping up-to 1-1/2" wide.

Another improvement was making drop-in uprights standard on all units. The new Lumber Buddy™ has a modular design for adaptability and reduced shipping costs. The new unit features bolt on replaceable legs for both longevity and flexibility.

The final feature makes it the most flexible Lumber Buddy™ unit ever! Our new 7.5' Lumber Buddy™ mobile platform can be equipped with extendable wings, that extends the stacking platform to a 10', 12', or even 14' for use with composite products that are hard to handle because of deflection.

We are excited to be able to serve our customers even better with expanded products and services in the years to come. If you would like to learn more about how WorkSafeWorkSmart.com can help your company to grow profits through increased Safety, Efficiency, and Engagement.

Jeff Tweten

Lumber Buddy™ Co-Founder

It is said, “People change either out of aspiration or desperation.” Regardless of your motivation, if you need help making a change in your operation from personnel to yard optimization, we stand ready to help. After visiting over 1,900 Lumber Yards across North America and seeing the good, the bad and the ugly in terms of Safety and Efficiency, we have developed a passion to become an agent for positive change in our industry. Formulating and implementing a plan for change is often challenging. Finding an outside Change Agent can be that answer to that challenge.

We work with customers to define the changes needed in their operation and develop a plan for achievement. Training is a key component in making sure that the change delivers the desired results. We train your team members in Simple LEAN Principles that prepare them to better understand and embrace the needed changes. This training also gives team members the tools they need to continue to improve operations through LEAN thinking and methodology. During our on-site training, we will conduct an Efficiency and Safety evaluation to help ensure that we are taking full advantage of current equipment and personnel. LEAN is about eliminating waste! Wasted Time, Wasted Money, and Wasted Resources. These can all be reclaimed and repurposed, which will result in greater profits and much safer and more productive workplaces for your employees and customers.

We are on a Mission to help the BEST in our industry be even BETTER.

Contact Jeff Tweten at JeffT@WorkSafeWorkSmart.com for an initial free consultation.