From Artificial Hearts to Steel Skeletons: Algorithmic Assurance in Cold-Formed Steel Housing

FrameUpNow’s innovation Algorithmic Automation System (FUN)—a deterministic, rule-driven design engine inspired directly by medical device rigor. Built on “350 pages of specifications and more than 6,000 lines of code”, FUN converts traditional wood-frame ADU plans into perfectly engineered cold-formed steel (CFS) skeletons. Unlike probabilistic AI, the FUN system does not guess; it executes pre-defined structural engineering rules, International Building Code (IBC) and California Residential Code (CRC) requirements, and manufacturing constraints with mathematical certainty.

The system outputs a complete document set: engineered drawings, a code compliance table, a bill of materials, and calculation booklets for vertical, lateral, and truss analysis.

Every skeleton undergoes four layers of assurance: algorithmic production, three independent audits, and a final full-scale first build to validate accuracy. Once confirmed, all subsequent frames ship with zero modifications required.

The advantages are profound. For jurisdictions, FrameUpNow’s PRADU (Permit-Ready ADU) library accelerates approvals. For contractors and developers, labeled and numbered skeletons reduce erection time, warranty claims, and material waste. **For communities**, steel frames provide resilience against fire, termites, mold, seismic events, and climate stressors.

This is not theoretical. The FUN system is already delivering permit-ready skeletons for disaster rebuilds in California, lifestyle farm blocks in Arizona, and build-to-rent communities across the Southwest. Just as SynCardia transformed medical device reliability, FrameUpNow is transforming housing skeleton reliability—one algorithm, one specification, and one audited frame at a time.

The heart of the matter is simple: whether sustaining a life or sustaining a community, perfection must be engineered, not improvised. By applying medical-grade discipline to residential CFS, FrameUpNow proves that the future of housing is not just stronger and faster—it is assured.

Learning Objectives

• Apply principles of algorithmic assurance—originally proven in medical device manufacturing—to the design and delivery of cold-formed steel (CFS) residential skeletons
• Understand how deterministic, rule-based automation (350 pages of specifications + 6,000 lines of code) ensures repeatability, compliance, and precision in ADU and PRADU design
• Evaluate the four-layer assurance workflow (algorithmic output, triple audits, first-build validation) and its role in guaranteeing quality at scale
• Identify real-world applications of FrameUpNow’s system in disaster rebuild zones, build-to-rent communities, and jurisdictional permit-ready housing programs.

Rodger Ford
FrameUpNow

Rodger Ford, CEO, FrameUpNow. Rodger Ford is a serial entrepreneur with a track record of leading high-stakes innovation where precision is non-negotiable. From 2004 to 2010, he served as CEO of SynCardia, “The Artificial Heart Company,” where he oversaw the development and manufacturing of the Total Artificial Heart. Under his leadership, SynCardia implemented rigorous specifications, algorithms, and audit systems to assure flawless performance in devices where human lives depended on perfection the first time, every time. Today, as CEO of FrameUpNow, Rodger applies those same principles to housing. FrameUpNow’s algorithmic automation system—built on 350 pages of specifications and 6,000 lines of code—converts traditional wood-frame plans into permit-ready cold-formed steel skeletons. His vision is to accelerate adoption of steel framing in residential construction by combining medical-grade quality assurance with scalable, rule-driven design. Rodger’s work advances resilience, affordability, and speed in the delivery of tomorrow’s housing.

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