Federal Way, Washington – Pacific Lumber Inspection Bureau (PLIB) has expanded its online grader training offerings with the launch of STUDS, a stand-alone course designed to help prospective graders, as well as sales and management personnel, learn to grade STUDS according to the National Grading Rule for Dimension Lumber (NGR). PLIB’s 6-unit STUDS course opens with an in depth overview of the NGR and the grade rules that differentiate STUDS from the other NGR grade classifications (Structural Light Framing, Light Framing, and Structural Joists & Planks). Units 1-4 describe in detail the most common characteristics used to define the STUD grade. Hundreds of close-up photographs and three dimensional images captured from in-mill scanners provide an ultra-realistic learning environment. A variety of learning activities teach users to recognize and accurately measure and assess each grade-defining characteristic. Progressively more difficult grading practice exercises are sprinkled throughout.