Doleco’s ConnectedDeck System’s Integrated Platform Boosts Double-Decking Efficiency by 95 Percent, Offering Millions in Savings in Just One Year
ORLANDO, Fla. – (Trailer Technician) — Doleco USA, the nation’s fastest-growing manufacturer of lifting, sling and load-securing technologies, including the DoNova PowerLash Textile Lashing Chain, PowerLift Textile Chain Sling, LayerLok Double-Decking System and Level Deck Self-Leveling Decking Beam, today unveiled its new ConnectedDeck System, including a unique integrated platform. The patented ConnectedDeck merges two or three adjustable, self-leveling decking beams with a formed composite panel that creates an integrated cargo platform that is easily adjustable, stores at ceiling height and never has to be disassembled and reassembled. The product was presented to the industry for the first time during a press conference at the Technology Maintenance Council (TMC) 2023 Spring Meeting & Transportation Technology Exhibition in Orlando, Fla.
Exponential Efficiency, Convenience and Savings
Doleco’s new ConnectedDeck System is based on the design of its award-winning Level Deck Self-Leveling Decking Beam and LayerLok XP Track. Fitted with its ultralightweight, composite decking platform, the revolutionary ConnectedDeck design enables workers to swiftly and effortlessly deploy and adjust an entirely decked, ready-to-load, two- or three-beamed cargo platform within seconds.
Locked at ceiling height when not in use, the whole unitized platform can be released with a common dock hook or fifth-wheel pin puller. No system-specific tool is needed, eliminating the problem of missing or misplaced beam release tools. After just one side of the ConnectedDeck is unlocked with a single pull, the entire spring-assisted, self-leveling platform is freed and can easily be manipulated by hand, moved to its desired height and locked into position.
“Conservative calculations suggest that all things being equal, a fleet with 1,000 trailers will save $15.8 million per year by simply converting to Doleco’s ConnectedDeck System,” said Ralph Abato, president and managing director of Doleco USA. “Time is a critical factor for LTL carriers in particular, so bad weather, freight volume fluctuations and manpower variations can mean trouble. Time savings of this magnitude can make a fleet more resilient to those other variables, and since the majority of LTL fleets already use some form of captive decking system, the cost of such a system is already baked into their economic cake.”
A Breakthrough in Process Improvement
Double-decking systems have helped fleets increase the cargo density of their trailers for years. However, a survey of real-world trailer environments, coupled with time studies of conditions, usage and operational efficiency, based on Lean Six Sigma protocols, statistically demonstrate that there was significant room for systemic and procedural improvements and that even minor beam and track damage can cause major problems. The ConnectedDeck System’s integrated platform operating on the patented LayerLok XP Track addressed each issue.
By consolidating three lightweight spring-assisted beams with an engineered composite panel, an unloaded ConnectedDeck can be positioned by hand in 13 seconds. The entire unit requires less than 10 pounds of force to pull down and can lift itself, unassisted, back to its ceiling storage position. Unlike other captive decking systems, its beams won’t inadvertently fall.
“No longer will dock workers have to search for special release tools, spend time adjusting single beams one side at a time, or have to exit the trailer multiple times to retrieve heavy sheets of plywood or other decking material,” said Steve Downing, product manager of Deck Systems for Doleco USA. “ConnectedDeck is easier, faster and 95 percent more time effective than any other decking system. By creating an easy-to-access, easily manipulated, complete cargo platform, the ConnectedDeck System eliminates the time-wasting steps associated with earlier captive decking solutions — this is truly a transformative technological advancement.”
Common track and beam damage also figured into the equation of Doleco’s captive decking system analysis, and the ConnectedDeck solution addressed these too. The system’s Level Deck beams and robust foot assemblies can withstand all but the most severe forklift strikes, and its locking mechanism is designed to prevent upward adjustments by forklifts. The system’s LayerLok XP track can be traditionally installed with rivets or with an adhesive.
Doleco’s Adhesive Advantage
Because other captive decking systems rely exclusively on rivets to secure their vertical tracks to trailer walls, they begin with an inherent weakness. The regular up-and-down movement of beams, the mechanical action of trailers in motion and even minor encounters with a forklift will cause rivet holes to deform, tracks to misalign and often to detach from trailer walls, causing beams to chafe or completely jam.
Doleco’s LayerLok XP can be installed with structural-grade adhesives. Used widely in trailer body construction, among other heavy-duty industries, and for track applications in Europe for more than 15 years, these advanced adhesives provide Doleco’s tracks with three times the strength of riveted tracks, without penetrating and compromising trailer walls.
“This is nothing short of a revolutionary advancement in captive decking systems,” said Abato. “It doesn’t rely on electronics, it’s actually simpler to install than competing systems, and it’s going to save a lot of fleets time and money, reducing their turnover by helping to keep dock workers safer, happier and healthier — and by making a hard job considerably easier.”
Doleco USA products are available in the U.S., Canada and Mexico through the company’s Master Distributor network, which includes over 6,000 distribution points. For information on sales and distribution of Doleco USA products, call +1 (203) 440-1940 or email [email protected].
About Doleco USA
Incorporated in 2013, Doleco USA is the fastest-growing cargo securement, optimization and protection supplier in the United States. Doleco USA’s success has come from offering a full line of quality products through its proven distribution channel of more than 6,000 distribution points. Doleco is a subsidiary of Dolezych GmbH & Co. KG. Founded in 1935 in Dortmund, Germany, Dolezych is a leading manufacturer and supplier of lifting equipment, slings, ropes and load-securing technologies, including the DoNova PowerLash Textile Lashing Chain and PowerLift textile Chain Slings. Dolezych offers secure and reliable solutions for the lifting and transportation of goods — whether it’s on-site in production plants, on construction sites or by transportation via road, rail, sea or air cargo. In addition to Doleco USA, Dolezych also has operations in Poland, China, Chile, Ukraine, Russia and Turkey, with more than 650 employees worldwide. Learn more at http://www.doleco- usa.com.
Doleco, DoNova, PowerLash and PowerLift are registered trademarks of Dolezych GmbH & Co. KG.
ConnectedDeck is a trademark of Dolezych GmbH & Co. KG.
Level Deck is a trademark of Steve Downing. LayerLok is a trademark of Cargo Control Company.