![Ijmond_Cargo-MAXX_STEELFIX_2_01[1].jpg](http://www.roadtransport.com/blogs/big-lorry-blog/Ijmond_Cargo-MAXX_STEELFIX_2_01%5B1%5D.jpg)
I've been racking my brains (what little of them I have left) trying to work out who recently commented on Biglorryblog that the Germans were red-hot on load security and really went about it the right way...it might have been 'The Boss'. Anyroadup, with that in mind I was struck by this recent news release from the German trailer maker Kögel whose STEELFIX load securing system for operators hauling reinforced steel mats for concrete has become one of the first certified securing system for carrying constructional steel which is now required in Germany.
Kögel's STEELFIX "System Solution" was launched at last year's IAA 2008, and is one of only three recognised securing methods for concrete steel mats. And in case you're wondering all this arises out of the recently published new loading recommendation from the German Haulage, Logistics and Waste Disposal Federation (BGL). The load securing tests (which were instigated by the Osnabrück steel haulage firm Siegfried Serrahn and conducted by TÜV Nord in co-operation with the BGL, the German truck operator trade association (BGF), the Federal Office for Road Haulage (BAG), representatives from the police, the Institute for Steel Concrete Reinforcement (ISB), Kögel and a manufacturer of load securing devices) concluded that the STEELFIX load securing system is particularly suitable for securing concrete steel matting in accordance with the load securing guideline, VDI 2700.
Kögel's "variable stanchion system" see here on BLB is also the only method that makes use of "form-fit locking". And the advantage is? Well only a few manual operations are necessary for correctly securing the load, which can be completed in compliance with the new standard in around 30 minutes---more than twice as fast as conventional securing with lashing straps. "But that's not all", says Kögel: "The stanchion technology used enables the transportation of loads that are not only 30cm wider, but also up to 30cm higher than those in the other securing solutions recommended in the guideline---and with an extra tonne of payload. The police and the BAG will in future refer to the new BGL loading recommendation as the basis for their checks on concrete steel mat transporters...." So the message is, in the unlikely event of hauling steel concrete mats into
Kögel's STEELFIX system consists of four-to-six bearing supports which are mounted transversely across the trailer platform and are bolted to the standard VARIOFIX outer frame. Each outer end is fitted with a stanchion pocket as well as four lashing rings, each rated at four tonnes tensile load. The bearing supports can be pulled out to the side, so that the stanchion pockets for all the insert stakes can be adjusted to unobstructed widths between 2.00 metres and 3.30 metres.
As a result, a flatbed semitrailer equipped with STEELFIX not only allows the transport of all current sizes of concrete steel matting. It also allows pipes, finished concrete parts or steel plates to be optimally secured using the innovative stanchion system. The corresponding certificate from TÜV Nord also covers machine components, metal parts and timber. In addition to the movable stanchions, the securing system also features stanchion pockets in the neck section and in the centre of the vehicle for securing to the front, as well as lateral wire rope winches, suitable wire ropes and the corresponding heavy duty straps.
To secure in accordance with the standard, all that is required apart from the front and side stanchions are two 16 mm wire ropes braced diagonally at the rear and three tie-down lashings per steel mat package, with wire ropes or straps.In addition to the significant improvement in safety, which has been tested by TÜV Nord, compared to the previously customary tie-down lashings with ratchet straps, Kögel says its STEELFIX System Solution "....also provides a significant time saving when loading and faster completion of shipping checks. Kögel supplies MAXX brand platform trailers that are fitted with the optional STEELFIX system with a load securing certificate for transporting concrete steel matting in accordance with VDI 2700 as standard. As a result, Kögel is one of the first manufacturers to offer a vehicle certified ex-works for transporting concrete steel matting. Furthermore, Kögel will on request provide STEELFIX trailers with a nation-wide certificate of exemption in accordance with § 70 of the road traffic approval regulations for transporting extra wide loads within Germany, which the purchaser must have retyped in his own name. Kögel will also shortly be offering a version of STEELFIX for retrofitting."
It may be my name you can't recall Brian, I certainly commented some months back about the German Transport Information Service which publishes a monthly "What went wrong/what's going to go wrong" comment on its website. Link below to this month's piece displaying a very wry-humoured style.
http://www.tis-gdv.de/tis_e/foto/2009/2009_03.htm