Is it really possible to transport 14 pilot locker rooms in one truck already filled with cars and technical equipment?

For the driver, the experience of the race is not only lived on the track.

Even the paddock is a unique moment that the gentleman driver with a passion for the most prestigious supercars wants to live to the fullest.

But if you are a team manager and your job is to offer a first-class service to your drivers, you know that the paddock is not all roses and flowers.

In fact.

• the pre-race moments are very hectic...
• the space available in the pit or in the truck is always limited... 
• the driver is forced to change in improvised spaces...
• privacy and hygiene for his personal belongings is always reduced to the bare minimum...

...and all this causes the driver a lot of discomfort, which sometimes results in nervousness added to the competitive tension.

For this reason the Kessel Racing Team was looking for a solution with which to offer a unique and exclusive service to the pilot: 

However, this locker room, in addition to being easily transportable, had to have minimal impact on the logistics of a truck where space to fit new trunks was virtually non-existent.

In this case study, I'll reveal the ingenious Race Case solution created for Team Kessel.

A real logistical challenge successfully won, which allowed the Team to increase driver satisfaction without upsetting anything in the logistical management of the truck.

Until then, Team Kessel drivers changed inside the truck's body, in the same space used as a workshop for transporting cars and goods.

As is the case with most teams, the drivers' equipment was stored inside plastic crates.

The crates were easy to transport, stacked on top of each other. But in addition to involving a lot of sorting by team workers, they made storing race gear messy and unsanitary.

Imagine a driver wearing a white racing suit: in his haste to take the suit out of the crate resting on the floor, the suit touches the ground and becomes inexorably stained.

The locker had to be designed to store the equipment neatly and cleanly.

Team Kessel approached us after noticing at a trade show a prototype pilot locker room already made for a team of 2 pilots.

It was a rather large locker room.

Inside, the driver could store

• shoes 
• gloves 
• helmet 
• technical underwear

He could even lay out his suit after the race to dry it!

The pilot had requested this locker room because he personally experienced the discomfort of seeing his suit dirty before the race.

So he wanted a space where he could keep his belongings safe from the hustle and bustle of the pit or the truck.  

The locker room solution was exactly what Kessel's team manager was looking for.

However, there was an initial logistical problem to be addressed: 

The trunk needed to be more compact, shaped to the millimeter.

That's why we kept the dimensions to a minimum. We shaped the pieces perfectly to the measurements of the helmet and material normally used by a pilot.

The final trunk measured 50 cm x 50 cm, with a height of 1 meter.

It was a compact trunk, easily transportable and placed in any environment thanks to the wheels.

All the custom compartments gave the pilot's equipment order and cleanliness.

In addition, despite its minimal size, the trunk was equipped with:

1. integrated system for charging tablets and cell phones. The pilot could store his phone in a private space and charge it at the same time;
2. an integrated system for drying the helmet, the first ever integrated helmet drying system in the locker room. The rider could store the helmet in the housing inside the top box, and simultaneously dry it thanks to the integrated fan;
3. series power supply system, so that only one socket could be used to power several changing rooms and reduce cable clutter.

But now that the minimum dimensions had been found, a second logistical problem presented itself: how to transport as many as 14 of these changing trunks inside the truck.

Team Kessel's problem, common to all teams, was a truck that was always overflowing with material.

Cars, equipment for engineers and various team materials: was it really possible to find the necessary space for the changing rooms of all 14 drivers?  

But the idea that solved this logistical problem once and for all came from the racing world.

Try to think of the typical truck used by a team.

Inside the 2 walls of the truck there are the two shelves where the cars run, which in practice are mounted "on a bridge".

So we began the study phase for the docking system between the trunks.

It had to be a coupling with a high mechanical resistance, because in fact the trunks in the middle were suspended in the void.

At the same time, the trunks had to be quick to release and unload.

The logistic innovation of joining one trunk with the other, and the realization of the whole docking system was successful.

With this system, the team was able to load as many as 5 locker rooms across the width of the truck.

In practice, the first locker room is close to the left wall, the last one close to the right wall and the lockers in the middle were mounted on the bridge.

Now the space saved compared to loading the locker rooms into the interior compartment of the truck is really a lot.

The service that Team Kessel is able to provide to the driver is truly top-notch - and all with minimal impact on truck space.

Let me summarize the 4 advantages of the driver's locker room with bridge coupling system for Team Kessel:

1. drivers satisfied with the service provided by the Team. They are amazed by the additional service offered by the Team, and live the paddock experience with greater serenity and less nervousness.
2. The Team always manages to transport all 14 locker rooms, so that the driver is always guaranteed the same locker room. The pilot can customize it according to his aesthetic taste with the sponsors' stickers. He feels even more a part of the team, and this increases the loyalty of the pilot who will be happy to repeat the experience the following year.  
3. The locker rooms can be quickly unhooked, to bring them inside the pits of the circuit or inside the truck if you use the truck.
4. By being able to transport all 14 at all times, the team does not have to waste time in selecting the changing rooms for the drivers who will take to the track.

The Race Case solution created for Team Kessel demonstrates that in the world of gentleman driver racing, the standards of service are getting higher and higher.

Teams can no longer limit themselves to just technical management.

Even the level of service and care for the needs of the drivers must be equal to the prestige of the cars and the competence of the engineers. Something like a locker room can make a huge difference in the service offered to the driver.

And if the impact on logistics of a small trunk is as small as it is in Team Kessel's case, it's really worth thinking about how to improve your drivers' experience by making them even more satisfied to take to the track in your insignia.