VALD ForceDecks

This integration guide is specifically for VALD's ForceDecks device. There are separate integration guides for connecting VALD’s NordBord and ForceFrame or DynaMo devices to Smartabase.

VALD’s ForceDecks dual force plate system is used to rapidly analyze neuromuscular outputs in health and performance settings. Using data collected with ForceDecks, analysts and medical staff can assess fatigue, injury risk and rehabilitation, in addition to monitoring force and power outputs over time.

Setting up your Smartabase site to integrate with ForceDecks

What we need from you

Not much! We’ll just need you to reach out to your VALD support contact and authorize Smartabase to access your ForceDecks data. Once you’ve confirmed you’d like to go ahead with the integration, one of us at Smartabase will set it up for you.

What Smartabase will do

Your Smartabase consultant will add the ForceDecks Trials event form (which will store your data) and ForceDecks profile form (used for account mapping) to your site. You can work with your Smartabase consultant to ensure the appropriate roles have access to view this information, as well as any dashboards set up to visualize the data.

Please speak to your Smartabase consultant before adding any new fields to the ForceDecks Trials event form as it may have unintended consequences.

Once the ForceDecks connector is set up and people’s accounts have been mapped (using the steps below), historical data will automatically be synced between the two platforms. Smartabase will then check for new data every 30 minutes. Data will only be reachable by Smartabase once it becomes available via VALD Performance’s Application Programming Interface (API), so may occasionally take longer than 15 minutes.

How are people’s accounts mapped between ForceDecks and Smartabase?

Smartabase uses VALD Athlete ID numbers to map people’s accounts between the platforms. When this integration is initially set up, your Smartabase consultant will be able to retrieve and map this information for you. The values are imported into the ForceDecks profile form using the standard data import process:

1. Open the Smartabase main application on a web browser. Ensure you’ve loaded a group that contains all the people that you’re mapping.
2. Select Import Profile Data. Provided you have permission to do this, it will appear as a front page button or within the navigation bar.

   

3. Choose the ForceDecks profile form.
4. Add a CSV file containing the list of people to map and their VALD Athlete ID (this can be provided by your Smartabase consultant), then click upload. You do not need to generate a template for this task.
5. Choose the appropriate identifiers from the drop-down. These will be the columns containing the names of the people you’re mapping. If the names aren’t an exact match, you’ll be able to manually search for and map the correct people to the names in the file.
6. Confirm the CSV columns have mapped correctly to the form.
7. Click Next, then click Import.

To add people after this initial import, you can either add the details for an individual using profile data entry or complete the import process for multiple new accounts at once. Your Smartabase consultant will be happy to provide guidance throughout this process. Newly mapped accounts will automatically synchronize all associated historical data.