How collaboration with HBK experts transformed Aravis Levage’s custom lifting solution

Charvonnex, France

Introduction

When you’re working in the most extreme conditions, ‘good enough’ isn’t good enough. In these situations, you might need a custom measurement setup to achieve the precision and accuracy you’re looking for. But how do you go about building this kind of custom setup? That was exactly the question that Aravis Levage Solutions – the provider of custom lifting trucks and other lifting solutions – asked themselves. And, in this case study, you’ll find out how we answered – and how our custom measurement system for stability and tilt now keeps hundreds of Aravis Levage Solutions truck drivers safe around the world.

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Challenge
Solution
Result
Client Description

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When you’re working in the most extreme conditions, ‘good enough’ isn’t good enough. Whether you’re working at height, in extreme temperatures, or under another form of environmental stress, precise data is crucial. Not just for efficiency or productivity – but, in some cases, for the safety of your people.

You can’t afford for your measurements to be thrown off by heat, cold, pressure, or vibration. Lack of space or difficulty fitting a sensor into a particular machine can’t be barriers. In these situations, you might need a custom measurement setup to achieve the precision and accuracy you’re looking for. But how do you go about building this kind of custom setup?

That was exactly the question that Aravis Levage Solutions – the provider of custom lifting trucks and other lifting solutions – asked themselves. And, in this case study, you’ll find out how we answered – and how our custom measurement system for stability and tilt now keeps hundreds of Aravis Levage Solutions truck drivers safe around the world.

Most importantly, we’ll give you the three things that every custom project of this kind needs to succeed. But first, let’s take a look at the challenge that Aravis Levage Solutions was facing.

Working under pressure: Preventing trucks from tipping on the steepest mountain slopes

Snow, ice, mud, and steep mountainsides.

It’s a potent combination – particularly for a construction team that needs to lift heavy loads.

Aravis Levage Solutions was always looking for ways to make their trucks safer and reduce the chance of tipping.

To do that, they were looking for a precise and reliable system for measuring load stability, compressive force. This embedded system would need to give drivers real time insight into the forces acting on their vehicles. As a result, drivers could make rapid, informed decisions to reduce the chances of tipping instead of relying on gut instinct.

Aravis Levage Solutions had been working with HBK for over 25 years. The team knew that they could rely on HBK solutions for precision and accuracy.

But it wasn’t as simple as buying an HBK product off the shelf. This application had some unique elements that would require some customisation:

Environmental factors - The measurement system would need to be exposed to extreme cold, mud, and rain – and still deliver accurate results.
Taking sensors into the field - This was the first time that HBK technology of this kind would be implemented in a mobile field vehicle. We knew that we would need to think carefully about how space, movement, and drivers’ ways of working would affect results.
Saving space - In trucks these, space is at a premium: the company needed its measurement systems to be reliable and precise, but also compact.

It was a complex challenge. But, together, we built a system that Aravis Levage Solutions now uses across its fleet of unique custom vehicles.

The system combines two HBK sensors, which work together to provide vital information for drivers balancing trucks and securing lifted loads.

The KMRplus force sensor measures compressive force up to 200 kN with class 1.5 accuracy. Made of IP68-rated stainless steel, it’s waterproof and capable of holding up to the harshest environmental conditions.

The digiBOX Industrial is a precise multi-channel strain gauge and charge amplifier that provides groundbreakingly timely, accurate insights for complex lifting and manoeuvring tasks.

Data is connected by the KMRplus sensor and then moved to the digiBOX Industrial for processing.

Those results have demonstrated three major principles that shape the way we approach custom concepts like this at HBK.

DBX center gravity

When the pressure’s on, partnership pays off

By combining Aravis Levage Solutions’ deep field experience with HBK’s expertise in embedded sensor systems, we set new standards for safety and reliability in the company’s trucks.

Now, drivers have the real-time insights they need to lift with confidence under any conditions – and Aravis Levage Solutions’ reputation for excellence continues to grow.

Want to learn more about the technology behind the transformation?

Watch the digiBOX Industrial webinar to explore how this powerful, space-saving amplifier is delivering smarter insights where they matter most.

Aravis

Specializing in lifting work since 1991, Aravis Levage offers lifting services of all kinds, adapted to the needs of industry, mountains, plains, and private individuals. Whether you need to lift a spa, a swimming pool, a bungalow, a mobile home, a small chalet, or any other heavy object, their team can meet your requests. Aravis' lifting equipment, designed in-house, is certified and complies with the strictest safety and environmental standards.

About Aravis

Further Information

Collaborations like these aren’t just about the technology.

A list of specs wouldn’t get Aravis Levage Solutions where they needed to be. They couldn’t come to us with a ‘shopping list’ of products for us to fulfil.

Instead, we needed to start from scratch. Beginning with the company’s vision – safer, more reliable lifting trucks that would reduce reliance on gut instinct – and keeping the context and use of the vehicles in mind throughout.
This shared vision allowed us to test, adjust, and refine our solution until it perfectly supported Aravis Levage Solutions’ needs.

Of course, our 25-year relationship with Aravis Levage Solutions was particularly helpful here. We’d been involved in Aravis’ lifting truck development for decades, so we already understood the nuanced challenges: the spatial constraints of mobile vehicles, the need for durability in harsh alpine conditions, and the vital importance of real-time force and tilt data for driver safety.

Designing a reliable sensor system in a lab is one thing. Making sure it performs in the wild – on steep, snowy mountain roads, inside compact lifting trucks, during high-risk operations – is another challenge entirely.
That’s why we took the time to understand every aspect of the driver experience before we began implementing our solution.
This understanding shaped the setup in a few crucial ways:

A new shorter M12 connector means the solution fits into the tight spaces inside Aravis Levage Solutions’ trucks. This made the rollout of the solution significantly easier, but also reduced the chances of errors and maintenance issues once the vehicles were on the road.
Edge computing in the digiBOX Industrial provides drivers with real-time insight, which is crucial for supporting real-time decision-making.
The waterproof, weatherproof KMRplus – housed in IP68-rated stainless steel ensures that the sensor can survive any conditions.

In high-pressure environments, every second counts. So our solution couldn’t just be accurate and robust. It also needed to be as easy as possible for drivers – not lab workers or engineering experts – to use.

By working closely with the Aravis Levage Solutions team, listening to their insights from the front line of construction lifting, we carefully tailored the solution’s user interface. Creating a system that makes it easy to make lightning-fast decisions:

The digiBOX Industrial integrates with IT and OT devices, fitting smoothly into driver workflows. As a result, the measurement system allows drivers to feed compressive force, vehicle tilt, and mass distribution data into their analytics systems – giving them even more control over their vehicles.
Night and day modes on the user interface that allows drivers to view live measurements in low light situations. So they don’t need to waste time decoding dashboards; they can get the information they need at a glance.
Drivers can view measurements both inside the cabin and at the rear of the truck. Drivers frequently climb in and out of trucks and often work in larger teams – so this dual display ensures that construction teams can always access the vital safety information they need to make decisions.

It was a complex challenge. But, together, we built a system that Aravis Levage Solutions now uses across its fleet of unique custom vehicles. The system combines two HBK sensors, which work together to provide vital information for drivers balancing trucks and securing lifted loads.

HBK Experts

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