Designing Vehicles for Specialised Missions
Special Purpose Vehicles (SPVs) are the workhorses of industry, construction, agriculture and personal mobility. Unlike mass-market automotive or transit solutions, SPVs are designed exclusively for demanding, highly specific tasks — whether operating in rugged environments, navigating confined spaces, or delivering demanding functional performance.
Designing such vehicles requires a uniquely multidisciplinary approach that balances extreme user-centric demands, such as ergonomics, safety and visibility, with complex engineering challenges, including durability, resistance to harsh environments, and the integration of complex hydraulic, electrical, or autonomous systems. DCA leverages over six decades of expertise in integrating industrial design, mechanical engineering, software, electronics and human factors to deliver reliable, efficient and cost-effective designs for market-leading specialised vehicles and equipment.
Designing these vehicles requires a uniquely multidisciplinary approach
Engineering systems integration and safety critical design
Contemporary SPVs incorporate sophisticated networks of sensors, control systems and embedded software. Our development approach is grounded in disciplined Systems Engineering practices, ensuring that every subsystem — from the mechanical chassis to ADAS (Advanced Driver Assistance Systems) — is engineered to perform as needed, whilst being durable, serviceable and fully compliant with its operational certification requirements.
For example, the Linde reach truck driver display modules designed by DCA are engineered to reliably deliver a continuously updating stream of critical information to the operator under the extreme thermal shock and vibration conditions that are encountered when transferring materials from cold storage to ambient warehouse spaces using forklift vehicles without suspension.
Our safety critical design capabilities encompass the engineering of load-bearing structures such as chassis and dynamic components operating under high stress, as well as the carefully considered integration of user controls and sensing hardware. These increasingly complex and intelligent systems function as the “eyes and ears” of the vehicle and must, therefore, be mounted with high degrees of accuracy and robustness, and protected against use and abuse loadings and environmental challenges.
Advanced ergonomics, operator comfort and usability
Best in class ergonomic design and intuitive usability must be embedded from the outset, particularly if operators are working for prolonged periods or undertaking complex tasks where any error could be catastrophic.
DCA applies Human Factors Engineering, Inclusive Design and Usability principles to create intuitive, comfortable and safe operator environments and user interfaces. This approach is especially critical for space-constrained platforms such as the Linde reach truck forklifts and the Ariens lawn tractors.
Our work focuses on a range of areas, including:
- Optimising control layouts and maximising operator visibility.
- Enhancing human well-being and operational performance by removing potential sources of discomfort, fatigue and injury risk.
- Engineering low-vibration seating systems and controls to help reduce operator fatigue.
- Integrating best practice UX/UI design to deliver clear, highly legible displays and control interfaces for the safe and efficient operation of complex machinery.
DCA is a registered consultancy with the Chartered Institute of Ergonomics and Human Factors.
Our world-class ergonomics capabilities are built upon a combination of DCA’s unique parametrically driven 3D CAD ergonomes; physical spatial mock ups; and Augmented Reality user interaction studies. We use motion tracking sensors to capture joint positions and articulation angles during representative tasks, generating quantitative data that feeds directly into our Rapid Entire Body Assessments (REBA). This structured methodology allows us to identify, evaluate and mitigate ergonomic risks early in the design process.
Drawing particularly on our experience as Bentley’s long-term UX partner and our work on multiple driver’s desks and train cab layouts, we apply techniques such as Hierarchical Task Analysis (HTA) and Human Reliability Assessment (HRA) to understand in detail and analyse how the operator will interact with their machine and the potential sources and impacts of user errors. Using this data, we ensure that controls and displays are logically positioned within comfortable reach and functionally grouped to support task prioritisation and cognitive flow, while minimising the risk of inadvertent actuation or user errors. We also focus on the clear identification and labelling of user controls and undertake glare studies to check that the information displayed on screens is visible in all environments and weather conditions.
Detailed engineering
With DCA’s multidisciplinary project teams incorporating engineers and designers from the outset, the collaboration required to apply new technology where this is appropriate while ensuring that our concepts are practical and realistic is naturally embedded in every project.
Our engineers like to spend time on site at your facilities at the start of a project, engaging with your production team and your key suppliers to understand the particular strengths of your manufacturing processes and supply chains as well as any constraints that we will need to accommodate in our design proposals. We then look to gain regular feedback from these same stakeholders at key points in the design process, helping to maintain the design intent into production and smoothing the transition from concept to volume manufacture.
In a recent project for Arrival, we undertook the design and installation of the mounting system and enclosures for a series of sensors and ancillary equipment to be fitted to the roof of a commercial van in support of their autonomous delivery vehicle programme. Key to the project was mounting and housing the sensors in ways that isolated them from general road vibrations and protected them from the elements, while providing easy access for set up and servicing.
Fast tracking new solutions into production
Innovation in performance and e-mobility solutions
We translate cutting-edge technology into functional vehicle platforms, supporting the industry shift toward electrification and automation. Such wholesale changes in power technology can often open up opportunities for new vehicle configurations that offer functionality and usability benefits, as well as visual differentiation.
We have experience in creating and successfully delivering unique steering and suspension systems. We have developed patentable solutions that offer superior handling and intuitive control, such as the Full-Tilt™ steering system for the D-Fly Hyperscooter.
When integrating efficient, high-performance battery systems and electric powertrains, like those found in the D-Fly Hyperscooter and JLG’s EC450AJ compact, zero-emission articulated electric boom lift, we model the energy and power requirements and perform range calculations. This enables us to create more accurate specifications for the required motor, drive and battery systems.
Intelligent weight reduction is essential to improve vehicle performance, range and transportability. We achieve this by strategically employing advanced materials like composites and aerospace-grade aluminium and undertaking structural analysis to optimise material utilisation. DCA’s in-house model makers can even prototype composite structures in low volumes to rapidly and cost effectively test proposals before liaising with external manufacturing partners.
Models, rigs and prototypes
To build confidence in the real-world potential of an idea, our designers, engineers, model makers and technicians collaborate to create the right level of prototype at the right stage of a project programme. Rigs, models and prototypes allow us to communicate and test our ideas in an accessible physical form that all stakeholders can actively engage with.
While complex systems can often be analysed digitally using Finite Element Analysis (FEA) or Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD), these theoretical tools cannot replace the insight gained from spatial or functional demonstrator models. Physical prototypes provide critical understanding of usability, scale, interaction and performance that is difficult to capture virtually. Using our in-house workshops, we can rapidly produce full scale rigs, models and prototypes to the appropriate level of veracity, definition and functionality.
We also pride ourselves in being able to iterate spatial models live during stakeholder workshops. By rapidly modifying these models, new design proposals can be physically tested in real time, allowing immediate user feedback and accelerating the development of improved concepts within a single workshop session.
Where required, models can be engineered to accurately represent production-intent solutions. These prototypes support final performance evaluation, user acceptance testing and production or in-service support planning before committing to volume manufacture. We can also design and manufacture the bespoke test equipment needed for rigorous and repeatable assessment of such demonstrator models.
From early proof-of-principle rigs and mock ups through to fully functional and visually representative prototypes, we provide the tools, facilities, in-house expertise and proven prototyping partners needed to reduce development risk and support informed decision making throughout your project.
We can iterate spatial models in real time during workshops, enabling immediate user feedback
Design driven by function
We take a truly multidisciplinary approach when designing Special Purpose Vehicles. Our designers and engineers work closely with specialists across all relevant disciplines to integrate structural elements, mechanisms and electronics systems into the vehicle design.
Our in-house design team produces digital sketches, computer visualisations, Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) models at increasing levels of detail as the project progresses. These digital techniques are supported by physical rigs and mock ups, including hybrid prototypes that combine low fidelity spatial models with accurate interactive VR representations. This allows us to deliver a realistic and fully immersive user experience early in the development process.
These techniques give the design team and all project stakeholders clear visibility of the developing solutions, supporting effective ideation, problem-solving and confident decision making at every stage.
As Special Purpose Vehicles are normally highly visible in the public domain, there is the opportunity for them to act as physical ambassadors for your service or company. At DCA, we use overall form, design details and livery to embody and clearly communicate your brand values.
Using digital sketching and 3D CAD surface modelling, we explore a wide range of exterior design options early on to create a distinctive visual identity aligned with your brand. Visual designs are developed over realistic structural and engineering underlays to ensure that the resulting aesthetic is grounded in reality and can meet the relevant manufacturing, assembly, servicing and regulatory constraints. However, we will always challenge convention where this could deliver meaningful project benefits.
We combine expertise across all our capabilities to deliver innovative vehicle designs that clearly express your brand
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