Powering Lift-Pro with Sarus — Engineering Smarter Lift Planning
How LabFox supported Sarus in building a next-gen software platform for the heavy-lifting industry.
The Background
Sarus, Inc. is a Boulder, Colorado-based startup dedicated to bringing digital transformation to the heavy-lifting industry. Their mission: simplify and automate the complex, manual process of lift-plan reporting by combining laser-distance meter hardware with intelligent software. By mid-2021, Sarus had already gained momentum. They secured wins in competitive accelerator programs such as Catalyze CU, validating their innovative approach to crane selection, site evaluation, and lift planning. With funding secured and attention growing, Sarus turned their focus toward productization and customer acquisition. To move quickly, they sought a partner who could offer end-to-end product development while eliminating the overhead of hiring and team scaling. That's when they partnered with LabFox.
The Partnership
From the earliest conversations, Sarus saw LabFox as a strategic fit. The collaboration was structured to give Sarus rapid access to skilled engineers and designers, scalable product development without internal hiring, and a clear cadence for feedback, iteration, and delivery.
UI/UX Designers
Full-Stack Developers
Testing & QA Specialists
Deployment & Support Engineers
Key Features Delivered:
Intuitive Web Application
A clean, user-friendly interface that empowers heavy-lift professionals to generate accurate, professional-grade lift plans.
Geo-Location Integration
Smart location features that enhance site evaluation and planning capabilities for crane operators and lift planners.
Scalable Architecture
A robust technical foundation designed to support growing user numbers and expanding feature sets as the product evolved.
Real-Time Data Processing
Systems for handling and analyzing inputs from laser-distance meters and other field equipment to generate accurate lift plans.
Tackling Challenges Together
While LabFox handled much of the overhead Sarus sought to avoid, the partnership was not without its hurdles:
Technical Decision-Making
Selecting the right open-source dependencies and running proof-of-concepts on emerging technologies required careful evaluation and testing.
Strategic Shifts
Navigating project reprioritization to match business needs and adjusting development timelines to support investor and customer demos demanded flexibility.
Rapid Resource Scaling
When Sarus needed to integrate geo-location features for a major demo, LabFox quickly onboarded additional developers and designers without disrupting existing work.
The Result
The partnership culminated in the successful launch of Lift-Pro — a clean, intuitive web application that empowers heavy-lift professionals to generate accurate, professional-grade lift plans. With smart geo-location integration, scalable architecture, and real-time data inputs, Lift-Pro turned a historically manual process into a streamlined digital workflow. LabFox played a key role in helping Sarus move from prototype to production, enabling them to deliver a compelling product to their early customers and position themselves for future growth.
What's Next
With Lift-Pro successfully launched, Sarus is exploring next-gen features:
Enhanced mobile capabilities for field operations
Advanced analytics and reporting features
Integration with additional hardware devices
Expanded collaboration tools for team-based planning
The groundwork is laid for Sarus to scale into a category leader — and LabFox remains a key partner on that journey.
TL;DR – Quick Snapshot
Who They Are:
Sarus, Inc. is a Boulder-based startup creating digital tools for the crane and heavy-lift industry.
Challenges Solved:
- Eliminating recruiting and scaling overheads
- Building and delivering under tight demo timelines
- Integrating geo-location features on demand
- Navigating technical and business reprioritizations
LabFox Delivered:
- UI/UX, development, testing, deployment, and maintenance
- Scalable engineering and design resourcing
- Agile product delivery to support investor and client demos
- A production-ready web application: Lift-Pro
Industry:
Construction & Heavy Equipment
Services:
- UI/UX Design
- Full-Stack Development
- Product Strategy
Timeline:
8 months
Key Outcome:
Successful launch of Lift-Pro, transforming manual processes into streamlined digital workflows
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