EQSS launches secondary guarding for low level access

Equipment Safety Systems (EQSS) has announced the global launch of UpWatch - a new secondary guarding system developed specifically for low level access and push-around vertical (PAV) platforms.

Officially unveiled at UK-based Vertikal Days 2026, which takes place this week at the Newark Showground in Nottinghamshire, UpWatch extends EQSS’s LiDAR-based secondary guarding technology to a category of access equipment that has traditionally had fewer options for operator crush and entrapment protection.

EQSS UpWatch is designed for installation across a wide range of low level access and push-around vertical platforms. (Image: EQSS).

Low level access equipment is widely used for fit-out, installation, maintenance, facilities management, warehousing and retail applications where it provides a safer and more productive alternative to ladders, podiums and other traditional access methods, said EQSS. “However, operators may still encounter overhead obstructions and potential entrapment hazards in confined or congested working environments on low-level access equipment.”

Closing the safety gap on jobsites

UpWatch has been developed specifically to address the unique platform layouts and control arrangements found on low level access machines. Contractors who currently mandate secondary guarding on larger MEWPs can now “close the gap” by extending that protection to smaller MEWPs, said EQSS.

UpWatch continuously monitors the operator’s position and can intervene when a potential crushing or entrapment hazard is detected.

Unlike model- or OEM-specific solutions, UpWatch has been engineered as a universal system that can be installed on a broad range of low level access equipment from multiple manufacturers, which said the company, gives rental companies and fleet owners a practical and scalable way to introduce secondary guarding throughout mixed fleets.

UpWatch is designed to provide a consistent secondary guarding solution across mixed fleets. (Image: EQSS).

“The growth of low level access has changed how people work at height, but secondary guarding technology hasn’t evolved at the same pace,” said Andrew Delahunt, global business manager at EQSS. “UpWatch closes that gap, giving contractors a way to apply the same approach to operator protection across more of their access fleet.”

“For rental companies, the universal design is particularly important. Rather than relying on a solution tied to one manufacturer or model, UpWatch can be fitted to different machines within a mixed fleet.”

Visitors to Vertikal Days 2026 will be able to see UpWatch in operation across the show, with the system fitted to select machines on a number of OEM stands as well as at EQSS’s own stand, MP05 in the marketplace.

EQSS will also be demonstrating its established OverWatch secondary guarding system throughout the two-day event, giving visitors the opportunity to see how both solutions can be deployed across different machine types and mixed fleets.

UpWatch is available to order now for delivery in Q4 2026 from EQSS and its distribution partners around the world.

EQSS UpWatch installed on a JLG Nano low level access platform. (Image: EQSS).