EQSS Launches UpWatch, Universal Secondary Guarding for Low-Level Access Platforms
Equipment Safety Systems (EQSS) announces the global launch of UpWatch, a new universal secondary guarding system developed specifically for low-level access and push-around vertical (PAV) platforms.
Officially unveiled at Vertikal Days 2026, held at Newark Showground in Nottinghamshire, U.K., UpWatch extends EQSS’s proven LiDAR-based secondary guarding technology to a category of access equipment that has traditionally had fewer options for operator crush and entrapment protection.
Low-level access equipment is widely used for fit-out, installation, maintenance, facilities management, warehousing and retail applications; in these environments it provides a safer and more productive alternative to ladders, podiums and other traditional access methods. 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
As low-level access equipment continues to grow in use on jobsites around the world, contractors and rental companies are increasingly looking to apply consistent safety standards across their access fleets.
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.
Powered by the same proven LiDAR technology used in EQSS’s OverWatch system, 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. This gives rental companies and fleet owners a practical and scalable way to introduce secondary guarding throughout mixed fleets.
“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.”
The launch of UpWatch builds on EQSS’s experience with OverWatch and reflects its continued commitment to developing practical safety technologies that address real-world hazards across the powered access industry.
UpWatch is available to order now for delivery in Q4 2026 from EQSS and its distribution partners around the world. For more information on UpWatch, go to www.eqss.com.au.
Source: EQSS
About the Author
Michael Roth
Editor
Michael Roth has covered the equipment rental industry full time for RER since 1989 and has served as the magazine’s editor in chief since 1994. He has nearly 30 years experience as a professional journalist. Roth has visited hundreds of rental centers and industry manufacturers, written hundreds of feature stories for RER and thousands of news stories for the magazine and its electronic newsletter RER Reports. Roth has interviewed leading executives for most of the industry’s largest rental companies and manufacturers as well as hundreds of smaller independent companies. He has visited with and reported on rental companies and manufacturers in Europe, Central America and Asia as well as Mexico, Canada and the United States. Roth was co-founder of RER Reports, the industry’s first weekly newsletter, which began as a fax newsletter in 1996, and later became an online newsletter. Roth has spoken at conventions sponsored by the American Rental Association, Associated Equipment Distributors, California Rental Association and other industry events and has spoken before industry groups in several countries. He lives and works in Los Angeles when he’s not traveling to cover industry events.