EQSS News
News
EQSS ANNOUNCES SUPPORTING SPONSORSHIP OF THE 2024 IPAF SUMMIT & IAPAS
EQSS is delighted to announce that they will be a supporting sponsor for the upcoming 2024 IPAF Summit and IAPAs taking place in Copenhagen, Denmark on March 13th and 14th.
Organized jointly by the International Powered Access Federation (IPAF) and KHL Group, the highly anticipated annual summit and awards ceremony brings together powered access industry leaders, innovators, and experts from around the globe. During the two-day event, delegates will focus on the latest trends, advancements, and challenges in the global MEWP industry.
As a supporting sponsor, EQSS will showcase its latest safety innovations to attendees, including OverWatch, the industry’s leading secondary guarding solution for scissor lifts. Designed to protect scissor lift operators from the risk of entrapment, OverWatch will be available to demo at EQSS’s sponsor booth in the networking area.
“We are looking forward to this event. The IPAF Summit and IAPAs are very important and help drive a safer access industry. We can’t wait to see everyone and showcase OverWatch.” said Andrew Delahunt, Global Business Manager at EQSS.
The 2024 IPAF Summit will feature a comprehensive agenda, including keynote speakers, panel discussions, and networking opportunities, as well as the announcement of the IPAF safety campaign for 2024.
“IPAF’s role in this event is to make sure safety remains at the heart of what we all do,” Andrew added. “By sponsoring this week, we support IPAF and their efforts promoting safe work at height.”
For more information on the IPAF Summit and IAPAs, visit www.iapa-summit.info.
Spotlight: Women in Engineering
This International Women in Engineering Day, we want to showcase one of our talented team members.
We interviewed Integration Engineer, Bhavani Kacharapu, to get her take on what it’s like being a woman working as an engineer within the equipment industry.
Bhavani has a degree in engineering, and after moving from India to Australia, started her career in production engineering in electronics manufacturing. Bhavani noted that it was difficult to find a job immediately in engineering, so she started out in production-focused roles to gain experience.
She joined EQSS in late 2021 as a SMT Production Technician. After being recognised for her hard work, she took on the role of Integration Engineer. Her day-to-day work involves integration of the OverWatch secondary guarding system into different brands of aerial work platforms (MEWPs). She works directly with each scissor lift manufacturer to establish how it will be integrated with the machine, then creates installation plans and manuals. She provides the manufacturers with information about installing the product and works with them to troubleshoot and refine installation techniques.
Bhavani told us that she enjoys her role because she is continuously learning and adapting to the challenges that each project presents. Her job is different every day, and she feels rewarded when she finds solutions to problems. Her long-term goals are to understand more about the industry, gain more experience, and continue to progress in the business.
When asked if she had any advice to other females considering a career in engineering, Bhavani was very encouraging. She said, “I would encourage more women to join this industry. We just need to have confidence and believe that we can do these jobs, which we can.”
In closing the interview, Bhavani left us with one last inspiring message. “Anyone can do it. It’s not for one person, anyone can try it.”
A great message to keep in mind this International Women in Engineering Day.
EQSS CELEBRATES 10,000TH OVERWATCH MILESTONE
Equipment Safety Systems (EQSS) is celebrating the delivery of its 10,000th OverWatch™, the secondary guarding solution for scissor lifts. OverWatch is a device that monitors the operator’s position and stops the machine if the operator becomes at risk of being crushed against the scissor lift controls.
To recognize the support of the industry in reaching this safety milestone, EQSS presented commemorative trophies to scissor lift manufacturers and rental companies at the HIRE 23 exhibition.
Ross Bowden, managing director of EQSS, said, “We take comfort in knowing that 10,000 scissor lifts are now fitted with OverWatch secondary guarding. When we consider that multiple people can jump onto a scissor each day, it is a high number of workers who have been protected by OverWatch.”
“Crush protection was initially introduced more than 10 years ago on boom lifts and is now the industry norm. It is so important that scissor lift operators have that same level of protection.”
OverWatch has received the approval of all major aerial lift manufacturers to be fitted on their machines and is CE certified. Haulotte now offers OverWatch as a factory-install option on their latest generation of scissor lifts produced at their facilities in France and China.
Ross added, “Every single OverWatch that is installed onto a scissor lift is one more step towards helping workers return safely to their families at the end of each workday. We are grateful for the support of the OEMs and rental companies in helping promote our crush-protection solution and wanted to take this opportunity to recognize them as we have achieved this fantastic milestone.”
Launched in 2020 by EQSS, many of the OverWatch devices in operation are currently within the Australian hire industry, however EQSS has recently begun introducing OverWatch into international markets. Rental companies and major contractors in the U.K., U.S., Singapore, Japan, and Europe have already embraced the solution and it can be found on increasing number of jobsites worldwide.
EQSS SHORTLISTED FOR NATIONAL SAFETY AWARD
EQSS is delighted to announce that the OverWatch™ device has been named a Finalist in 29th Annual National Safety Awards of Excellence, in Category 2A for the Best Solution of a WHS Risk (Small Business).
Organized by the NSCA Foundation, the National Safety Awards of Excellence are Australia’s longest running awards recognizing outstanding Work Health and Safety initiatives. The NSCA Foundation is an independent, non-profit, member-based organization, whose vision is to assist Australian workplaces to be the safest in the world, by inspiring, educating, informing, and engaging companies in best practice health and safety (WHS) and risk management.
Designed as a means to protect the operator on scissor lifts from the risk of entrapment, and to reduce harm if an incident occurred, the OverWatch was developed in-house by EQSS in Melbourne, and has been installed on more than 8,000 machines since its launch in 2020.
On the announcement of the finalists, Ross Bowden, managing director at EQSS, said, “This is a fantastic acknowledgement of the hard work and dedication of the EQSS team, who have produced a truly innovative device that can withstand the toughest jobsite conditions, delivering a highly reliable safety solution. I would also like to take this opportunity to congratulate all the other finalists and I look forward to finding out who the winners are on the 24th November.”
The finalists will be recognized at the 29th Annual National Safety Awards of Excellence Gala Dinner in Melbourne on Thursday, November 24th , with the winners of each category announced.
For more information on the National Safety Awards of Excellence, please visit
https://www.nationalsafetyawards.com.au.
EQSS TO PRESENT AT ALH CONFERENCE 2022
EQSS is proud to be part of the upcoming ALH Conference 2022 in Chicago, Illinois on 29th September. Organized by Access, Lift and Handlers (ALH) magazine, part of the KHL Group, the annual one-day conference brings together the U.S. MEWP and telehandler industries, alongside rental companies and contractors to explore market trends, safety practices, fleet management and product and technology development.
Andrew Delahunt, Global Business Development Manager for EQSS joins a high calibre line-up of speakers, with a 25-minute presentation to address whether artificial intelligence can make MEWPs safer and smarter. Exploring the latest technology advancements, Andrew will share his thoughts on how AI can be utilized in MEWPs and the potential safety and productivity outcomes for operators, rental companies and contractors.
Speaking ahead of the event, Andrew said, “I am honored to be presenting at this leading industry event in the world’s largest market for MEWPs. As we know from our own development of the OverWatch™ system, technology can be effectively harnessed to improve operator safety while maintaining productivity, and I look forward to discussing this area in more detail with the delegates later this month.”
The ALH Conference 2022 has joined forces with the IPAF Innovate event on September 28th, providing two days of access-related education and networking. To learn more about both events, visit www.ALH-ca.com and save 20% on your ALH Conference ticket with promo code SPK20.
EQSS OVERWATCH SELECTED FOR THE IAPA SHORTLIST
The International Awards for Powered Access (IAPA) 2022 have announced the award shortlist, with the EQSS OverWatch selected for the Innovative Technology Prize. The OverWatch, a secondary guarding system for scissor lifts and vertical masts increases the protection to operators and reduces the risk of being crushed at the controls. It has been adopted by Australian industry including major construction companies delivering Australia’s big infrastructure projects.
The OverWatch has been installed on thousands of EWPs in Australia since 2020 and is now available globally. Making the shortlist to this prize is outstanding recognition that the OverWatch is an innovative and effective secondary guarding solution. The winners will be announced at the IAPA awards ceremony on 10 March in London, UK, following the IPAF Summit. “I am very proud that EQSS and the OverWatch have been shortlisted for the international awards for Powered Access. We had been working on secondary guarding solutions for over 5 years with a lot of trials and testing. Once we identified the biggest challenge and made that big innovation leap, we pushed hard for two years to develop the Overwatch. A big thank you to all our staff, it has been a tremendous team effort to make it happen. And I’d also like to thank our partners, namely the manufacturers, rental companies and contractors who worked with us and gave very valuable contributions to this project. Can’t wait for the awards ceremony on March 10!” – Ross Bowden, managing director of EQSS.
What are the IAPAs?
The International awards for the Powered Access Industry are organised by IPAF and Access International to celebrate the achievements of companies who make, rent and train on access equipment. With a view to making the Access industry safer the awards shine a spotlight on products that make a positive impact and increase operator safety. They are judged by an independent panel of industry experts including top managers at Access manufacturers and rental companies. EQSS have been shortlisted for the Overwatch in the Innovative Technology category. This award recognition is believed to be the first for an Australian company. The awards will be presented at the IAPA gala, following the IPAF summit on March 10.