Tier one contractors mandate secondary guarding for scissor lifts
UK contractors including Mace, Balfour Beatty, Skanska and Laing O’Rourke are leading a mission to improve safety across the powered access sector.
The contractors are among some of the nation’s largest construction firms that have mandated secondary guarding requirements for all MEWPs, including scissor lifts, on their projects.
It follows a similar move in 2014 when UKCA – now Build UK – issued a mandate for secondary guarding on boom lifts at all tier one sites.
One of the first projects to enforce the scissor lift secondary guarding requirement is Hinkley Point C (HPC). The site is operated by BYLOR, a joint venture between Bouygues and Laing O’Rourke.
Andy Scone, construction manager at HPC, who was instrumental in driving the change, said: “Hinkley Point C is the biggest construction site in Europe, and as the first mega-site to mandate secondary guarding on all forms of MEWPs, we’ve seen first-hand the impact this change can make.”
‘Major step forward’
The mandate follows an example set in Australia, where tier one contractors have already implemented secondary guarding across almost all scissor lifts.
EQSS, whose OverWatch solution has been widely deployed in Australia and is increasingly specified in the UK, welcomed the mandate.
“The UK has always been a leader in powered access safety,” said Andrew Delahunt, global business manager at EQSS.
“Mandating secondary guarding on scissor lifts is another major step forward. As an industry, this isn’t just about compliance – it’s about preventing tragedies and saving lives.”
EQSS has worked closely with the team at HPC to fit more than 1,000 MEWPs with secondary guarding. Scone explained that this has allowed them to provide feedback that has helped develop a new firmware configuration, improving safety across the board.
“One of the key outcomes for our team was the ability for operators to use pedestrian mode instead of ducking through doorways, which has made operations both safer and more efficient,” he added.
“This level of collaboration and innovation has been vital in shaping how secondary guarding continues to evolve for real-world conditions.”
Preventing fatalities
Last year, IPAF’s Global Safety Report revealed that reported entrapment incidents increased by 75% from 2023 to 2024, while there was a 62% increase in entrapment fatalities during the same period.
“At the end of the day, it’s about saving lives,” said Will Temple, head of powered access at Sunbelt Rentals UK.
“It’s not about ticking boxes just because it’s now a requirement. As an industry, we need to be doing it for the right reasons, ensuring the systems are effective and provide real protection to the operators.”
