HighStep wins Swissgrid tender

Headquartered in Dietikon in the canton of Zurich, HighStep Systems AG has won a public tender from the Swiss transmissions network operator Swissgrid in relation to the 220-kilovolt Sedrun - Tavanasa line in the canton of Graubünden. This involves supplying climbing and fall protection systems for overhead lines, for which HighStep Systems is now providing its rail system. This should enable employees to ascend and descend in an efficient, safe and ergonomic manner, all the while increasing their overall safety and productivity in the process. HighStep Systems intends to fit its system in the middle of 80 utility poles across several stages, although the work should be completed as early as April or May 2023.

Regarding his companies successful bid, the CEO of HighStep Systems AG, Alexander Luft, comments: “We are very pleased to have won the public tender for the climbing protection system for the Sedrun - Tavanasa project and therefore to be able to make a contribution to occupational safety at Swissgrid. It shows that our system is not only extremely competitive, but also that we were best able to meet the high requirements of the project”. In addition to primarily economic reasons, aspects such as delivery availability, safety and simple assembly played a key role in HighStep Systems being awarded the contract.

The HighStep system consists of two components: an aluminum rail as the system base and a choice between two climbing devices: the HighStep Easy, which functions on the basis of two separate pedals, and the HighStep Lift as a mobile service lift. As far as areas of application are concerned, there is a focus on utility poles, wind turbines, transmission towers and industrial plants. A total of several thousand installations are in operation worldwide - primarily in Europe and in some Asian countries too. Customers include, for example, the Swiss transmissions network operator Swissgrid, the European high-voltage grid operator TenneT and the Chinese energy company State Grid Corporation of China.