FOCUS SIGNAGE
SIGN OF THE TIMES
As the country prepares to reopen for business Gary Williams, MD of Widd Signs says it may be time
to reappraise your signage needs; while Fraser Burns, MD at Cygnia Maintenance answers some
frequently asked questions
At a time when there’s never been
more of a focus in businesses on
driving down costs, it can be all too
tempting to go with the cheapest sign
supplier and the lowest cost materials.
But it’s a false economy: a poorly made
or installed sign will end up costing you far
more in the long term than a good quality
sign that has been properly installed.
And exactly the same can be said for
signage maintenance programmes.
Maintaining your signage is not an option
but a legal requirement under three
separate statutory regulations, so it’s
vitally important that your signs comply
with building regulations, town planning
requirements and health and safety law.
And yet, we’ve lost count of the number
36 JUNE 2021
of businesses - in some cases very wellknown,
high-profile companies with
large estates - that are unwilling to spend
anything like what is required to properly
maintain their signs. Instead, they pay
the bare minimum for a ‘maintenance’
programme that will see their signs given a
quick clean and maybe a visual inspection
once a year at best. It’s foolish, dangerous,
and costly in the long run.
Properly checking and maintaining your
signs makes a lot of sense on a number of
levels. As well as being a legal requirement,
it’s a vital part of protecting your public
image and your brand. First impressions
count more than ever in this day and age.
And let’s be honest, it doesn’t look good
if you have a sign with letters missing or
lighting behind it that is no longer properly
working. At best it looks unprofessional
– and at worst, in instances for example
where missing letters might lead to your
sign saying something it really shouldn’t, it
can be incredibly damaging to your brand,
with countless examples of accidentally
rude signs being shared on social media
every month.
FALLING SIGNS
And then there’s the importance of
maintaining your signs from a health and
safety perspective. When signs fail, it can be
with disastrous consequences: for example,
there have been numerous instances over
the years where signs - sometimes really