A head for heights

I will be the first to admit that when it comes to heights my stomach does a bit of a flip and my legs suddenly become very jelly-like. So, when I see people working high up on buildings, I have to look up to them—both literally and metaphorically. 

Sign-makers are one group of workers that are often asked to work at heights when installing applications. Billboards, exterior signage, interior signage, LED lighting; the list of applications that requires installation at height is quite a lengthy one.

Considering the amount of work in this area, it is imperative that sign-makers retain the highest level of health and safety when it comes to working at height. Not only will this secure the safety of their own workers, but also allow them to complete jobs successfully.

Safety is priority

One firm that has a healthy involvement with this sector is Nationwide Platforms, a supplier of powered access platform rentals and training for working at heights of 3.5m right up to 70m. Peter Douglas, UK operations director, says the firm is well equipped to help with a variety of projects.

He comments: “Nationwide Platforms has worked with customers in the signage sector for more than 20 years, providing equipment, training, and expertise to support a wide range of commercial, retail, event, and rebrand projects. 

“We aspire to a ‘your safety, our priority’ principle that sees us put welfare and well-being first in everything we do. For anyone working at height we believe this is absolutely essential. The facts speak for themselves; there are more major injuries and fatalities attributed to trips, slips, and falls than any other kind of workplace incident.

“Powered access is widely regarded as the safest means of access and, across many industries, it’s considered the most commercially viable too. In fact, because powered access can simply be set up and used to access work areas at height in just minutes, the manpower and time requirements are often greatly diminished, creating a saving for many users.”

Douglas cites a number of areas in which the firm has witnessed the greatest demand from sign-makers: “High level signage, above 50m, accounts for part of our business and the installation of new signage at these heights has generally proved to be stable. The advance within the industry of new products and materials such as LEDs means longer periods between planned maintenance at these heights. The main bulk of our external signage business is work taking place between working heights of 22 and 38m.”

Nationwide Platforms has a host of equipment on offer, including products from its BlueSky range, such as the SkySiren, and a series of materials handling attachments—available for hire with a range of scissor and boom lifts.

In addition, Douglas claims Nation-wide Platforms provides more training courses accredited by the International Powered Access Federation (IPAF) than any other company in Europe. Members of the British Sign and Graphics Association can claim a 10 percent discount on any IPAF operator training completed with the firm.

With this in mind, Douglas invites industry members to get in touch about advice for installing signage at heights: “We have a dedicated Site Surveys team to help our customers choose the most appropriate equipment for their task. Industry specific support is also available throughout Nationwide Platforms and can be very important in understanding specific needs. 

“Finally, getting employees trained to work safely at height is absolutely essential, regardless of the application or industry. Not only is it a legal requirement, but a trained, competent, and confident member of staff is also more likely to be effective in what they do.”



Increasing regulations

Elsewhere, Global Erecting Sign Services (GESS) is also well established in the sector having been offering installation services for 15 years. After starting up as a sign installation company, the firm opted to adopt abseiling and rope access as a form of installing signs. Gavin Clark, head of operations, says GESS can be a ‘one–stop-shop’ for sign-makers looking for an installation service.

He continues: “We’re a sign installation company that uses rope access to get to the right area. A lot of companies get muddled up as they get people that are rope access-qualified to install a sign, whereas we are a sign-fitter that uses rope access as a method to install signs.

“We can install whatever sign, system, or banner they have on to the substrate or surface required. For example, we’re doing lots of building wraps where companies are doing building renovation in London. When the scaffold goes up, we’ll wrap the scaffold with a one-to-one banner, or if there’s areas where there is just glass, then we’ll put vinyl onto the glass. We can even wrap hoardings at ground level.”

Clark says more and more sign-makers are contacting the firm about its installation services. He claims that this is due to an increase in regulation surrounding such installation, pushing sign-makers to outsource work rather than complete it themselves and have to deal with regulatory preparations.

He explains: “The world has changed dramatically in the last five or ten years from guys just arriving on site, installing the signage, and leaving. Now, there is much more work in advance such as paperwork, qualifications, risk assessments, getting all signed off and approved, and making sure they have all the right paperwork when the do get on site.



“We’ve had sites recently that inspect the harnesses and make sure the certification we’ve provided matches up with this kit, which would never have happened twelve months ago. We’re getting more calls now about checking our kit, the certifications for it, and the information about it.

“This is why more people are shying away from doing their installation and sticking to what they know best—the actual production of the sign. They don’t want the health and safety head-aches associated with the installation process.”

With this in mind, Clark says companies involved in the installation of signage at heights should carefully consider their strategy before opting to carry out work themselves.

He counsels: “To install signage at height, harnesses need to be inspected every six months and independently certified. This adds extra expense on insurance and kit, and if you need to use machinery like cherry pickers,
you need to be qualified and have suitable health and safety kit. A lot of our clients tend to pass on the burden of the installation as it saves them on the cost of kit, training, and insurance.

“A good sign-maker will know how to install their own sign. Their main headache will be how they are going to get to the right location and if their insurance company will cover the work. It all comes down to whether you do it regularly enough. If they have regular work at certain levels of height, it is more cost-effective for them to get training and purchase the kit. If it’s a one-off job, it’s likely that it won’t be cost-effective.”

O Factoid: The world's tallest billboard is located in Times Square, New York. One Times square measures in at 120m in height and was designed by Cyrus L.W.Eldlitz of HLW InternationalO

Plan to succeed

Signage solutions supplier Signbox is also well clued up in this area having completed a whole range of
installations at various heights. Steve Dyason, operations manager at the firm, explains that the company gets calls about all sorts of installation projects, and has to consider a host of health and safety issues.

He explains: “In this day and age, safety is first and foremost—you have to consider it straight away. Things such as public safety and workplace access should be amongst the first things you think about with jobs like this.

“Just to get on a site, you need to have Construction Skills Certification Scheme (CSCS) qualification. This is the minimum level of qualification for health and safety that will get you through the front door, let alone do any work. Then, depending what you are doing on-site, you have to consider other aspects and the training this needs. This can include PASMA for mobile access towers and harness training for when you’re working up there.



“All our guys are harness trained so they can work safely at height. We also give toolbox talks on-site about safe working practices, while any changes to the scaffolding would be checked on a daily basis before someone goes on it.”

With such a variety of jobs, Dyason says the firm uses a host of kit. As well as the expected cherry pickers and scaffold towers, Signbox has also used truck-mounted booms and flying scaffolds for jobs at very high positions. Dyason goes on to say that some jobs even require the use of a crane, citing a recent example of when such machinery was used at London’s Canary Wharf.

He continues: “We’ve used cranes on a job for Northern Trust where he had to shut the bottom end of Canary Wharf over the Christmas break to crane in the high-level steel to the building, which was at a height of around 88m.

“We are also looking at other jobs at Canary Wharf, for which we will use flying scaffolds off the top of the building rather than booming up. Again, we might have to use a crane to get the steels in place for the lettering.”

The use of such kit inevitably brings more safety considerations, as Dyason explains: “It depends on the type of job when it comes to where you can actually park your machinery, how much weight it can take, and the drainage requirements. You have to consider a number of things when you put your machinery in position because you could put an out-rigger through a drain quite easily.”



With this in mind, Dyason issues a warning to sign-makers and installers who work with such kit: “Always think worst case scenario; if you factor in scenarios such as the weather stopping you work, then you can overcome these problems. When working at height, you need an animeter to check the wind speed, as it’s not safe working at height or handling materials when there are high winds. Check and double check, go over the job, and make sure the team is fully briefed and know what they are doing. Plan to succeed.”

So, it seems that there is much to be considered when it comes to installing signage at heights. While the kit is out there to tackle such projects, outsourcing work to experienced installation companies could prove to be a safer and more cost-effective method for sign-makers.


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