Head for heights
Producing a signage application is just one part of the job, with the installation of this work a whole other matter altogether. While installing pieces at lower levels brings with it a host of health and safety considerations, this increases significantly when it comes to working at height.
An increasing number of signage jobs require installation at height. Be it letters on the side of a multi-storey hotel, colourful banners on the side of a tall building, or even company logos on the side of skyscrapers in the busiest cities in the world, there is certainly an appetite for signage at height.
Signage can be installed on all sorts of tall structures including buildings and bridges
However, this sort of work comes with a whole range of safety considerations, both for your own staff when working on-site and the general public passing below after the installation has been completed. With this in mind, SignLink takes a closer look at some of the key points sign-makers and installers should be aware of when working from above.
Flying high
Global Erecting Sign Services, more commonly known as GESS, is one of the leading signage installers in the UK and Europe, having been installing all sorts of signs at a wide range of locations for more than 25 years. Managing director Martin Hicks has led the business since its early days as a two-man band, overseeing an incredible transformation from focusing on low-level work to offering expert signage installation at height to a host of major clients.
“We are a highly competent company that is able to install all types of signage from ground level through to extreme high levels including complete building wraps and various other creative works,” Hicks says, adding: “Over the years, we have been approached to undertake a huge variety of projects, some of which are unique and new to the media and sign industry.
“We have developed, with the aid of our structural engineers, our own variety of bespoke systems and fixing methods to enable us to install large PVC/mesh images totalling thousands of square metres to scaffold/steel work structures, brick/stonework buildings, and largely exposed structures which are affected by heavy winds from all directions.”
GESS trains staff to install signage applications while suspended from rope on the side of buildings
GESS counts businesses from across the events, sporting, out-of-home, special effects, PR, sign-making, and print management markets among its range of customers, with much of the company’s installation work having appeared across the pages of SignLink over the years.
Hicks explains that every job GESS undertakes is given the same level of care, no matter what size the application is or how long it will take to install. He says that the company carries out the same number of checks for each job to ensure both its success and safety.
“We have to do lots of risk and method statements and reports in order to get from a visual supplied by the customer to a completed project on the side of a building, bridge, or other structure,” Hicks says.
“We do all our health and safety in-house, with all jobs having to undergo a site survey, as well as a full brief and risk and method statement. Lots goes on behind the scenes for what might sometimes only be one day on-site, it will be at least a couple of days’ worth of office work before you can start a job. The same amount of effort goes into each job to make sure we are carrying out the work in the safest and most economical way.
The same amount of effort goes into each job to make sure we are carrying out the work in the safest and most economical way”
“We also have a group of structural engineers that we work with to back up our theory or idea to ensure it will work and that the sign or display will remain in place as it should be. Everything we install is belt and braces, and it isn’t coming down; it is designed to stay up. We get heavily involved in all parts of the process including the banner and fabrics finishing details and specification to ensure the overall finish of the printed material meets the requirements.
Build up your knowledge
In terms of training, Hicks is a passionate advocate for ensuring all of his staff have the right level of knowledge before being allowed near an installation site. There are a number of key qualifications and certifications that all workers at GESS need to have in order to ‘move up’ to working at heights.
First, a CSCS card is a basic requirement for anyone working on a construction site, both in the signage industry and in other markets. Hicks explains that this gives workers a “ticket” to a site and allows them to join other members of the team in the installation job. This also gives the operatives a basic knowledge of health and safety awareness.
O Factoid: In order to work on a live installation site, workers are required to hold a CSCS card
O
The next rung on the working from height ladder is cherry pickers and scaffolding, with any staff at GESS working on these pieces of machinery required – by GESS, rather than by law – to take part in a harness training course. Here, they will learn how to safely attach themselves to the piece of kit and avoid serious injury or falls.
GESS also offers staff PASMA training, where they will learn how to safely put together and certify a full scaffold tower, as well as the opportunity to train for an IPAF licence so that they can drive a cherry-picker. In addition, the company delivers first aid training and site supervision safety training for its employees.
A cherry picker are one of the many pieces of equipment that is used when working from height
At the top of the ladder is IRATA for, as Hicks puts it, “swinging from a rope”. Simply put, such is the difficulty of installing certain types of signs and related applications from height that there is no other option but for staff to abseil down the side of a building and install the piece while they are suspended in mid-air by a piece of rope.
“It may be that you cannot get a machine to work at a certain height or that you are not able to close the road for a day or a number of days to allow you to install signage, so the only way to carry out this work is to swing from a rope,” Hicks says, “Around 15 years ago, some of us went on a rope access course for a week of intense training. From that, we purchased all the relevant kit and adapted from standing on our feet to swinging on a rope in the wind to install signage. This has opened up all sorts of work for us and allowed us to take on projects that may not have previously been possible.
“For all of our training, staff have to do it at least every three years to ensure that they do not forget anything. Everyone gets re-certified and with IRATA/PASMA/IPAF/CSCS and First Aid, you can move up the chain on rope access from level one to level three, meaning you are more qualified in the abseil world.
“However, before we even begin to offer all this training, we ensure that our staff are fully qualified in the different types of signage that we install. They need to be fully trained on the systems we work with before we even entertain moving up the levels.”
Hicks goes on to say that, unfortunately, not all install companies share his view on the importance of training and certifications, explaining that the number of workers that do not have the right training is scary. As such, he encourages businesses, particularly those operating as one- or two-man bands, to carry out at least the basic training to ensure their workers can carry out lower-level – but still from height – work.
“We class high as 6m and over and some one- or two-man bands do this work without the right sort of training,” Hicks says, adding: “From our view, you do need at least some of the training we do. The training costs can be high, but it is absolutely worth it to ensure the safety of staff and of the application being installed.
“We spend a lot on training, insurance, and kit, but you need it in order to deliver the service. Training also gives your staff the confidence to get up there and carry out the work. You need to be confident and physically fit to do this sort of work.” Speak with experts
For further advice and guidance, ISA-UK is able to point its members, and indeed the wider industry, in the right direction to ensure safety when working from height. Chief executive Craig Brown says individual jobs are assessed on their own merits but as a starting point, the dos and don’ts advice direct from the HSE website is a sound basis to start from.
“The HSE advises to carry out as much work as possible from the ground; ensure workers can get safely to and from where they work at height; ensure equipment is suitable, stable, and strong enough for the job and is maintained and checked regularly; take precautions when working on or near fragile surfaces; provide protection from falling objects; and consider emergency evacuation and rescue procedures.
“At the same time, sign-makers should not overload ladders and consider the equipment or materials workers are carrying before working at height. They should also not overreach on ladders or stepladders; rest a ladder against weak upper surfaces; use ladders or stepladders for strenuous or heavy tasks and only use them for light work of short duration; and not let anyone who is not competent work at height.
“I will add one other area that is often overlooked and that lots of clients don’t understand, as all they want is their signage in place, and that is weather conditions. Heavy rain, wind, extreme heat, or cold can all play a significant factor in the safety of the fitting crew and those around them.”
Brown’s mention of training fits in with the guidance from GESS. He goes on to say a lot of training when working at height has an emphasis on risk avoidance, when shortcuts are taken that thought process is often forgotten about.
“The idea of training is to make those doing the job skilled enough to use the equipment correctly and perform the task to an adequate level,” he says, adding: “This includes thinking about your safety and the safety of those around you.
“Negating training increases the risks and when working at height – and don’t forget working from height is as soon as you step up from the ground – a fall or failure to use equipment properly can often see life-changing injuries or worse to those involved in the incident.
“Learning to use the access equipment that’s available properly is a must and there are listed companies throughout the UK that offer formal training to a certified level including ladder training, IPAF, and PASMA accreditation.
“Take time to talk to your local training provider and make sure they understand your team’s needs and the outcome you are looking to achieve.”
Brown’s closing comments offer a suitable and sensible conclusion to this feature: speak with experts if you are unsure about working from height and ensure your staff have the right amount of training to keep them safe.
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