With the heatwave set to continue this month and the balmy warm days of the school holidays of August to come, there is a danger of more deaths. Children and teenagers who think of themselves as strong swimmers as well as young people in high spirits and those who simply fall in by mistake can ratchet up the numbers of those who get into trouble in water. However, good quality signage can at least warn people of the dangers and in many cases help to enforce a prohibition of swimming for good reason saving lives in the process.

Pictured is a sign made by Stock Signs of Redhill in Surrey for a quarry owned by Torr Works near Frome in Somerset. Stocksigns were tasked by the quarry company to implement health and safety signage for the building, as well as supplying road signs, speed limits, wayfinding and water safety signs. Torr Works is a major quarry and the operational firm has the distinction of having a railhead still in operation – a throwback to when there was a line liking Wells to London. The flooded quarry in question (and now a lake) is used for water sports and is called Merehead which relates to the days when the railway also connected to it for the transport of stone from the site at the eastern end of the Mendip Hills.

Managing director of Stocksigns Group, Danny Adamson, says: “As a signage provider for the industry with over 60 years’ experience, it is our duty to uphold the importance of safety to give members of the public a sense of security. There are many different types of environments which have their own legislative obligations and material requirements. For example, we can provide signs that are weatherproof, resistant to salt water and non-corrosive making them hard wearing and long lasting. Our range spans those used in public spaces to those used in the most hostile marine and off-shore environments.

“In addition to this, for the last eight years, we have been working in partnership with RoSPA in aiding the prevention of accidents. Our number one priority is to use signage as an educational tool, especially for younger people to respect and understand the dangers that nature can pose to us.” 

The Health and Safety Executive issues exhaustive notes on legislation concerning public safety at quarries both active and disused under the Health and Safety at Quarries Regulations 1999.

According to the Occupation Health Market the H&E industry is worth around £855m a year in the UK, although is suggests only around 20 percent of companies have taken up the regulations fully. This leaves a large untapped market for sign-makers who if they investigate their clients and potential customers and swot up on the H&E legislation there is a big chunk of business to be had, as proved by Stocksigns Group.

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