A new BSGA podcast series, recorded at The Sign Show, explains what the standards are, what they are not, and why every sign business should pay attention
On day three of The Sign Show, Jack was joined by BSGA Managing Director Linda Edwards and Ben Lambert of Displayway in the podcast booth to produce a series of podcasts to explain the upcoming BS559-2 standard.
Ben has spent many years in signage maintenance and manufacture, and he sits on the BSI panel developing BS 559-2, the new maintenance standard. His first job was to clear up a common misunderstanding. “A British Standard is essentially a best practice guide. It’s not legislation, which some people do get confused by,” he says.
Law and the framework around it
Linda draws the line clearly. “Legislation is law, and the British Standard is a framework of best practice. Industry experts have come together and collectively decided that this is the framework that should be followed,” she explains.
So if nobody has to follow it, why bother? Ben points to the Health and Safety at Work Act, which already requires signage to be safe, secure and well maintained. What the Act does not do is tell you how. “The issue at the moment is that there’s no robust guidance that shows you how to do that. That’s essentially what the standard is, a best practice guide to make sure you are compliant with legislation,” he adds.
Four people and a lot of experience
The BSI writes each standard by bringing in experts from the relevant field. For signage maintenance, that meant a panel of four. “We’ve been working very hard to use our experience and industry knowledge to create a standard that is far less ambiguous than what we had previously,” Ben notes.
He admits the content runs deep, so the panel kept the language as simple as possible to avoid misinterpretation. He says, “Anyone who is competent within signage should be able to pick this up and deliver work that is compliant with legislation.”
Linda puts the case more directly, asking, “Why would you not work alongside the British Standard? Why would you not take it into consideration as an employee, as a team member, but equally as an employer or an industry stakeholder?”
Next up, BS 559-2 in detail
The next episode moves on to BS 559-2 itself and what it means for sign businesses. Linda concludes, “Through our experience and our own practical undertakings, this is what we believe best supports the legislation in place. It also means that as an industry we are all working towards the same standards and best practices.”
Watch the full conversation here: