The Safety Signs (and Signals) Regulations in 1996 brought changes to use symbols with text on "safety signs" as I understood it, not only general signs.

Hi both, Thanks for your responses, i agree if they comply with current regs 1996 then that is appropriate/sufficient, however, he has stated that all of the signage should be have visual directions as well as be worded. He wasnt around to discuss further, just left the report. Regards Gareth

I think that the point he was trying to make is that many workers may have difficulty reading the signs. It is surprising how poor the reading skills of many workers actually are. Also, don't forget that in many workplaces there will be people whose command of English is limited. So pictorial signs may actually be more effective, even if not required by the regulations. Whether pictorial signs are of benefit will depend upon the particular situations, i.e. nature of hazards and signs, nature of workforce, whether these have to be intelligible to the public, visitors, etc. Chris

I know this might sound a patronising, but have you tried contacting the person who carried out the FRA to discuss it further. This sounds like quite an expensive bit of work, and I for one would not be actioning this advice unless I was absolutely sure that I understood the assessor's rationale 100%

Messy, Heather, Thanks for your responses, this certainly created some debate. Heather i agree with your remarks regarding independant assessors, this is why i'm currently pushing for our staff to complete in house assessments, it's our estates department that wish to proceed with external assessments every 3 years to act as a form of external validation. Seems pointless to me when my staff have the neccessary qualifications, then we need to sift through some needless comments like 'signage needs replacing' yet 3 of my consultants cant see any reason why? Like you say Heather, they also provided the Estates team with a price list and recommend a company. Thanks once again for your responses, they seem to fit in with our initial response. Kind Regards Gareth

This topic is perhaps approaching one of the reasons that consultants were being seen in a bad light and the conception of OSHCR. Whilst most consultants in my experience provide a good, impartial and reasoned service to their clients, there are some that are also sales reps for safety products, whether extinguishers, PPE, software or LEV. Maybe these are more properly termed as "sales consultants". Of course we all are sales people for ourselves but flogging alarms, signs etc on the back of offering professional advice is (in my opinion) unethical, unless the client is fully aware of and accepts the commercial reality. I too am an "external assessor" and will recommend that additional control measures are needed although will invariably suggest at least two alternatives for a client to consider, unless there is really only one choice for a particular circumstance.

It is not clear whether the FRA action plan covers all of your sites. The action plan should include some form of priority/risk rating to guide you, e.g. Priorities: 1. Breach of legislation, having the potential for serious injury to relevant persons. 2. Breach of legislation, but not considered to constitute a serious threat to relevant persons. 3. Bad practice, but unlikely to constitute a serious threat to relevant persons. Suggested timescales: A. Immediately or as soon as is reasonably practicable. In the case of items that require capital work, steps should be taken as soon as is reasonably practicable to progress work. B. Short term. In the case of items that require capital expenditure, steps should be taken in the short term to progress that work. (within 3 months) C. Medium term. (3 to 6 months) The consultant should also debrief you following his/her completion of the project and have some idea of the typical costs involved. This includes helping you prioritise what needs to be done first etc. The FRA is the easier part to complete unlike the managing and implementation of the action plan. You are also probably aware that the fire and rescue service have an obligation under the Fire and Rescue Services Act 2004 to provide advice to the RP. D. Long term (e.g. at time of upgrading or refurbishment).