All construction businesses would like to see better rates of productivity during product delivery. Housebuilding firms, for example, will often have multiple sub-contractors on their sites at any one moment in time which can cause all sorts of problems with people trying to work in the same space unless scheduling is managed effectively. There again, main contractors can sometimes fail to direct their own workforces to the right places at the right times on building sites. Even worse, accidents can lead to delays, wasted materials and – in the worst cases – bring a complete halt to construction work.
Helpfully, construction sites that have clever signage installations will often overcome many of the basic issues that negatively affect the level of productivity you’d find on the average building site. What’s more, they do so cost-effectively. Signs continue to perform their function from the commencement of a project right through to its completion, after all. That’s why construction firms of all sizes should focus more on signage and what it can do for productivity. Read on to find out why it is so beneficial in this regard.
Site Access Improvements
To begin with, productivity is lost when drivers delivering materials enter sites from the wrong location or attempt to make access alongside construction workers and other professionals who are working on-site. By better managing site access, especially when there is more than one route into a building site, so construction projects will run more smoothly and with less disruption from the toing and froing of construction vehicles as well as construction workers’ cars. Even better, well-designed signage can help to manage traffic around a site which leads to improved relations with neighbours.
Contractor Registration Signage
Most construction sites will require contractors to register with a site foreman or similar before they are allowed onto a site to complete their tasks. However, there is often wasted time that occurs when specialist tradespeople turn up – particularly at larger sites – if they don’t know where they’ll need to register. Clever signage Design will direct newcomers to the relevant site office so they can complete their registration procedure immediately, thereby helping to boost the overall productivity of the site.
Wayfinding and Orientation
Not all building sites need wayfinding signage but many do. Without wayfinding finger pointers and maps that workers can access from multiple locations, it can be difficult for them to find their way from one part of the site to another. This means wasted time and effort on behalf of everyone involved. Given that construction sites change over time, it is no good relying on workers simply remembering where they need to be, either. Instead, install navigation signage that will help them get to where they’re supposed to be doing their work without delay and a consequent dip in productivity.
Smoother Site Inductions
Signage is a good idea when site inductions are required. Perhaps your site needs workers to undergo a security clearance or to undertake a health and safety course that is particular to the site where they will be working. Making sure workers are reminded they need to have a site induction or update their briefing before they begin work is a good idea. One of the best solutions for doing so is to erect signage close to the main entrance that tells workers they need to undergo an induction before they start work and, crucially, where and how they can access one.
Improved Construction Worker Communications
According to 4Site Implementation, a firm that designs building site signage but that also manufactures and installs it, clever signage isn’t merely about stating the obvious things construction workers need to see and do. This is because it is also about helping managers and executives to better communicate their priorities. When building site workers see signs that are specifically aimed at them, especially branded signage that is targetted at certain sub-contractors or trades, they are more likely to respond to it. In turn, this means they’ll take on board the messages you most want to convey whether they concern operational hours, safety priorities or noise abatement notices.
Better Valued Employees and Contractors
When you are communicating with a workforce better – whether you are using signage or any other tool at your disposal – the people in that workforce will necessarily feel more looked after. To put that another way, good communications leads to happier, better-motivated workers. In terms of construction site signage, strong, clear messaging doesn’t just help to make your own employees feel better valued but all of the sub-contractors who are operating on the site, too. When construction workers see well-designed signage in the right locations, it creates an impression of a professionally run site which, in turn, will typically bring out the best in their work. Conversely, when information is mismanaged or incomplete, workers tend to function less productively.
Health and Safety Regulatory Compliance
A great deal of attention should be paid to health and safety regulations these days. Few businesses in the construction sector cannot fail to understand how important conveying health and safety information is nowadays whether they’re involved in a small home extension or a multi-million-pound civil engineering project. Fail to provide health and safety information at a building site and you could be shut down, face stoppages or even receive punitive fines from the regulator. Simply put, all of these outcomes would lead to a devastating loss of productivity even if they were overcome in the end. Why risk it when health and safety signage can be made for you that is site and project-specific, tailored to your exact requirements?
Marketing Potential
Although the clever deployment of construction site signage is typically about making sites run more smoothly with fewer incidents, blockages and accidents, there is another aspect of it that impacts on productivity. This is because signs can be just as easily used to make marketing activities more productive as they can be for construction work. Branded wayfinding signs used in the construction phase, for example, can still serve a useful purpose when units are first being sold off. Equally, site hoardings that prevent unwarranted access have great marketing potential for both residential and commercial building projects. In short, never underestimate what signage can do for your marketing operation when a project is nearing completion.