Customers are important, they are our next week’s wages, but do you ever get customers who come in and demand an instant quotation. Never seen them before, probably never see them again but we must stop looking after our long term, good paying clients to get this quick quote done now.

Usually quick quotes have little information to work on and as such can not be a quote and must by definition be an estimate of the work likely to be involved.

Good customers are those who are regular, pay regularly, plan ahead and allow time to get a quote and discuss their full requirements. These are the customers who get best value, receive what they require and go home feeling satisfied.

Most people assume that when you make signs, that that’s all you do. We go that extra mile however - we do perform other sign-related services that can make a big difference. Here’s an example:

The sign is nearly ruined as you can see, the sprayed on lettering covering the sign. Perhaps a new sign would be in order? Not necessarily! GRS does perform sign cleaning when asked, and in this case since we made and fitted the sign, it’s part of the follow-up service. Here’s the cleaned version:

Looks much better, don’t you think?

As Christmas approaches we think we should inform you that we will be closed from 12.00pm on Friday 19th December 2008 and will re-open at 8.00am Monday 5th January 2009.

We would like to wish all our customers a Happy Christmas and Prosperous New Year!

There are many places in industrial estates, industrial buildings or complexes, or offices, where you need a Permit to Work Safety Sign Sticker. It might be because of dangerous machinery, or because of secrecy issues (industrial espionage is real, you know), but whatever the reason this safety sign sticker is easy to understand and clearly shows what is mandatory.

These safety sign stickers are the standard size (100mm x 100mm) and clearly show some form of permit or identification is required.

Here is a safety sign sticker that can be used in a variety of places - the Hot Surface Safety Sign Sticker.

Clearly it shows heat coming off of a surface and immediately I think of a kitchen. Perhaps a restaurant kitchen, or a supermarket rotisserie? There are many different kinds of hot surfaces. Perhaps an industrial use warning employees about a machine with a heated surface?

There are many situations where a Do Not Operate Safety Sign Sticker could come in handy. Perhaps an industrial plant where a machine is undergoing maintenance? Or maybe in conjunction with a No Unauthorised Usage Safety Sign Sticker that would require someone who is fully trained in a machine to use it.

It is very easy to understand this safety sign sticker, the vast majority of people can understand it.

In homage to Gavin & Stacey, the title says it all. Well, will tell it all.

We are a small company, and justifiably proud to have succeeded to this point. Like many small companies there have been trials and tribulations, ups and downs. With the time and dedication of many people the company has prospered and grown from a one-man outfit at the beginning (some twenty years ago) to nearly twenty employees now.

As you may imagine, whether you work for yourself, another small company, or a large company, the rules and regulations of running businesses have become more and more complicated as time has passed. This is however, becoming more and more of a deluge rather than a few letters informing us of regulatory and legal changes.

Submitting job proposals has become a lesson in following legal mumbo-jumbo. The various policies you must have in place have become so numerous and onerous that not having one can mean the difference between getting a contract and not (and that’s just pre-qualification!).

Writing this article I am aware I am not a manager, I am an employee, and even though I may not be involved in decision-making I have to say that I have sympathy for those that have to wade through this minefield of bureaucratic red tape - just to get in the door - kudos to their patience. I cannot imagine spending day after day filling out forms just so someone deciding on a contact can even look at our contract! How inane and ridiculous is that?

We have a very forthright and straightforward equal opportunities policy - the owner looks at everyone the same, regardless of sex, race, colour, religion, and so on. That seems fair to me. But this being the case, we -still- get rejected because our policy is not good enough. How can you be more fair? Here is one council’s list of Acts we should be “aware of”:

• Sex Discrimination Acts 1975 and 1986;
• Race Relations Act 1976;
• 2000 and 2003;
• Equal Pay Act 1970;
• Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and (Exceptions) Order 1975;
• Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994;
• Disability Discrimination Act 1995 (Amendment) Regulations 2003;
• Employment Rights Act 1996;
• Employment Act 2002;
• Employment Equality (Religion or Belief) Regulations 2003;
• Employment Equality (Sexual Orientation) Regulations 2003.

I (we) write this article in the hope that someone may also be in our position - a small company trying to stay upright, struggling against the governmental nonsense that they throw against us (even in these hard times) - and ask if you could give us a call, contact us, comment on this post. And even, if you think this might have jolted you a little, write to your MP and ask why more and more regulations are piled on us when we are the wheels of industry that keep this country moving…

Lastly, I am reminded of a famous quote, which I think would be appropriate at this point, supposedly attributed to Oscar Wilde:

The bureaucracy is expanding to meet the needs of the expanding bureaucracy.

Every cycle (which we should add seems to come round faster and faster) we have an external audit.

This isn’t for any one thing, but rather for the BS5750 standard (ISO 9000) which GRS Sign Company Ltd. signed up for (excuse the pun) in 1993. It is a system of quality assurance that we believe needs living up to. All of our internal systems, our processes, our production, all live up to this standard, and follows the system to the letter.

The auditor picks areas to take a look at each year, never the same each time, and examines them for our compliancy to the standard. From a personal perspective, these are some factors that I encounter daily, that are highlighted in the ISO 9000 standards, which I will add pieces to show how it affects my daily work. These are just some of the requirements:

• a set of procedures that cover all key processes in the business; we have procedures laid out in manuals for us to follow and refer to, for both small and large jobs;
• monitoring processes to ensure they are effective; we have been asked to write out processes to make sure we know what they are, and are also encouraged to suggest improvements;
• keeping adequate records; each step of the work we do has an area to tick and mark that we have done it, our signature, any extra info etc.,
• checking output for defects, with appropriate and corrective action where necessary; we have a procedure for marking mistakes we find or make;
• regularly reviewing individual processes and the quality system itself for effectiveness;
• facilitating continual improvement; again, we are encouraged to suggest improvements to any procedure;

Going back those many years to 1993, the BS5750 standard, or what is now known as the ISO 9000 standard, wasn’t as well appreciated as it is now. It was quite a leap for a small company such as GRS to embrace the standards, and quite difficult to justify doing so, but ultimately it can be said that the standards have had visible tangible dividends for us.

Back to current days, GRS Sign Company Ltd., passed the audit with flying colours and while we are happy to say our standards are high and the employees are well trained in following them, it is wise to also say that like any standards they could be higher and we will aim for that.

This is a rather odd safety sign sticker, but one that does definately have a place. Perhaps a dance hall where the floor is kept pristine and shiny? Boots wouldn’t be welcome there. Or in an industrial setting for a clean room, or laboratories, or perhaps a carpet showroom - those are places where heavy duty boots would be unwelcome.

It’s clear that the safety sign sticker is indicating a really heavy pair of boots (steelies, nails in the bottom and heel reinforcement). And obviously the prohibition symbol is fairly straightforward - so it’s very easy to understand that this is a No Boots Safety Sign Sticker!

There are occasions (and seemingly more and more of them as time goes by) where man’s best friend isn’t so wanted or loved. That’s where the No Dogs Safety Sign Sticker can come in handy, to inform the general public, or perhaps employees, that dogs are not welcome.

Clearly it shows a dog, with the standard prohibition symbol - dogs are not wanted here!