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Products & Services Information - Books
1 article
15th Feb 07 - The
Sign Of Trouble For FMs
The
Sign Of Trouble For FMs
 A
senior figure in the UK sign industry has written an explosive
book blowing the whistle on scams, frauds, dodges, and health
and safety breaches which are routinely practised by sign companies.
In "Safety, quality, tricks and lies: dirty tricks in the
British sign industry, and 100 questions your sign company doesn’t
want you to ask", author Steve Martin – himself the
boss of a sign installation and maintenance firm – unveils
a grim catalogue of seedy practices which cost customers millions
every year.
The author’s research included interviews with ex-police
corporate investigators who are “very familiar” with
the industry.
The scams include the ‘fluorescent tube’ dodge, which
is described as “almost impossible to detect”. It
is one of several scams which could be conducted by contractors
of all types – not just sign companies.
The author’s contention is that the sign industry is highly
fragmented because the entry thresholds are low, which encourages
many would-be entrepreneurs to set up companies, even though they
are undercapitalised, and do not have the requisite skills or
training to provide effective business leadership. In this cut-throat
market, they soon run into trouble, and some resort to fraud,
and health and safety breaches, in a bid to bail themselves out.
Lack of health and safety compliance can put individual managers
in customer companies in legal peril, he says.
Steve Martin doesn’t pull any punches. Although the guilty
parties are not named and shamed, and he emphasises that there
are reputable companies out there, he and his publishers aren’t
taking any risks, either – the book has been ‘legalled’
by two law chambers (they are both thanked in the introduction).
It is clear that other experts have also read the manuscript and
had an input.
The book itself is packed with useful checklists, website addresses
and advice on how to avoid the worst of the problems. It doesn’t
just criticise the industry – the sections on ‘how
to be a good customer’ and how to get the best out of a
sign company are practical and handy.
"Safety, quality, tricks and lies" is not a long book,
and its contents could be useful for facilities managers in their
dealings with contractors and sub contractors in almost any field,
not just the sign industry. It is short on theory and long on
practical, common sense advice. It is published by Arima, at £14.95
and available on Amazon
and by special order from all good bookshops.
Click
Here to view on Amazon
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