New prices and policies have the sign industry wondering.
I ran into a buzzsaw of conversations at ISA’s Sign Expo tradeshow in Orlando in March. There, on March 28, three representatives from World Sign Assoc. (WSA) met with some Underwriter’s Laboratories (UL) representatives for informal discussions, after a WSA-member survey evidenced concern about UL pricing and practices. WSA then contacted the Intl. Sign Assn. (ISA) and the United States Sign Council (USSC).
At the show, I heard association representatives, sign suppliers and sign companies alike complain about a doubling of rates, mandated calibration of measurement instruments that sign companies now must supply, and revocation of reputable companies’ right to apply UL labels to their own signs. Sufficient concern triggered a three-association conference call with approximately a dozen people on April 25, which, by itself, raises eyebrows.
First of all, know this. UL isn’t the government. It is an independent, product-safety certification organization that provides a service purchased by myriad governmental entities. However, National Electrical Code (NEC) regulations mandate use of a listing service, and that essentially means UL, even though the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) recognizes 14 testing agencies. Think about things prior to the Ma Bell breakup.
Now, UL signshops must be inspected by UL field representatives four times a year. Nothing new there, but the cost for each such inspection has increased from $188 to $400. Plus, there is an annual $1,000 “graduated annual maintenance fee,” although this figure has not increased. UL said this administrative fee covers the costs of field reporting and conversations with local permit officials (authorities having jurisdiction, or AHJs).
A new potential cost is a $500 fee for a “variation notice.” This essentially says the inspected company erred, and the fee could be viewed as both a punitive fine and the cost to cover additional UL work.
Sign companies are now required to supply the instrumentation that helps determine compliance, plus they must bear the cost of having such instruments calibrated annually. One sign-company owner told me this cost him approximately $1,000.
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