Signs
HERMEQ supplies temporary road signs for construction, highway maintenance and events, from freestanding plastic Q-Signs and reflective metal sign faces to quick fit closure signs and Stop/Go boards. Most of the range is made in the UK to Chapter 8 and BS 8442:2015, and the signs give drivers and pedestrians clear instructions on public roads and private sites.
The plastic signs have no metal parts to rust or attract scrap thieves, and the metal faces clip into standard steel frames, so the range covers short jobs and semi-permanent layouts alike. The signs are used on town centre streetworks, construction sites and large events where access is controlled, with next day delivery on stocked lines.
Temporary road signs for roadworks
The range divides by how each sign stands: Q-Signs are freestanding, metal and quick fit faces mount on a frame, and the Stop/Go board is held by an operative.
Q-Signs
A Q-Sign is a one-piece moulding of recycled polypropylene in which the sign face and its stand are the same part, so it goes down at the roadside without a frame, clips or tools. The angled footprint keeps the fire-retardant plastic sign stable in wind. Q-Signs are the format to choose for advance warnings, lane direction and pedestrian signs on jobs where the signs go out and come back every day.
Metal road signs for steel frames
The metal signs are reflective zintec steel faces, made to clip into the angle iron and steel frames that traffic management fleets already run. HERMEQ supplies a metal road narrows sign for frames already in service, and a traffic signals ahead sign on its own leg-mounted steel frame for the approach to temporary lights.
Quick fit road closed and lane closed signs
Quick fit faces are flat plastic sign plates, pre-drilled to fasten onto a quick fit frame, so one frame can carry a different message on each job. The range covers road closed signs in two sizes for full closures, and lane closed wicket signs that show drivers which lanes of a two, three or four lane carriageway are shut ahead.
Stop/Go boards
The Stop/Go board is the hand-held sign in the range: a reversible disc on a pole that an operative turns to stop or release traffic. It comes complete with its pole and is light enough to carry and turn through a full shift.
Plastic or metal road signs
The decision rests on how the signs will be left on site and which frames you already own. Plastic Q-Signs suit jobs where signs stand unattended overnight or where metal theft is a known problem, because they contain no metal and have no scrap value. One operative can carry and place them, they do not rust, and they stack in the van, so a crew on short reactive jobs can carry a full set with no frames to load.
Reflective zintec metal faces suit fleets that already run steel or angle iron frames. The faces clip into the frames already owned, and one frame can carry a road narrows warning on one job and a signals ahead warning on the next, so the outlay is the face alone.
For work close to live electrics, such as cable jointing or work beside substations, the plastic quick fit frame is non-conductive and recyclable, and it carries quick fit faces with no metal frame near the cables.
Road signs for lane closures, road closures and footway works
Lane closures and road narrowings
The Men At Work sign goes first on the approach as the general warning of works ahead. A road narrows left sign or a road narrows right sign follows on the side where the carriageway loses width, and a keep left sign or keep right sign at the head of the taper sends traffic past the works on the open side. On multi-lane roads the lane closed wicket signs tell drivers which lanes are shut before they reach the taper. Traffic cones form the taper and line the works, with cone lamps where the closure stays out after dark.
Shuttle working with Stop/Go boards or temporary signals
When the open lane is too narrow for two-way traffic, vehicles pass the works one direction at a time. A Stop/Go board at each end suits short sections where the operatives can see each other and the queues, while temporary signals suit longer sections and works that stay out beyond a shift, with the traffic signals ahead sign on each approach.
Full road closures
A closure needs road closed signs where the closed length begins, and advance warning far enough back that drivers can turn off before they reach it. The road closed faces mount on quick fit frames, and road barriers or water filled barriers placed across the carriageway physically stop vehicles going past the sign.
Footway closures and pedestrian diversions
When works take the footway, pedestrians need a signed route around them, either along a protected walkway in the carriageway or across to the far side. The reversible pedestrian sign points either way, so the same sign serves both ends of the works. Where the route crosses a trench or steps down a kerb, pedestrian ramps and trench covers keep the walkway level for wheelchairs and pushchairs.
Site entrances and private sites
The site entrance sign system puts the sign and the fencing on one base: a temporary fence panel or gate slots into the base housing, which anchors the sign post without rubber feet or sandbags. With the panel left out, the same base and post stand alone as a freestanding sign for wayfinding around the site boundary.
Road sign sizes and toggle centres
Sign face sizes
Face sizes across the range run from the 600mm Stop/Go board to lane closed wicket signs more than a metre tall. Chapter 8 matches sign size to the speed of the road, since drivers on faster roads have to read the sign from further away, so the larger faces belong on dual carriageways and high-speed approaches and the smaller ones on urban streets and footways.
Matching sign faces to frames
Quick fit faces are drilled for toggles at 300mm or 450mm centres, and the full-size steel quick fit frame uses a wider toggle spacing, so a face only fits a frame drilled to the same spacing. Check the centres on the frames already in the yard before ordering faces. The road closed and lane closed wicket faces come in both drillings and the plastic quick fit frame takes either, which makes it the simplest frame to standardise on when a fleet holds faces of both kinds.
Road sign frames, posts and weights
Quick fit sign frames
The steel quick fit frame is built from steel box section for repeat deployment and carries triangular, circular and rectangular panels, with faces changed in seconds on the toggles. The mini quick fit sign frame is a lower steel frame for smaller faces, made and powder coated in-house in a choice of colours so a fleet can colour code frames by job or phase, and bars between its legs take sandbags. The plastic road sign frame is an all-composite alternative with no metal to corrode, light enough for one operative and returnable to HERMEQ for recycling at the end of its life. The full choice of quick fit frames and signs sits in its own category.
Urban sign posts and bases
The Urban Sign System post is a lightweight recycled plastic upright with anti-luce fixings that hold the sign face directly on the post, and it is an alternative to the steel mini frame on streetworks and footway jobs. The post stands in a heavy recycled plastic sign post base with high visibility edge plates that reduce trip hazards, and bases stack for more weight on exposed sites, which reduces the need for sandbags.
Road sign frame weights
Road sign frame weights clip onto the legs of quick fit frames built from 25mm box section and lock in place to hold the frame down in wind. They are moulded from recycled PVC and weigh the same wet or dry, so the ballast does not change with the weather as a soaked or dried-out sandbag does.
Chapter 8 and BS 8442 road signs
The signs in the range are made to the documents that govern temporary signing on the highway. Chapter 8 of the Traffic Signs Manual sets out how temporary traffic management is designed and laid out for road works and other temporary situations. Safety at Street Works and Road Works, the code of practice known as the Red Book, covers the signing, lighting and guarding of street works carried out by utilities, highway authorities and their contractors. The Traffic Signs Regulations and General Directions prescribe the signs themselves, with their designs and meanings. BS 8442:2015 sets requirements and test methods for portable road signs and devices, and the plastic Q-Signs and the plastic quick fit frame are built to it. The metal signs carry RA1 reflective faces, which return headlight to drivers after dark.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Does HERMEQ manufacture its road signs?
Most of the signs and frames in the range are made in the UK. HERMEQ processes steel and powder coats in its own works, which is where the steel quick fit frames are made and finished. The range is held as permanent UK stock.
Can temporary road signs be used with traffic cones?
Yes. Q-Signs and frame-mounted signs stand on their own at the roadside next to the cone line, so the signs and the cones can each be moved as the works progress.
Are temporary road signs suitable for night works?
Yes, when the layout is planned for darkness. Signs set further back on the approach, with a second warning on bends or where sight lines are short, give drivers more time to react in headlights. Sign faces need to be kept clean, because road film and mud reduce the light a reflective face returns.
Can site signs be made with a custom or branded face?
Yes, for site entrances and private land. The Site Entry Sign System takes sign faces made to order, including branded faces produced through HERMEQ's in-house service, and the traffic safety bollards accept a custom roundel. Frames and posts can also be supplied in non-standard colours. Signs used on the public highway follow the prescribed designs, so custom wording belongs on private sites.
How do you know when a road sign needs replacing?
A sign needs replacing when its symbols can no longer be read clearly, when the colours have faded away from the standard colours, or when large areas of the face are scratched, missing or covered in residue that will not clean off. A cracked stand or a frame that no longer holds the face square is another reason.