Case study · Construction
Tier 1 contractor (NDA)
Multi-site CDM site safety signage
Framework agreement supplying CDM-compliant site safety signage to a UK Tier 1 contractor across 18 active construction projects in the Midlands. Hoarding, site safety boards, traffic management, and welfare signage.
18
Active sites
24h
Standard-kit despatch
£0
Invoice reconciliation overhead
40%
Lead time reduction
The challenge
A Tier 1 construction contractor with 18 active sites across the Midlands wanted to consolidate signage supply. Sites were ordering ad-hoc from multiple local suppliers with inconsistent quality, varying turnaround times, and no central record of what was deployed where. Senior management wanted a single framework supplier with consistent specification, faster lead times, and consolidated invoicing.
What we did
Framework agreement with site-specific kits. Standard kit specification covering hoarding signage, site safety boards (multi-message at every entry), traffic management, welfare facility identification, and CDM-mandated noticeboards. Each site can order the standard kit plus any site-specific bespoke additions through a single contact. Centralised account with a named project manager handling all 18 sites.
The contractor is a UK Tier 1 with 18 active construction projects in the Midlands at any given time, ranging from £5m residential schemes through to £80m mixed-use developments.
The brief
Site managers were ordering signage ad-hoc from local suppliers, generating: inconsistent specification (different fonts, colours, materials across the contractor's sites), variable lead times (sometimes 5 days, sometimes 3 weeks), complicated invoicing (dozens of small invoices to reconcile each month), and no central record of what signage was deployed where, which became a problem at site closeout and CDM file compilation.
What we did
Framework agreement covering: a standard kit specification for new site setup (hoarding signage, multi-message site safety boards, traffic management, welfare signage, CDM noticeboards) that can be ordered against a single SKU with site name and address as variables. A named account manager for the contractor handling all 18 sites. 24-hour despatch for standard-kit items. Consolidated monthly invoicing. A central register of what is deployed at each site, drawn from order records — useful for CDM file compilation at site closeout.
For bespoke site-specific signage (project-specific brand boards, neighbour-relations signage, particular hazard warnings) the same framework with bespoke production at 3-5 working day lead time.
The outcome
Lead times for new-site setup compressed by ~40% (from order to install). Site manager time saved on supplier coordination. Invoice reconciliation overhead substantially reduced — finance team now processes one consolidated invoice per month rather than dozens of individual ones. The contractor has extended the framework to a second region.
"The signage problem isn't the cost of the signs — it's the cost of the coordination. Direct Signs took the coordination cost off our site managers."
Procurement Director
UK Tier 1 contractor (NDA)
Want similar results for your site?
Tell us what you need and we will respond with a quote within 24 hours. Free site survey for larger projects.