Why Does My Signage Project Need Two Project Managers?

Murphy’s Law. No doubt you’re familiar with the old adage, “Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong.” Planning can go a long way when it comes to any project but you can’t always plan for everything. That’s why management is an incredibly important element of any undertaking, including signage projects. There are plenty of points in the process of planning, fabricating, shipping, installing, and maintaining signage where things can potentially go wrong.

Here at Signdealz, we don’t just plan out your signage project. We have a team of project managers who watch over your project every step of the way. Amber Daugherty and Roxanne Keeton are our senior project managers with special expertise in specific segments of the signage production process. Between the two of them they have 40+ years of project management experience; a large portion spent in the signage industry. If anyone knows how to take a fully customized or particularly complex signage project from start to a fully polished and successful finish.

This post takes a look at how our project managers work and why we have them operate in teams of two across our clients’ projects rather than individually.

Common Problems in Signage Projects

It’s not uncommon for business owners to decide to take over certain aspects of a signage project on their own, in order to save money. However, it’s important to understand that, when doing so, you run the risk of various problems popping up that can ultimately slow down your entire project. Issues with:

• Permitting and municipal signage regulations
• Site surveys and measurement accuracy
• Electrical and illumination setup
• Materials selection
• Scheduling
• Vendor management
• Installation

The most common piece of the signage process that business owners attempt to tackle on their own is permitting. If you’re not familiar with local sign codes and ordinances, you might be in for a bit of a shock. Especially in large cities, signage regulations can be incredibly complex and the process of filing for signage permits can quickly take up a lot of your time and resources. 

Another challenge you might be tempted to tackle is a site survey which requires accurate measurements and assessing the location space for the feasibility of your signage project. This is one of those things where the accumulated experience of conducting multiple surveys can hold a lot of value. Ask yourself if you can look at a patch of land in front of a business and gauge whether there’s enough space for a monument or a pole sign to be built there, with an adequate amount of setback from the sidewalk, a level surface, and at an optimal viewing angle to get the greatest number of impressions from passersby? While it is absolutely for a novice to do, it’s best to have clear guidance from someone who has a wealth of knowledge and experience backing you up.

And finally, consider the value of having existing relationships with signage vendors. A signage business submitting large work orders, consistently, is going to have a little more sway with material vendors and signage fabricators and can therefore get a better deal on products than an individual business hoping to purchase for a location or two.