Sitting snugly in my office, listening to the gale-force winds hurling themselves round the building, not only brings Shakespeare's words to mind but has also served as a reminder for the necessity of some of the health and safety criteria and regulations which abound in the display industry. People tend to grump and grizzle about the jobsworth element of some installations, and the miles of red tape which needs to be adhered to rigidly, but these practices are in place for a reason. So, when the British weather is at its most unpredictable and inclement, we should be grateful for such principles and to those bodies and authorities that have put them in place.

In the past few decades there have been recorded incidents of signs falling onto vehicles, injuries caused by broken and dislodged lumps of display frames and their contents, and general disruption engendered by bits of plastic sheeting, wood and other components which have parted company with their base constructions and become a hazard. Some of these problems have been caused by the unreliable behaviour of our climate but, sadly, others might be down, quite simply, to bad luck.

Signs and displays can be casualties of bad weather

Making sure displays are anchored firmly is a responsibility which needs to be taken seriously, just as those who carry out installations should be properly protected. In this day and age, and within our litigious society in general, there must be no excuses for poor construction but, with the best will in the world, things can go wrong. No-one can predict the idiotic behaviour of vandals deliberately rendering structures unsafe, or of freak tornadoes and hurricanes, both of which can come along and change a safe sign into a potential death trap. But, in everyday life, we don't expect to encounter trouble from promotional and directional tools which are, after all, intended to help and not to hinder.

Innocent bystanders assume they are able to view and wander past signs in safety without the fear of dangling, naked wires or flying chunks of metal and acrylic. Considering the sheer numbers of displays in exterior and interior locations throughout the country, it is perhaps miraculous that most perform as they should and don't come crashing down at the first hint of bad weather.

Much of this stability is due to the diligence and expertise of the many specialist installation teams working the length and breadth of the country who make sure that safety comes first. So, with winter at its peak of unpredictability, spare a thought for those who are out checking and repairing displays and who haven't got the luxury of watching the wind-blown detritus whistle past from the comfort of a cosy office.