The South African Road Traffic Sign Manufacturers Association (SARTSMA) is the trade body for companies that manufacture and supply road traffic signs and associated products for use in South Africa and seeks to benefit members through its representative role.
SARTSMA is an informed and influential force in the South African Transportation Industry and its members are committed to following the relevant national regulations and standards for road signs. The Association is dedicated in its efforts to resolve many of the challenges presented in the South African Road Sign Manufacturing Industry, thus seeking to influence technological developments and to improve standards in the South African Road Traffic Sign Manufacturers Industry.
They are represented on a number of Technical Committees and Working Groups under their auspices. These include SABS Technical Committee 1070B and associated Working and Action Groups covering Standardisation. The association is also a member of SARF (South African Road Federation) and their members have active relationships at DoT, SANRAL and with Provincial and Municipal Road Authorities.
Effective road signs are an integral part of a safe road infrastructure. The manufacture and supply of incorrectly specified or poor quality installed road traffic signs have a direct bearing on the performance of the final product. Traffic sign manufacturing is currently not adequately regulated. Specified requirements, as per SANS 1519-2 are not always upheld. This lack of regulation results in inferior materials and poor quality workmanship on some finished road traffic signs. Contracts and tenders are often granted to unregistered manufacturers who, either from ignorance or unethical business practice, provide inferior quality materials at low cost with no quality assurance on the finished road traffic sign or recourse on subsequent failure, thereby increasing the ultimate cost to Government and taxpayers. The trend ultimately contributes to the high level accident statistics experienced in South Africa, as well as the demise of the professional road traffic signs manufacturing industry, all at considerable cost to Government and consumers.
Currently, SARTSMA members supply road traffic signs to many of the African countries such as Botswana, Zimbabwe, Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Ethiopia among others, either via contract tender bid process or through local agents in those countries who forward RFQ’s through their website or directly to the road traffic sign manufacturers. SARTSMA would be interested to liase with traffic sign manufacturers, roads engineers and roads departments with a view to consideration of association membership and the benefits it may provide them. They have also participated at the IRF Regional Conference at the CSIR, Tshwane, South Africa in September, 2014.
Garry Savill, SARTSMA Chairman, advises potential road traffic sign purchasing agents to ensure that the products that are being purchased are manufactured from good quality raw materials that meet the minimum material and design specification requirements, and are backed up with meaningful warranty conditions from the manufacturer in the event of a problem.
Mr. Savill also commented on the emerging trends concerning road traffic products. “In future safe roadway designs, an important need for roadway safety would include effective road traffic signs. Drivers depend on road traffic signs for warning, regulatory and guidance information. When it comes to safety, high visibility is the single most important quality in any road traffic sign or marking. At night, it is critical that road traffic signs are seen clearly, well in advance, to ensure enough time for drivers to react safely. Therefore, consumers will require efficient, durable, cost effective road traffic signs and related products to ensure a safe road infrastructure”.
Contributor:
Sartsma
Garry Savill
Chairman
www.sartsma.co.za
