Emergency Lighting Design: Compare Proposals for an England Refit

Compare William Hale and RES on design scope, site coverage and design-specific certification, then assess their quotes against the same changed-layout brief. Both advertise emergency-lighting design and installation; BAFE SP203-4 separates certification for design, installation, commissioning and maintenance.[2][5][6]

Compare William Hale and RES

The service and accreditation statements below are provider-reported, not independent evidence of performance.[5][6]

William Hale Fire & Security

• Advertised scope: Emergency-lighting design, installation and maintenance for commercial and residential clients.[5]
• Geographical coverage: Wiltshire, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire, Bristol, Bath, the Cotswolds and West London.[5]
• Certification evidence: Describes itself as SSAIB certified.[5] Ask for evidence of BAFE SP203-4 design-module certification.

RES Fire & Security

• Advertised scope: Contractor services including emergency-lighting design and installation.[6]
• Geographical coverage: Gives a Reading, Berkshire address.[6] Ask RES to confirm its service boundary.
• Certification evidence: Request evidence covering the design work offered before treating the service as BAFE scheme-certified.[2][6]

William Hale states regional coverage; ask RES to confirm whether it serves your premises. These statements support a shortlist, not a declared winner. Compare the proposed work and supporting evidence before appointment.

Verify certification covers the design work

BAFE SP203-4 is modular: certification for installation, commissioning or maintenance does not establish certification for design.[2] Treat a general registration or accreditation claim as the start of a check, not its conclusion.

• Identify the organisation: request its exact registered identity and certification evidence, and match them to the organisation named in the proposal.
• Check the module: verify specifically whether the organisation holds SP203-4 design certification, rather than relying on evidence for another activity.[2]
• Name the design expert: ask who will take responsibility and how their competence is evidenced. BAFE describes a designated expert, BS 7671 electrical-safety requirements and additional City & Guilds qualifications for its design module.[2]

Use these as procurement checks, not an assumption that BAFE registration is universally mandatory. William Hale’s SSAIB claim is not, by itself, confirmation of BAFE design-module coverage.[2][5]

Give bidders the same changed-layout brief

Issue a dated briefing pack containing the proposed layout, available drawings, retained emergency lighting and relevant fire-risk assessment findings. William Hale’s checklist calls for an assessment reviewed since the last significant change to the building or its use.[5]

• Mark layout and occupancy changes: moved exits, new escape routes, changed use, increased occupancy, public or vulnerable occupants, partitions, extensions and refurbishment boundaries.[5]
• Show obstructions: William Hale highlights shadows from warehouse racking. For retail premises, include display walls, mezzanines, stockrooms and changing shopfits rather than presenting an empty floor.[5]
• Identify safety-critical locations: include hazards, alarm call points, firefighting equipment and tasks needing safe shutdown in high-risk areas, reflecting RES’s risk-assessment guidance.[6]

Arrange a whole-premises walk-through. Ringtail’s guidance recommends inspecting plans and walking every area, not only marked escape routes, to identify hazards, safety equipment, signs and the route to safety.[3]

Ask each bidder to list missing information and assumptions against the same brief revision. Issue layout clarifications to everyone before comparing quotes.

Agree the design basis and outputs

Ask bidders to name the standards and editions behind their proposals, explain their fire-risk assumptions and state the proposed rated duration. BAFE describes its modules as following BS 5266-1 and BS 7671.[2]

RES’s guide reports 1 lux for defined escape routes and 0.5 lux for open areas over 60 m², excluding a 0.5 m perimeter border. An escape route crossing an open area retains the 1 lux criterion.[6] Use these provider-reported criteria to question a proposal’s basis, rather than treating the guide as an independently verified quotation from the standard.

Duration needs an explanation too. RES distinguishes one-hour applications involving immediate evacuation and full recharge within 24 hours before reoccupation from three-hour applications including sleeping risks or early reoccupation. William Hale says rated duration should be confirmed from the system design.[5][6]

Separate evidenced outputs from additional deliverables to negotiate:

• Luminaire locations: establish whether the quote includes a design or drawing locating every emergency luminaire.[5]
• Existing-system survey: where drawings are missing, William Hale describes plotting existing luminaires, identifying gaps and scheduling retained equipment and additions. Ask whether this work is included.[5]
• Calculations: agree the photometric calculation format and whether battery-load calculations are included.
• Drawings and equipment: specify PDF, CAD or BIM delivery as needed, alongside circuit diagrams and product schedules.
• Design records: agree design-certificate wording and how exclusions, assumptions and departures from the stated design basis will be recorded and approved.

BAFE separates the design, installation and commissioning stages, while William Hale identifies installation drawings among its handover records.[2][5] Ask bidders to confirm the additional calculation formats, drawing formats and deviation-approval procedure. Put agreed deliverables into the appointment rather than relying on a general promise of compliance.

Control changes and the installation handoff

A bundled quote still needs named responsibilities. BAFE separates design, installation to the approved design and commissioning.[2] Ask the proposal to identify the designer, installer and commissioning organisation, plus who answers design queries and authorises substitutions.

Agree a written change process before work starts. As procurement arrangements, specify:

• Who assesses revised layouts and equipment substitutions against the design.
• Who updates drawings and tells the installer which revision to use.
• How additional costs are quoted and accepted before affected work proceeds.
• Who takes over outstanding queries if the designer or installer changes.

William Hale advises reviewing and updating the assessment, layout, exit signs and lighting coverage after alterations or a change of use, with signs remaining visible and pointing towards the correct exits.[5]

For England premises, William Hale also cautions that appointing a contractor does not automatically remove the responsible person’s fire-safety duties. In shared or leased premises, it recommends recording the division of responsibilities between landlord, tenant and managing agent.[5]

Agree commissioning and handover before appointment

Name who will commission the installation and agree the handover documents before accepting the quote. BAFE describes commissioning as potentially including assessment of installation-stage test results before a full check and sign-off that the system is safe and ready for use.[2]

William Hale identifies these handover records:[5]

• Commissioning certificate and installation drawings.[5]
• Maintenance instructions, rated duration and an agreed testing regime.[5]
• A logbook for recording tests, defects, repairs, replacement components and follow-up tests.[5]

William Hale also advertises a full three-hour discharge and recharge check for new systems. That is its stated service, not evidence that every installation needs three-hour autonomy.[5]

Make the contract explicit about who supplies missing documents, resolves outstanding defects and accepts the completed work. Keep contractual acceptance responsibilities distinct from commissioning sign-off.

What to confirm with each provider

William Hale’s and RES’s cited pages do not establish comparable prices, quotation validity, payment terms, warranties, cancellation or refund terms.[5][6] Request:

• An itemised quote covering survey, design, installation, commissioning, documentation and revisions, with exclusions identified.
• Written commercial terms, including quotation validity, payment, warranties and cancellation.
• Confirmation of site coverage, the appointed organisation and evidence supporting any design-certification claim.

Compare totals once the scope is aligned. Choose on the confirmed design basis, agreed outputs and accountable handoff—not the installation price alone.

References

2. Emergency Lighting Systems (bafe.org.uk)
3. Short Guide to placing emergency lighting (ringtail.co.uk)
5. Emergency Lighting Compliance Checklist for Businesses (williamhale.co.uk, 2026)
6. Emergency Lighting Guide (resfire.co.uk)