New Accounting Pronouncements	12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2011
New Accounting Pronouncements [Abstract]
NEW ACCOUNTING PRONOUNCEMENTS	NOTE 18 — NEW ACCOUNTING PRONOUNCEMENTS In October 2009, the FASB issued ASU No. 2009-14, Topic 985, Certain Revenue Arrangements That Include Software Elements, which amended the accounting standards for revenue recognition to remove tangible products containing software components and non-software components that function together to deliver the products’ essential functionality from the scope of industry-specific software revenue recognition guidance. In October 2009, the FASB also issued ASU No. 2009-13, Topic 605, Multiple-Deliverable Revenue Arrangement, which changes the level of evidence of standalone selling price required to separate deliverables in a multiple deliverable revenue arrangement by allowing a company to make its best estimate of the selling price of deliverables when more objective evidence of selling price is not available and eliminates the use of residual method. ASU No. 2009-13 applies to multiple deliverable revenue arrangements that are not accounted for under other accounting pronouncements and retains the use of vendor-specific objective evidence (“VSOE”) of selling price if available and third-party evidence of selling price, when VSOE is unavailable. The Company adopted ASU No. 2009-14 and ASU No. 2009-13 prospectively on January 1, 2011. The majority of the Company’s businesses generate revenue through the manufacture and sale of a broad range of specialized products and components, with revenue recognized upon transfer of title and risk of loss, which is generally upon shipment. Certain businesses within the Federal Signal Technologies Group sell under multiple deliverable sales arrangements where the Company utilized estimated selling prices under the relative-selling price method. In arriving at its best estimates of selling price, management considered market conditions as well as Company-specific factors. Management considered the Company’s overall pricing model and objectives, including profit objectives and internal cost structure, as well as historical pricing data. The effect of adopting the new accounting guidance during 2011 was an increase in revenues of $4.2 million and an increase in cost of sales of $1.5 million. In May 2011, the FASB ASU No. 2011-04, Fair Value Measurement Topic 820, Amendments to Achieve Common Fair Value Measurement and Disclosure Requirements in U.S. GAAP and IFRS, which amends the definition of fair value measurement principles and disclosure requirements to eliminate differences between U.S. GAAP and International Financial Reporting Standards. ASU 2011-04 requires new quantitative and qualitative disclosures about the sensitivity of recurring Level 3 measurement disclosures, as well as transfers between Level 1 and Level 2 of the fair value hierarchy. The provisions of this update are effective as of January 1, 2012. The Company is currently evaluating the impact of this update on its financial statement disclosures. In June 2011, the FASB issued ASU No. 2011-05, Topic 220, Presentation of Comprehensive Income, which requires companies to include a statement of comprehensive income as part of its interim and annual financial statements. The new guidance gives companies the option to present net income and comprehensive income either in one continuous statement or in two separate but consecutive statements. This approach represents a change from current GAAP, which allows companies to report other comprehensive income (“OCI”) and its components in the statement of shareholders’ equity. The guidance also allows companies to present OCI either net of tax with details in the notes or shown gross of tax (with tax effects shown parenthetically). The Company’s disclosure of OCI for the year ended December 31, 2011 is presented in the Company’s Consolidated Statements of Shareholders’ Equity under Item 8 of this Form 10-K. Under the new guidance, certain information set forth in the statement would be shown in the new statement of comprehensive income. This guidance is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2011. ASU 2011-05 is effective for fiscal years, and interim periods within those years, beginning January 1, 2012 and should be applied retrospectively. The new guidance impacts disclosures only and will not have an impact on the Company’s financial position, results of operations, or liquidity. The Company is currently evaluating the impact of this update on its financial statement disclosures. In September 2011, the FASB issued ASU No. 2011-08, Topic 350, Testing of Goodwill for Impairment, which allows companies to assess qualitative factors to determine whether they need to perform the two-step quantitative goodwill impairment test. Under the option, an entity no longer would be required to calculate the fair value of a reporting unit unless it determines, based on that qualitative assessment, that it is more likely than not that its fair value is less than its carrying amount. The ASU may change how a company tests goodwill for impairment but should not change the timing or measurement of goodwill impairments. The ASU is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2011. ASU 2011-08 is effective for the Company for annual and interim periods beginning January 1, 2012. The Company does not expect the adoption of ASU 2011-08 to have a material impact on its results of operations or financial position. In September 2011 the FASB issued ASU No. 2011-09, Subtopic 715-80, Disclosures about an Employer’s Participation in a Multiemployer Plan. This update requires additional disclosures, both quantitative and qualitative, about an employer’s participation in significant multiemployer pension plans. Some of the required disclosures include the plan names and identifying numbers of the significant multiemployer plans in which an employer participates, the level of an employer’s participation in the plans, the financial health of the plans, and the nature of employer commitments to the plans. ASU 2011-09 is effective for the Company’s annual reporting period ended December 31, 2011. The adoption of this ASU during the fourth quarter of 2011 had an immaterial impact on the Company’s disclosures as its multiemployer plans are not significant individually or in the aggregate. In December 2011, the FASB issued ASU No. 2011-11, Topic 210, Disclosures about Offsetting Assets and Liabilities. This update is intended to improve the comparability of statements of financial position prepared in accordance with GAAP and IFRS, requiring both gross and net presentation of offsetting assets and liabilities. The new requirements are effective for fiscal years beginning on or after January 1, 2013, and for interim periods within those fiscal years. The Company will adopt this standard for 2013 and does not expect it to have a material impact on its results of operations or financial position. No other new accounting pronouncements issued or effective during 2011 have had or are expected to have a material impact on the consolidated financial statements.

New Accounting Pronouncements

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2011

New Accounting Pronouncements [Abstract]

NOTE 18 — NEW ACCOUNTING PRONOUNCEMENTS

In October 2009, the FASB issued ASU No. 2009-14, Topic 985, Certain Revenue Arrangements That Include Software Elements, which amended the accounting standards for revenue recognition to remove tangible products containing software components and non-software components that function together to deliver the products’ essential functionality from the scope of industry-specific software revenue recognition guidance.

In October 2009, the FASB also issued ASU No. 2009-13, Topic 605, Multiple-Deliverable Revenue Arrangement, which changes the level of evidence of standalone selling price required to separate deliverables in a multiple deliverable revenue arrangement by allowing a company to make its best estimate of the selling price of deliverables when more objective evidence of selling price is not available and eliminates the use of residual method. ASU No. 2009-13 applies to multiple deliverable revenue arrangements that are not accounted for under other accounting pronouncements and retains the use of vendor-specific objective evidence (“VSOE”) of selling price if available and third-party evidence of selling price, when VSOE is unavailable.

The Company adopted ASU No. 2009-14 and ASU No. 2009-13 prospectively on January 1, 2011. The majority of the Company’s businesses generate revenue through the manufacture and sale of a broad range of specialized products and components, with revenue recognized upon transfer of title and risk of loss, which is generally upon shipment. Certain businesses within the Federal Signal Technologies Group sell under multiple deliverable sales arrangements where the Company utilized estimated selling prices under the relative-selling price method. In arriving at its best estimates of selling price, management considered market conditions as well as Company-specific factors. Management considered the Company’s overall pricing model and objectives, including profit objectives and internal cost structure, as well as historical pricing data. The effect of adopting the new accounting guidance during 2011 was an increase in revenues of $4.2 million and an increase in cost of sales of $1.5 million.

In May 2011, the FASB ASU No. 2011-04, Fair Value Measurement Topic 820, Amendments to Achieve Common Fair Value Measurement and Disclosure Requirements in U.S. GAAP and IFRS, which amends the definition of fair value measurement principles and disclosure requirements to eliminate differences between U.S. GAAP and International Financial Reporting Standards. ASU 2011-04 requires new quantitative and qualitative disclosures about the sensitivity of recurring Level 3 measurement disclosures, as well as transfers between Level 1 and Level 2 of the fair value hierarchy. The provisions of this update are effective as of January 1, 2012. The Company is currently evaluating the impact of this update on its financial statement disclosures.

In June 2011, the FASB issued ASU No. 2011-05, Topic 220, Presentation of Comprehensive Income, which requires companies to include a statement of comprehensive income as part of its interim and annual financial statements. The new guidance gives companies the option to present net income and comprehensive income either in one continuous statement or in two separate but consecutive statements. This approach represents a change from current GAAP, which allows companies to report other comprehensive income (“OCI”) and its components in the statement of shareholders’ equity. The guidance also allows companies to present OCI either net of tax with details in the notes or shown gross of tax (with tax effects shown parenthetically). The Company’s disclosure of OCI for the year ended December 31, 2011 is presented in the Company’s Consolidated Statements of Shareholders’ Equity under Item 8 of this Form 10-K. Under the new guidance, certain information set forth in the statement would be shown in the new statement of comprehensive income. This guidance is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2011. ASU 2011-05 is effective for fiscal years, and interim periods within those years, beginning January 1, 2012 and should be applied retrospectively. The new guidance impacts disclosures only and will not have an impact on the Company’s financial position, results of operations, or liquidity. The Company is currently evaluating the impact of this update on its financial statement disclosures.

In September 2011, the FASB issued ASU No. 2011-08, Topic 350, Testing of Goodwill for Impairment, which allows companies to assess qualitative factors to determine whether they need to perform the two-step quantitative goodwill impairment test. Under the option, an entity no longer would be required to calculate the fair value of a reporting unit unless it determines, based on that qualitative assessment, that it is more likely than not that its fair value is less than its carrying amount. The ASU may change how a company tests goodwill for impairment but should not change the timing or measurement of goodwill impairments. The ASU is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2011. ASU 2011-08 is effective for the Company for annual and interim periods beginning January 1, 2012. The Company does not expect the adoption of ASU 2011-08 to have a material impact on its results of operations or financial position.

In September 2011 the FASB issued ASU No. 2011-09, Subtopic 715-80, Disclosures about an Employer’s Participation in a Multiemployer Plan. This update requires additional disclosures, both quantitative and qualitative, about an employer’s participation in significant multiemployer pension plans. Some of the required disclosures include the plan names and identifying numbers of the significant multiemployer plans in which an employer participates, the level of an employer’s participation in the plans, the financial health of the plans, and the nature of employer commitments to the plans. ASU 2011-09 is effective for the Company’s annual reporting period ended December 31, 2011. The adoption of this ASU during the fourth quarter of 2011 had an immaterial impact on the Company’s disclosures as its multiemployer plans are not significant individually or in the aggregate.

In December 2011, the FASB issued ASU No. 2011-11, Topic 210, Disclosures about Offsetting Assets and Liabilities. This update is intended to improve the comparability of statements of financial position prepared in accordance with GAAP and IFRS, requiring both gross and net presentation of offsetting assets and liabilities. The new requirements are effective for fiscal years beginning on or after January 1, 2013, and for interim periods within those fiscal years. The Company will adopt this standard for 2013 and does not expect it to have a material impact on its results of operations or financial position.

No other new accounting pronouncements issued or effective during 2011 have had or are expected to have a material impact on the consolidated financial statements.

- Definition

The entire disclosure for reporting accounting changes and error corrections. It includes the conveyance of information necessary for a user of the Company's financial information to understand all aspects and required disclosure information concerning all changes and error corrections reported in the Company's financial statements for the period.

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