Safety Signs & Symbols 2024-2025 PDF

SAFETY SIGNS & SYMBOLS Signs & Symbols A comprehensive guide to signs and symbols. Discover facts and information about a huge range of signs and symbols! Symbols are a universal language understood by people all over the world. Their use to portray a message, warning or information is an...

SAFETY SIGNS & SYMBOLS Signs & Symbols A comprehensive guide to signs and symbols. Discover facts and information about a huge range of signs and symbols! Symbols are a universal language understood by people all over the world. Their use to portray a message, warning or information is an ancient method of expression. A symbol is an amazing instrument used by different religions and cultures all over the world and language is not an issue! We recognize hundreds of symbols every day from road signs, currency signs and keyboard symbols to Electrical and Zodiac signs.  Symbols Definition What are symbols? The definition of a symbol is something that represents something else through association or resemblance. A symbol is a sign, emblem or an image. In writing, letters or characters are symbols. Businesses and other organizations use logos to identify and represent their name or brand. Hieroglyphics are another form of symbol used in ancient Egyptian writing.  Signs – Definition What is a sign? A sign can be described as an indicator, a clue, hint, reminder, gesture or a cue. A sign used by a brand is known as a trademark. Signs refer to objects in a more literal way, such as pointing something out or standing for something.  Signs & Symbols – Origin The meaning of the word 'symbol' is 'to throw together'. It is derived from the ancient Greek word 'symballein'. Symbols, Signs and Abbreviations have been used for centuries and the use of signs and abbreviations are as old as the use of alphabets! Signs and abbreviations were originally used where space was an issue, for example on a coin where an abbreviation would be used to represent a long Latin phrase. Hieroglyphs were a formal writing system that was used by the ancient Egyptians, they combined alphabetic and logographic elements.  A safety sign provides information about safety or health and can be a signboard, color, acoustic signal, verbal communication, or hand signal. A signboard is a sign that provides information or instruction using a combination of shape, color and symbols but excludes information in writing.  The colors used in workplace safety signs and symbols are red, yellow, blue and green. i. Red signs: designates areas for emergency devices like fire fighting equipment, or to emphasize unsafe or forbidden actions. ii. Yellow: notifies workers to take caution and be alerted of hazards, reducing necessary risks. There are FOUR types of safety signs: Prohibition and fire. Mandatory. Caution. Safe Condition. Why do we need safety signs? Safety Signs are crucial in any work environment. The primary importance of displaying Safety Signs is to prevent injury and ensure staff and visitors are well aware of the possible dangers and hazards ahead in certain situations and/or environments. The Importance of Safety Signs Safety Signs are crucial in any work environment. The primary importance of displaying Safety Signs is to prevent injury and ensure staff and visitors are well aware of the possible dangers and hazards ahead in certain situations and/or environments. Without signs, many employees would lack the necessary direction in times of crisis, and employers might find themselves in significant legal difficulties if any accidents were to arise as a result. Safety signs, symbols and color – a simple guide The use of symbols and graphical images is a simple safety system used to convey safety messages at a glance. Colors and symbols appropriately used can provide information and warnings of hazards which are essential to safety at work, and in some instances may be independent of language, The Health and Safety (Safety Signs and Signals) Regulations 1996 require employers to provide and maintain safety signs where there is significant risk to health and safety that has not been avoided or controlled by other means (e.g. safe systems of work) provided that the use of a sign can help reduce the risk. They also require, where necessary, the use of road traffic signs in workplaces to regulate road traffic. Employers must also ensure that all employees receive appropriate information, instruction and training regarding safety signs. Although most signs are self-explanatory, some employees (particularly young or new workers) may be unfamiliar with the signs used. WHAT IS A SAFETY SIGN? A safety and/or health sign is defined as ‘information or instruction about health and safety at work on a signboard, a color, an illuminated sign or acoustic signal, a verbal communication or hand signal. A signboard is a combination of shape, colour and symbol or pictogram made visible by adequate lighting and which may have supplementary text. See the table below to understand the purpose of different safety signs and their properties:  Color Meaning or Instruction & Intrinsic Example Purpose Information Features RED Prohibiti on/ Dangerous behavior; Round shape; black stop; pictogram on Danger shutdown; white alarm emergency background; cut-out red edging devices; and diagonal evacuate line; red part to be at least 35% of the area of the sign YELLOW o Warnin Be careful; Triangular shape; black take r AMBER g precautions; pictogram on examine yellow background with black edging; yellow part to be at least  Color Meaning or Instruction & Intrinsic Example Purpose Information Features BLUE Mandatory Specific Round shape; behaviour or white pictogram action e.g. wear on blue personal background; protective blue part to be equipment at least 50% of the area of the sign GREE Emergen Doors; exits; escape routes Rectangular or square shape; cy equipment and white pictogram N escape; facilities Return to normal on green background; first aid. green part to be at least 50% of No the area of the danger sign RED (fir Fire Identification & location Rectangular or square shape; e- fighting white pictogram  COMBINATION SIGNS Under ISO 7010 legislation safety signs can be combined to give multiple messages.  This sign gives a hazard warning (yellow) that the site is dangerous. It gives a prohibition instruction (red) that there must be no unauthorized entry and a mandatory instruction (blue) that a course of action must be taken – visitors report to site office. These multi message signs are ideal for construction sites or garage forecourts where a combination of messages can be delivered in one place in potentially dangerous environments. BARRIER TAPES Barrier tape can be used where the marking of dangerous locations is deemed necessary (e.g. highlighting the edge of a raised platform or area or restricted heights). They can be used internally or externally to help alert people of a hazard or danger. We supply a range of different tapes such as reflective hazard warning tapes, self-adhesive photoluminescent tape, graphic barricade tape and pipeline identification tape. Please call a member of a sales team on 01737 774072 to discuss your tape requirements. Prohibition and fire. A prohibition sign is a safety sign prohibiting behavior likely to cause a risk to health and safety. These health & safety signs are required to be red show only what or who is forbidden. Prohibition safety signs generally depicted a black safety symbol in a red circle with a diagonal cross through. Prohibition signage, or “no” signs, are often accompanied by the instruction “No” or “Do Not”; such as do not enter, and no smoking. Examples: Fire Safety Signs Fire safety equipment signs are used to indicate first aid equipment, escape routes, fire alarm call points, emergency exits, etc. Fire safety is the most vital aspects of health and safety in the workplace. Mandatory. Mandatory signs are road signs which are used to set the obligations of all traffic which use a specific area of road. Unlike prohibitory signs, mandatory signs tell traffic what it must do, rather than must not do. Caution Signs Caution signs are a type of hazard sign used to warn about possible hazards or unsafe practices, according to OSHA.... The color associated with caution signs in yellow, and these signs use bold, recognizable text that says “CAUTION” as their headers. DANGER means if the danger is not avoided, it will cause death or serious injury. WARNING means if the warning is not heeded, it can cause death or serious injury. CAUTION means if the precaution is not taken, it may cause minor or moderate injury. Safe Condition Safe Condition Signs - Emergency escape or first- aid signs are safety signs that give information about the route of escape, emergency exits, and first aid or rescue facilities. Safe condition signs have green color and should show only safety action, safety equipment location, and safety facility or escape routes.