We all know safety in the workplace is important. But just as important is the task of making sure that safety information is clearly communicated to everyone who enters your workplace.
Enter, safety signage.
Safety signage is an important feature of your business and its properties—it’s your effective safety communication tool in the workplace. Signage is a point of reference for staff, and it’s the easiest way to instill into workers’ minds the importance of maintaining their safety and the safety of everyone around them. It’s essential for employee safety as well as public safety.
Where to Place Safety Signage
Each work area has its own types of dangers and hazards. Proper signs ensure your staff is mindful of all the potential dangers and hazards awaiting them at any given area of your workplace, so they need to be placed wherever there’s a danger or hazard.
But don’t create signs and then stick them in one spot where they’ll stay forever. After awhile, staff will experience sign blindness. Keep your workplace safety messages fresh on everyone’s minds by changing the locations of your safety signs within their designated areas every few months.
Safety signage should be installed wherever possible to create an overall safer working environment.
Different Kinds of Safety Signage
Signs play a practical role of preventing injuries, accidents and sickness and keeping your entire workforce, as well as guests, safe. They provide initial warnings of dangers and hazards, instruct people how to prevent dangerous situations, tell how to handle dangerous conditions and direct people where to go in case of a disaster or crisis.
Different shapes and colors are used for different types of safety signage.
Shapes
- Triangle—Indicates caution or warning
- Circle—Specifies a mandatory or recommended action you must follow
- Square or Rectangle—Displays emergency and general information
Colors
- Red—Emphasizes a potential of immediate danger, designates areas for emergency equipment
- Yellow—Warns that precautionary steps should be taken to ensure safety
- Blue—Displays mandatory instruction that usually accompanies danger or warning signs
- Green—Designates locations of emergency equipment and evacuation routes
Use all types, shapes and colors for a complete and effective safety system!
Safety Signage Materials
The most popular signage materials for safety signs include fiberglass, aluminum, plastic and vinyl. Each of these has its own perks, like being durable, weather-resistant and resistant to chemical and abrasions.
But from our years of printing experience, as well as being a business that puts safety first, we’ve found that reflective aluminum is a great safety signage choice. Reflective aluminum is durable, and it can be used indoors and outdoors, handle weather elements and be cut to any of the three desired safety shapes. The reflective properties makes this type great for directional signs, and along with its sharp contrast, reflective aluminum signs are easily visible at night.
In order to reduce accidents and injuries while ensuring you comply with legal obligations, visit the Occupational Safety and Health Administration website, which provides safety signage rules and regulations, along with specifications, that companies must follow.
Let all potential dangers and hazards be known so they can be avoided. Use the proper safety signs and placement to help your company stay on top of your safety efforts and to ensure every employee and guest is mindful of the importance of preserving a safe working environment.
