Workplace Safety Signs And Symbols Importance & Benefits

Safety assurity is for all in the workplace and every individual will work safely. It is a legal binding from the point of the owner to ensure a safe working environment and it is an ethical responsibility accordingly. Safety and security have been one of the crucial issues. Business sustainability may not last if safety to the worker is neglected because a simple accident may be a reason for business shut down in many ways.

If a business wants to last for the long run, it is important to comply with legal bindings. Part of the legal binding, it is important to ensure a safe workplace to sustain in this competitive business world. So workplace safety signs and symbols are common way to increase safety awareness.

Workplace Safety Signs And Symbols

In an industry, One can often see “Danger”, “Walk Cautiously”,” Stop” etc signs and symbols. these are written words that send a message to the people working in the industry. There are also some signs which may not be written. The picture may be used to get the attention of the workers.

Workplace safety signs and symbols are messages to the worker to make them aware of any potential hazard or risk. This is a process to prevent any type of accident in the workplace. At present, the workplace is getting much safer than before because of social responsibility. Part of this issue, the owner is investing a huge amount of money to make a safe working environment by implementing workplace safety signs and symbols.

However, an accident may cause a lot of issues which do harm for both worker and the owner of the business. So it is important to comply with workplace safety signs and symbols to be benefitted by both worker and the owner of the business.

Workplace Safety Signs And Symbols Benefits

The accident will occur where safety is denied or neglected. It is common to see that workers don’t follow safety rules and regulations. Safety signs and marks play a crucial role in ensuring a good and safe working environment.

Workplace safety signs and symbols are worth adding business value because maintaining a good safety practice will define a business’s social responsibility. However, a business organization may be benefitted in the long run if there is a strong practice of a safe workplace.

• Promote Safety: Safety practice means good business behavior. The industry has a lot of industrial function where there may be hazard and risk that may pose to the accident. Using workplace safety and symbols can be a good practice to sustain in the good business. This workplace safety and symbols highly promote safety and business value.
• Reduce Accidental Rate: More workplace safety and symbols mean less accidental rate. No business wants an accident that makes the business reputation bad to worse. However, in a workplace, the practice of workplace signs and symbols can reduce the accidental rate and promote a safe work environment.
• Injury Prevention: No accident, no injury. This is a theory of a good business. An accident may cause serious injury to the worker. An injured worker is absent from the work that causes loss to the business. So it is important to implement workplace safety signs and symbols.
• No Compensation To Be Paid: An injury may be serious and the injured worker may be paid a huge amount of money to recover his injury. Medical bills, lost time wages and the rehabilitation cost are to be calculated to compensate the worker for any injury. If a workplace has a good practice like workplace safety signs and symbols, there will be no rate of accident. If there is no accident, there will be no issue of making payment for compensation purposes.
• Good Business Responsibility: Using workplace safety signs and symbols are considered as a good business practice. More importantly, the worker feels safe when they work in the workplace. A safe worker can contribute a lot to the business. The industrial business can have a good identity which is a good business responsibility.

Safety Signs Types

Safety signs may vary according to the severity and nature of the work. This variation highly indicates that a worker needs to be more serious when they are getting a message from the warning sign. Here are three categories to make the workers aware.

1. Caution signs- Caution signs indicate potential hazard which may be explained with yellow background and black panel with yellow letters.
2. Danger Sign– Danger sign indicates immediate danger and alert personal to take necessary steps (red, black, white).
3. Warning Sign-Warning sign indicates a hazard level indicating a risk which may result in serious injury and death.

How Can These Workplace Safety Signs And Symbols Effective

Workplace safety signs and symbols may not be effective if the worker is not trained properly. The worker needs to know the consequences of an accident and be careful in complying with safety signs and symbols. If a workplace sets up different types of safety signs and symbols but does not explain in the proper way to the worker, the accident will surely occur. The worker needs to be informed about every explanation of the safety signs and symbols.

Regular Training

Safety training in the industry about workplace safety signs and symbols should be a regular practice. The safety officer or trainer has to play a good role to make the worker know the explanation of every workplace safety sign and symbol. A workplace may have a training room where the worker can participate to know every sign.

Making Them Aware Of Possible Hazard And Risks

The workplace should be safe enough to make a safe working environment. For this, regular training can be a good system to make them aware. But the worker must also know the possible hazard and risks in the workplace. They need to be careful when they are walking on the wet and slippery floor. They must observe their every step when they are moving here and there.

Some Valuable Requirement For Workplace Safety

Workplace Safety signs and symbols should be written that should be picturesque enough to grab the attention of the workers. For this, there are some criteria to follow when safety and sign making.

1. The word in the sign must be concise and very simple to make sure any age can read very clearly. These words should be an idea that can influence any person’s attention.
2. Tags can be used to make sure you are not going to face any type and this tag can be used to prevent any type of accidental illness, an injury which may be derived from hazardous conditions. However, tags may not be required where there is a safety sign.
3. A tag word must be a word that can capture human attention so easily. These words may be Danger, Caution, Hazard, Floor Wet, High voltage, Don’t Entry, Don’t Use, etc. These are the messages to the people to make them prepared and take the necessary steps.
4. Signal words are so important because it is set up in a place where signaling people is the main criteria. It should be readable and easy to understand for the people who have minimum literacy knowledge. The distance may be a minimum of 1.52.
5. Signals and tags should be placed in any place where workers get a message on any potential risk and hazards.
6. Lastly, it is important to note that there are different risk and hazards in the workplace. There are also different symbols, safety signs and other means to make the workers aware. Workers should be well trained about the meaning of the safety signs. To make it sure, the workplace authority arranges different safety training and the workers are given awareness on these safety signs to make sure they know these safety signs and work accordingly.

OSHA Regulation For Workplace Safety

Workplace safety signs and symbols are mandatory in the workplace according to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. There are some guidelines set by this department to make sure the workers can get a safe workplace where they can continue to serve safely. It is also a specification of industrial safety signage that applies to the full safety of the workers.

According to OSHA, all the signs should be safe as it indicates a safe working environment. These signs should be rounded and blunt. More importantly, it should be free from any kind of sharpness, splinters that may pose a potential risk for the workers.

Safety signs have really some guidelines according to the severity of the hazard and risk and workers have to be careful in reading those signs.

• Danger sign-these should be in red, black, and white to be more visible
• Cautions sign-Letter may be black and the background should be yellow.
• Safety instruction sign: White background with panel board with green that may have the white letter.

ANSI Standard For Workplace Safety

This is American National Standards which is controlled and created by the National Electrical Manufacturers Association. This works highly on safety signs and it was established in 1979 with the aim of developing standard designs, applications, and how to use signs, colors, and symbols. The main aim of this body is to improve the standard of safety signs. There are six criteria of standards under this government body.

• Safety Color: ANSI provides a technical definition, color, standard and tolerance to make the right things done.
• Environmental and Facility safety signs: ANSI is also guiding to develop design, application, and use of safety signs specifying the environment and also makes guidelines for the visual layout.
• Criteria for Safety Symbols: This body also provides nominal criteria for safety symbols on evaluation, and use of safety signs to make sure it is easy to identify and provide warnings and awareness for personal injury related cases.
• Product Safety and Signs: ANSI also provides direction and guidelines on design, use and set up of safety signs and labels on various types of products.
• Safety Tags and Barricade Tapes: ANSI also takes the different initiative to make it possible for the work of design, application, and use of safety tags for temporary hazards.
• Product Safety Information in Product Manuals: Product safety and workplace safety may be different but ANSI provides a lot of information and guidelines on safe communication on products and manufacturing safety criteria as well.

How You Can Get Effective Workplace Safety Signs And Symbols

Effective workplace safety signs and symbols are worth ensuring a good and safe working environment. But It is not easy to buy safety signs in the workplace. There are rules and regulations of safety signs that you have to ensure for setting up this workplace safety and symbols.

• Make it precise: Workplace conditions are different according to work nature. So safety signs may also be different because it should hold up the attention of the workers easily. More importantly, these safety signs can be so noticeable that the workers can get safety signs from the very first sight.
• Make it clear: When a worker has been promoted to operate a machine, he must know the safety procedures of the machine. The maintenance authority and OSHA department have to work to make safety guidelines on this machine. The operator must know and read this carefully. More importantly, these safety signs should be clear and easy to understand even if the operator has a minimum literacy knowledge.
• Change it if needed: When a machine has been set up, surely technology brings a lot of changes for the machine. Change of any mode of operation of the machine may also change the guidelines of the machine. So the safety signs may also get change according to the addition of the machine.
• Make it safe: Workplace safety signs are very important to prevent any type of accident and risk in the workplace. So these safety signs and symbols should be safe and set up safely. This should not be set up where the worker may have a chance to face stumble with the post of workplace safety and symbols. Additionally, the safety signs and symbols should be free of any sharpness that may pose to hazard.

Summing Up

It is needless to say that safety practice can bring a good business reputation and help a business sustain in the long run. Part of this fact, workplace safety signs and symbols is now one of the big business requirements to make sure a safe and secured workplace. According to the business category, workplace safety signs and symbols may be different. So it is important to find the best and precise safety signs to implement in the workplace.