What Makes A Clear And Compliant Safety Sign?

Incidents in the workplace cause numerous injuries that are often unnecessary, or worse, fatal. These work-related injuries cost millions in time-off and OSHA fines annually. Many incidents can be prevented with a clear and compliant safety sign.

OSHA and the ANSI strive to use visual communication and other protocols to make the workplace as safe as possible.

The American Nation Standards Institute (ANSI) fosters and oversees standards for services, products, processes, systems, and personnel in the states.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) ensure these standards are followed to create a safe and healthy environment for employees to work in. This is made possible by enforcing protective workplace standards and by providing outreach, education, training, and assistance that employers must comply with.

Safety Sign Checklist

The following design points are essential for quick recognition and understanding of all safety signs:

• A clear, universal message
• Consistent formatting
• Up-to-date information
• Direct instructions
• Readable text (font)
• Supportive imagery

There are two parts to a safety sign: the Signal Word Panel (Header) and the Message Panel. The Header contains either a safety alert symbol or a signal word. The Message Panel contains message text or a pictogram/symbol.

Selecting a Sign Header

Is there a Hazardous Situation?

• If No: use a NOTICE or SAFETY header
• If Yes: Is there potential for an incident?
  • If No: use a NOTICE header
  • If Yes:
    • If concern for death or injury: use the DANGER header
    • If concern for death or serious injury: use the WARNING header
    • If concern for minor or moderate injury: use CAUTION header
    • If concern for property damage: use NOTICE header

Writing a Sign Message

• Put the most urgent information first
• Communicate straight-forward instructions
• Employ simple phrasing
• Use sentence-style capitalization
• Use left-aligned text
• Use Sans-serif font (i.e. Arial or Helvetica)

Choosing Symbols and Pictograms

Safety signs can be a tricky business. We understand the complexity of meeting Federal and State requirements along with meeting insurance requirements.

Contact us to learn more about safety signage for your organization. To learn more about Parallax, click here.