Safety signs and signals

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This article explains the Health and Safety (Safety Signs and Signals) Regulations 1996. The effect of the regulations is to standardise safety signs throughout the United Kingdom and to bring the UK into line with the current European guidelines.

The regulations set out minimum requirements for the provision of safety signs at work. To overcome language barriers, meanings of signs are not conveyed by words but by other characteristics.

Who must provide a safety sign?

Employers must provide safety signs anywhere in the workplace where other methods, properly considered, cannot deal satisfactorily with the risks.

When to Use Safety Signs

Other methods used to prevent accidents might include a thorough induction at the commencement of the job, frequent training and updates regarding practise standards, or staff meetings to remind employees of their duty. The employer could also communicate the risks verbally. However, these methods alone are often not sufficient for the employer to be able to discharge his statutory or common law duty – signs can remind employees of the continuing risks and help to prevent accidents.

Safety signs are not a substitute for other methods of controlling a risk; they are to be used to supplement or reinforce other measures, such as engineering controls and safe systems of work, to help reduce risk further.

The signs may be given by well lit signboards, labels or illuminated panels, sound, hand signal, verbal communication or any effective combination of these.

Some signs may prohibit dangerous behaviour, warn about a specific hazard or provide a mandatory instruction. These signs have to be sited wherever the information needs to be communicated to best effect. Generally siting of these signs will be at the approach to, and/or in the immediate vicinity of, the potential danger.

Examples of frequently used signs:

Safety signs identifying fire-fighting equipment and its location, identify emergency escape exits and routes, or identify first aid equipment or facilities and their location. Siting needs to be wherever is necessary to enable people to easily find what they need;
Safety signs showing boundaries between areas of safety and those of danger. Siting of these needs to be where there are obstacles (such as the presence of a barrier), dangerous locations (such as the edge of an unfenced drop or the area beneath loads which could fall) or traffic routes (such as yellow or white continuous lines marking their edges);
· Safety signs warning of imminent danger, for example fire alarms or reversing horns, and need to be heard or seen by anyone at risk from the hazard;
· Safety signs giving manoeuvring instructions to direct hazardous operations. These need to be used where the operator can see the hand signals, hear the verbal instructions or both.

Ensuring safety signs are understood

It is one thing to provide signs; it is another that they are fully understood! The regulations provide a comprehensive and generic set of guidelines which state how signs should be presented best in order such that all individuals, from any European State, can understand their meaning.

Training must be provided to all employees so that they understand the information or instructions being conveyed by any safety signs they may see or hear in the course of their work;

To employees who may be required to give or receive safety signs by way of hand signals at work;
To employees who may be required to operate safety signs, such as warning alarms, at work;
To employees responsible for risk assessment and for making decisions as regards the use and selection of safety signs that will be effective, for example, type, siting, maintenance and the like.

Every workplace and activity where people work is covered by the Health and Safety (Safety Signs and Signals) Regulations 1996. However, the regulations do not apply to signs used in connection with transport or the supply of dangerous substances, products and equipment.

Types of safety signs

Safety signs include the following (in some circumstances just one type will be effective whilst in other cases a combination of two or more will be required to reduce a risk):

(for example, a front lit notice) to provide information or instructions;
Illuminated sign (for example, a back lit notice) to provide information or instructions;
Acoustic signal (for example, a fire alarm);
Verbal communication of predetermined spoken or recorded message (for example, an important safety message given to passengers on departure of ferry or aircraft, or public address instructions used during evacuation of premises);
Fire safety signs which can be in the form of any of the above;
Hand signal (for example, to guide a crane driver or an aircraft pilot) where someone uses recognised signals with arms or hands to assist another who is carrying out potentially hazardous manoeuvres;
Label (for example, a front lit notice) on a container or pipe, such as a hazard warning symbol for the substance contained;
Markings on surface areas to show obstacles or dangerous locations (for example, alternating 45 degree stripes in black and yellow or in red and white) or traffic routes (for example, white or yellow continuous lines).

Maintaining effectiveness of signs

The employer must ensure that the effectiveness of a sign is not adversely affected by:

Confusion, for example caused by too many signs too close together, or by using a sound signal where there is too much ambient noise or at the same time as another sound signal;
Inadequacy, for example due to poor design, insufficient number, incorrect positioning, poor state of repair, fading, obstruction or incorrect functioning of the signs or signalling devices.

Removal of Safety Signs

You must ensure that a sign is removed when the situation to which it refers ceases to exist! This applies not only to occasional signs (such as may be needed as a risk control measure when a floor is temporarily wet during cleaning), but also to permanent signs no longer needed (such as after a process change makes the wearing of respiratory equipment no longer necessary).

Safety colours

Red is a safety colour and must be used for any:

Prohibition sign concerning dangerous behaviour (e.g. the safety colour on a 'No Smoking' sign). Prohibition signs must be round, with a black pictogram on a white background with red edging and a red diagonal line (top left, bottom right). The red part must take up at least 35% of the area of the sign;
Danger alarm concerning stop, shutdown, emergency cut out devices, evacuate (eg. the safety colour of an emergency stop button on equipment);
Fire-fighting equipment.

Red and white alternating stripes may be used for marking surface areas to show obstacles or dangerous locations.

Yellow (or amber) is a safety colour and must be used for any warning sign concerning the need to be careful, take precautions, examine or the like (e.g. the safety colour on hazard signs, such as for flammable material, electrical danger, etc). Warning signs must be triangular, with a black pictogram on a yellow (or amber) background with black edging. The yellow (or amber) part must take up at least 50% of the area of the sign.

Yellow and black alternating stripes may be used for marking surface areas to show obstacles or dangerous locations. Yellow may be used in continuous lines showing traffic routes.

Blue is a safety colour and must be used for any mandatory sign requiring specific behaviour or action (eg. the safety colour on a 'Safety Helmet Must Be Worn' sign or a 'Pedestrians Must Use This Route' sign). Mandatory signs must be round, with a white pictogram on a blue background. The blue part must take up at least 50% of the area of the sign.

Greenis a safety colour and must be used for:

Emergency escape signs (e.g. showing emergency doors, exits and routes) and first aid signs (e.g. showing location of first aid equipment and facilities). Escape and first aid signs must be rectangular or square, with a white pictogram on a green background. The green part must take up at least 50% of the area of the sign. So long as the green takes up at least 50% of the area, it is sometimes permitted to use a green pictogram on a white background, for example where there is a green wall and the reversal provides a more effective sign than one with a green background and white border;
No danger (e.g. for 'return to normal').

White is NOT a safety colour but is used:

For pictograms or other symbols on blue and green signs;
In alternating red and white stripes to show obstacles or dangerous locations;
In continuous lines showing traffic routes.

Black is NOT a safety colour but is used:

For pictograms or other symbols on yellow (or amber) signs and, except for fire signs, red signs;
In alternating yellow and black stripes to show obstacles or dangerous locations.

Safety shapes Round signs must be used for any:

Prohibition (red) sign;
Mandatory (blue) sign.
Triangular signs must be used for any:
Warning (yellow or amber) sign.
Square or rectangular signs must be used for any:
Emergency escape sign;
First aid sign.

Pictograms

The meaning of a sign (other than verbal communication) must not rely on words. However, a sign may be supplemented with words to reinforce the message provided the words do not in fact distract from the message or create a danger.

A sign (other than verbal communication, acoustic signals or hand signals) should use a simple pictogram and/or other symbol (such as directional arrows, exclamation mark, etc) to effectively communicate its' message and so overcome language barriers.

Pictograms and symbols are included in the regulations. Employee training is needed to understand the meaning of these since many are not inherently clear, some are meaningless to anyone who has not had their meaning explained and some can even be interpreted with their opposite meaning.

Pictograms and symbols included in the regulations do not cover all situations for which graphic representation of a hazard or other detail may be needed. Any sign used for a situation not covered in the regulations should include either:

The international symbol for general danger (exclamation mark !) if the sign is a warning sign and tests show that the sign is effective; or, in any other case; or
A pictogram or symbol which has been tested and shows to be effective.

The text of any words used to supplement a sign must convey the same meaning. For example, a round blue sign with a pictogram showing the white outline of a face with a solid white helmet on the head means "Safety Helmet Must Be Worn" and so any text used must maintain the obligatory nature of the message.

Using signs as a safety precaution for the public

The regulations cover the protection of employees, but not the public, from risks. In many workplaces members of the public are exposed to the same risks as employees. Employers must train employees to understand safety signs, but provision of such training for the public is impractical.

For example, where the warning sign of a cross for a harmful or irritant material is displayed employees should know from the training given by the employer:

The meaning of the sign;
The significance of the hazard; and
The steps required to avoid harm.

However, an untrained member of the public on seeing the same sign could easily interpret the cross as:

A crossing of traffic routes, thus rendering the sign ineffective; or
An indication of first aid, thus increasing the risk rather than reducing it.

Where safety signs are also used to inform the public, employers may need to use improved signs or further precautionary measures.

Front lit and back lit safety signs

These signs must be durable, securely fastened and properly maintained to ensure they are in place and can be seen easily for as long they are needed.

Front Lit Signs

Signboards are lit from the front and must be sufficiently large and clear so that they can be seen easily when clean. They include propitiatory, warning, mandatory, emergency escape, first aid or fire safety signs. In conditions of poor lighting it will be necessary to improve visibility of the sign, for example by spotlighting the sign and/or using a reflective material.

Labels must be as prominent as possible. In outdoor or other locations exposed to adverse environmental conditions labels may need to be replaced regularly due to fading or the like.

Back Lit Signs

Illuminated signs are those with a light source inside or behind the device. These signs must be sufficiently large and clear so that they can be seen easily when clean. They include all the types which might otherwise be displayed as signboards (front lit signs), but can also include rotating lights used as warning devices on vehicles or plant, control lights where traffic routes cross, supplements to acoustic fire alarms, and the like. The light emitted by an illuminated sign must produce a luminous contrast which:

Shows clearly the colour and, where appropriate, the pictogram;
Does not dazzle the viewer making it hard to see the surroundings.

If the device can emit both continuous and intermittent signs, the intermittent sign should be used to indicate a higher level of danger or a more urgent need for action than the continuous sign.

Flashing signs for use when grave danger arises must be under special surveillance or fitted with an auxiliary lamp.

Sound Signals

Coded sound signals, often referred to as acoustic signals, are safety signs. Where used these must:

Have a sound level considerably higher that that of the ambient noise without being excessive or painful;
Be easily recognisable and clearly distinct from any other acoustic signal and ambient noises.

If the device can emit both variable and constant frequencies, the variable frequency should be used to indicate a higher level of danger or more urgent need for action than is indicated by the constant frequency. Similarly, if the device can vary the intervals between sound emissions, the shorter intervals should indicate greater urgency than the longer intervals.

Where an acoustic signal is used to order evacuation (whether at constant or variable frequency, or with a continuous or intermittent noise), the signal should continue throughout the evacuation.

Verbal Communications

A safety sign in the form of a verbal message must in a language understood by the people involved so that it is pronounced and understood correctly and can be reacted to accordingly. A live or recorded voice may be used. Messages must be as short, simple and clear as possible.

Sometimes the verbal message should be repeated in several languages, such as important safety messages on ferries or aircraft.

For direction of hazardous operations, the regulations include a table of words and meanings.

Hand Signals

Safety signs in the form of hand signals must be precise, simple, expansive, easy to make and understand, and clearly distinct from other gestures.

The regulations include a table that defines the meanings of arm and hand movements and positions which are described and illustrated.

The operator must be able to recognise the signalman without difficulty, such as by distinctive clothing worn (e.g. bright sleeves or armbands) or exclusive accessories used (e.g. bats).

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