There are very few businesses that do not have dangerous goods around. For example, petrol, methylated spirits, detergents, oxidizing agents often can be found even in the smallest of workplaces.

In general the need for safety signs is based on the seriousness of the risk such chemicals pose to life and property . The risks need to be determined to understand the best management approach. 

In managing this risk it’s best to, avoid, control, protect and finally inform when it comes to ameliorating risks. A sensible strategy is to have minimal of any hazardous materials on site.

It’s been demonstrated how a well educated workforce is a safer workforce and off course, safety signs are a crucial reminder to educating and informing all personnel.

Without being exhaustive here’s some examples of hazardous substances one could discover within a work site – flammable liquids, flammable solids, spontaneously combustible, toxic, radioactive, oxidizing agents, poisons, corrosive and even, explosives; all required by law to be identified by a Hazchem sign of the appropriate designation.

The attributes of toxicity, flammability and reactivity for a material create a material profile which determines how dangerous the material is. Such materials can be injurious to human and environmental health – accordingly they must be used respecting the risks.

These hazardous materials and fire simply do not mix. So care must be taken toward fire management, meaning, containment, extinction and where necessary, evacuation. Fire safety signs are vital for identifying fire fighting equipment and secondly to provide for evacuation in the event of a fire.

Off course, good management of dangerous materials and fire risks are central to providing a safe work environment. Action to manage Hazchem risks are not just about legal compliance but are also driven by the community expectation of  a safe job.  Having the necessary hazard signs up are one component of respecting legislated requirements and providing a safe working environment.

It’s a great lesson of how a pro-active stance to work safety can save lives and fortunes.

Investing in safer workplaces is a small part of the culture of caring for your workforce. Safe workplaces are happier, more productive places within which to work.

Any business pursuing improved safe work, will have evaluated hazards and tagged the trouble spots with hazard signs. Each warns against specific hazards at that point; they should never be seen as merely wall decorations. At assessed safety hazards, the necessary safety  signs need to be fixed to elevate employee’s awareness toward being safer at work.

An improved safety record at work is what one would expect from development of a work safe work program. For staff it means they do enjoy better health and for the company it’s been demonstrated to be better as well.

Progressive companies act to improve the welfare of their team and safer work initiatives are one of many ways this can be attained. Most serious of all hazard signs are those with the word danger embedded within the printed message.

Wherever a hazard has been identified necessitating placement of a danger signs, it communicates there is a serious risk – improved workplace safety will follow once a sign is posted. 

This task is performed by following a sequence of controls, that are supported by warning signs generically known as obey safety signs . Collectively these signs support both workplace caution and danger signs informing of precisely how to behave there, and what personal protection equipment MUST be used.  And that’s the key to obey signs – they MUST be observed or the consequences can be grave. Following standards, these obey signs are in blue and make extensive use of pictograms denoting the necessary behavior. 

And, in the event there is an incident like a fire or injury the emergency signs in green mark exit pathways, fire appliances and first aid supplies.

Nowadays it’s well known as a good business practice, to act on workplace safety. 

Community demands, are for companies to have safe workplaces. Poor workplace safety imposes costs , that are borne widely throughout the community

Globally it has been reckoned that the costs of poor safety at work adds to an estimated 1.25 thousand million US dollars every year. Even more sorry is the 2 million people who died as a result of work.

It’s been established within the US, how a dollar invested in safety initiatives returns three as a result of lower accident rates at work.

There’s a method to improving on safety in the workplace; initially it’s to do a survey to understand the opportunities, to fix those opportunities and then to train and inform of, the remaining risks . Safety signs slot into this latter action as the silent reminders of appropriate work practices. Placed in the safety hot spots around the work site, warning signs are the constant reminder of your corporate culture of safety – they work well to support the other steps taken

With the many types of safety signs for all situations they have had to be organized into groups based on an incidents potential severity . We’ve all seen the Danger signs that mark the really serious life threatening risks, then there are Caution signs, followed by the Stop and finally Notice signs , the last two groups being mainly of an informational nature.

As our intent is to gain the biggest benefit on safety, we’ll just look at the Danger and Caution hazard signs here. 

A caution sign’s role is to inform of conditions not life threatening, but none the less, could be a risk to human health and/or the environment. Adhering to standard conventions, caution signs have a yellow background and black print.

As a way of grabbing people’s attention, the caution sign has strong impact .

Within many workplaces there are safety hot spots where there is a serious risk to human life and/or the environment; this is advised with a danger sign . Wherever there is use of chemicals, electricity and heavy machinery you will see danger signs a plenty.

Safety signs do reduce workplace incidents in conjunction with other prudential measures - they are a sound investment. 

Workplace safety signs are a powerful means of communicating process related hazards. These signs are put up for a reason and so people need to act with respect to what the signage is telling them. Safety signs inform off and state inherent risks. They can be placed in view of the workers within the workplace so that they are easily read and acted upon by all concerned.

Types of Safety Signage

 Safety signs are made to an easily read system of pictograms and words. Given the multilingual teams of organisations today, graphic symbols are the easiest understood section of safety signage.

There are thousands and thousands of signs: A notice sign is an informal, informational signs that’s saying “Please follow this request”. A stop sign is used for actions that are not allowed and mean  “Do not and you stop the defined action”.  A caution sign is more serious and is used to say, “Take Caution”, there is a risk to health and welfare and in this area there is a hazard. Further up the scale is the Danger sign where dismissing this message puts your life at risk. You should stop and act only when having followed the required action. Finally, and most severe are the Obey signs where compliance is essential and, the action is mandatory.

Often in a workplace you will find a selection of signs being used together to convey the collective hazard. All workplace safety signs should be put up where they will be visible.

 Safety signs help in encouraging safety and create a safety culture in the workplace.

[Industry Sector

Certain businesses have signs specific to their industry and their sector specific hazards.

 As an example, construction safety signs conveys the risks associated with building.  This is just one example of sector specific signage; it likewise is applicable to mining, nuclear, laboratory and many other sectors.

Signs are available for fire, first aid and the handling and storage of designated chemicals. Without a doubt these signs save lives and are frequently used in all businesses. Very often they are required by legislation and it is imperative for the site owners and operators to be aware of all legislated requirements as applies to the business and comply.

Safety signs in workplaces are readily available and can be customized to the site specifics. 

Safer work contributes to improvements in workplace welfare and higher team moral, all of which to leads to better business performance. It builds a culture of safety at work.