Trends in … safety signs and labels

In Angela Lambert’s opinion, “We’d see an improvement in safety if all those with responsibility over product and workplace safety at their organizations understood how interconnected many of the key elements are.”

The director of standards compliance at Clarion Safety Systems added: “I think, for example, risk assessments should be looked at collectively alongside safety signs and labels, as well as instruction manuals.”

This includes using ANSI Z535 and ISO 3864 standards to guide efforts.

“While these standards aren’t prescriptive (they don’t tell exactly how to warn and instruct in every scenario),” Lambert said, “they offer best practices to guide safety sign and label creation. Using the most effective label/sign materials, colors, formats and content can have an impact on the workers’ comprehension, which, in turn, impacts their overall safety – and could be the difference between a worker being harmed or returning home safely.”

Amanda Daley, senior product manager of visual workplace benchtop printers for Brady Corp., expanded on that thought.

“Employers and workers should understand the significant impact signage has when customized to the specific needs of a facility,” she said. “Customized signage takes into account unique hazards, layouts and operations to more effectively address risks. It enhances comprehension and relevance, ensuring safety messages resonate with employees in their work context. By incorporating site-specific information and visuals, customized signage reinforces safety protocols, emergency procedures and hazard warnings, thereby reducing accidents and promoting a safer workplace culture.”

Her recommendation? “Employers should prioritize investing in customized signage solutions to effectively communicate safety information and mitigate risks tailored to their facility’s requirements.”

Ankur Ahlowalia, CEO of Korbyt, recommends going digital.

“Traditional safety signs and labels have become a checkbox item that many organizations complete to simply comply with OSHA guidance,” he said. “Digitization transforms this process into a dynamic medium so that the message is immediately relevant and contextual. Responding to safety issues as they arise – for example, sharing heatstroke information when there’s a spike in temperature in a factory or on a worksite, or a reminder of proper loading dock procedures the moment a truck enters a facility – both satisfies compliance while promoting real-time engagement and action.”

Lambert also spoke of the digitization of safety signs and labels.

“Digitalization is changing the way product end users access safety information,” she said. “Over the years, we’ve seen an increasing number of clients interested in QR codes incorporated on their labels or signs, as well as questioning how to effectively implement print versus digital instruction manuals. ANSI Z535.7, the new standard in development addressing safety information in electronic media, will be a positive step in providing guidelines for manufacturers and workplaces.”

But which standard should employers follow?

“OSHA, ANSI and ISO sign and label standards don’t appear to be harmonizing soon,” said Tricia Hodkiewicz, editor – environmental, health and safety, at J. J. Keller & Associates Inc., “so consumers will continue to have format choices.”

Lambert said she first recommends learning about “the standards-based options available, weighing the benefits and limitations, and then deciding which best conveys your safety message to your intended audience. For example, when it comes to safety labeling, depending on whether you follow the U.S.-based ANSI standards, the international ISO standards or a combination of the two, you have the option to use a word-message-only format, a symbol-only/wordless format, or a combination of symbols and text.”

To assess the facility’s specific needs, Hodkiewicz says to “conduct a regular walkthrough to gauge your facility’s safety sign and label needs.”

To start, “document where you have signs and labels, and look for concerns like illegible, inaccurate, or obstructed signs and labels; inconsistent formats; signs overloading one wall; or so-called ‘signs’ and ‘labels’ scribbled on scratch paper. Then, search for any unmarked hazards, hazardous areas, safety and fire equipment, exit pathways, clearances, traffic areas, and machinery. Also, jot down entrances to work areas that require personal protective equipment and think about changes at work, maintenance areas, and company policies that may call for signs or labels.”

Compiled with the assistance of the International Safety Equipment Association

Coming next month:

• Fall protection
• Instruments/monitors