Safety signs are essential for the workplace and they ensure that employees and visitors to the building are provided critical information on safety procedures, potential hazards and emergency protocols. In addition to identifying the hazards and creating signage, you need to make sure that they are placed properly to give the maximum impact.
You have to identify high risk areas in the workplace where potential hazards are present.
This can be areas with hazardous materials, electrical equipment, heavy machinery etc. Once you identify these high risk areas, you can then have the safety signs placed in these locations so that employees can take precautions. You need to display workplace signs at entryways and exits so that employees can be reminded on the safety protocols and procedures to follow in case of an emergency. The entrance and exit points in areas should be indicated clearly along with emergency exit routes. An evacuation procedures can help individuals choose the right course of action and understand how to safely get in and out of the building in the event of an emergency. This will ensure that the workplace response to the emergency is swift and coordinated. You need to place safety signs in areas where specific hazards are present such as laboratories, construction sites etc. You can have signs that warn of electrical hazards, moving machinery, chemical spills etc. and these signs should be placed near the workstations or relevant machinery. This will remind the employees to proceed with caution.
Sometimes there will be areas
Where hazardous materials will be stored and there should be signs that indicate the presence of the materials whether it is toxic substances, corrosive chemicals, flammable liquids etc. This will remind employees to follow procedures in safe handling and storage. Pedestrian safety and traffic flow will be indicated by signs as well. These will be used to indicate traffic patterns, pedestrian crossings and speed limits so that the risk of accidents can be lowered especially in areas where pedestrians and vehicles come into contact. For example, you will see signs that warn of forklift traffic and overhead hazards in warehouses so that injuries and accidents can be prevented in high traffic areas.
You should also place safety signs in areas close to emergency equipment and facilities.
This will ensure that their visibility is heightened so that anybody can find them in times of need. Some examples will be signs placed near first aid stations, fire extinguishers, emergency showers and eyewash stations. This allows the employees to locate essential safety equipment quickly so that they can respond to emergency situations. The height and visibility of the signs have to be considered as this will impact their effectiveness. You need to have signs mounted at eye level and these should be in well lit areas without any obstructions. You also need to tailor the safety signs to specific work activities so that relevant hazards can be addressed. In areas where cleaning is carried out, you need to have signs that warn of slip and trip hazards. And in confined spaces, there should be signs that indicate this near the entry points to the confined space.
