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A Health and Safety Guideline for Your Workplace

Safety Signs and Colour at Work
Safety signs and colour are useful tools to help protect the health and safety of employees and workplace visitors. Safety signs are used to:  draw attention to health and safety hazards  point out hazards that may not be obvious  provide general information and directions  remind employees where personalprotective equipment must be worn  show where emergency equipment is located  indicate where certain actions are prohibited Colour attracts attention and can be used extensively for safety purposes. For example, colour can be used as an additional safety measure to identify the contents of pipes and the nature of the hazard. The choice of colour also draws attention to the probability of a hazardcausing harm. For example, the colour red is used to indicate a definite hazard. A potential hazard is communicated by the colour yellow. When employees are aware of the hazards around them and take the necessary precautions, the possibility of an injury, illness or other loss is minimized. However while safety signs and colours are valuable in warning of hazards, they are not substitutes foreliminating or reducing those hazards, whenever possible. This guideline will help your workplace to effectively use safety signs and colours for the protection of employees and visitors alike.

Safety Signs and Colour at Work © Industrial Accident Prevention Association, 2007. All rights reserved.



Sign Categories
As shown in the table below, there are three basic sign categories used inthe workplace:  regulatory  warning  information

Each category is distinguished by its shape. These categories are divided into sub-categories that can be recognized by their colour.

Category

Sub-category
. Prohibition forbids an action . Mandatory requires an action

Colour
Red and black on white White on black

1. Regulatory A circle indicates that an order is in force .Caution indicates a potential hazard . Danger indicates a definite hazard 2. Warning A triangle indicates caution or danger 3. Emergency indicates first aid, health, fire protection, fire fighting and emergency equipment White on green Black on yellow

White on red

3. Information A square indicates information

3. General Information indicates permission or public informationWhite on blue

Safety Signs and Colour at Work © Industrial Accident Prevention Association, 2007. All rights reserved.



Sign Types
One of three sign types should be used to communicate a message:  symbol signs  symbol signs with text  text signs

Use symbols that are simple and easy to learn and recognize. Include simple wording (text) to help explain the meaning of the symbolor to provide more information. Text signs should only be used when no appropriate symbols exist. Check the CSA international standard CAN/CSA Z321-96 to see if the topic or message you want to convey is listed. Examples of the three types of signs are shown below, based on the CSA standard. Symbol sign Symbol sign with text Text sign

. Regulatory 1.1 Prohibition

1.2 Mandatory

. Warning2.1 Caution

2.2 Danger

!

3. Information 3.1 Emergency

3.2 General Information

Safety Signs and Colour at Work © Industrial Accident Prevention Association, 2007. All rights reserved.

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Symbols for Hazardous Materials
By law, hazardous materials received in the workplace must be identified by special symbols on container labels. You may know these special symbols as WHMISsymbols. These symbols indicate the nature of the hazardous material such as compressed gas, oxidizing material, or toxic material. For information on the symbols to use and their colour restrictions, check the Controlled Products Regulation under the federal Hazardous Products Act.

Piping Systems
There are many ways you can identify the contents of pipes. The law, however, requires you to...