Safety signs

Safety signs are a type of sign designed to warn of hazards, indicate mandatory actions or required use of Personal protective equipment, prohibit actions or objects, identify the location of firefighting or safety equipment, or marking of exit routes. Safety signs are a type of sign designed to warn of hazards, indicate mandatory actions or required use of Personal protective equipment, prohibit actions or objects, identify the location of firefighting or safety equipment, or marking of exit routes. In addition to being encountered in industrial facilities; safety signs are also found in public places and communities, at electrical pylons and Electrical substations, cliffs, beaches, bodies of water, on motorized equipment, such as lawn mowers, and areas closed for construction or demolition. One of the earliest attempts to standardize safety signage in the United States was the 1914 Universal Safety Standards.. The signs were fairly simple in nature, consisting of an illuminated board with 'DANGER' in white letters on a red field. An arrow was added to draw attention to the danger if it was less obvious. Signs indicating exits, first aid kits consisted of a green board, with white letters. The goal with signs was to inform briefly.The next major standards to follow were ASA Z35.1 in 1941, which later revised in 1967 and 1968.The Occupational Safety and Health Administration devised their requirements from ASA Z35.1-1968 in the development of their rules, OSHA §1910.145 for the usage of safety signage In the 1980s, American National Standards Institute formed a committee to update the Z53 and Z35 standards. In 1991, ANSI Z535 was introduced, which was intended to modernize signage through increased use of symbols, the introduction of a new header, 'Warning' and requiring that wording not just state the hazard, but also the possible harm the hazard could inflict and how to avoid the hazard. Until 2013, OSHA regulations technically required usage of signage prescribed in OSHA §1910.145, based off the standard ASA Z35.1-1968. Regulation changes and clarification of the law now allow usage of signs complying with either OSHA §1910.145 or ANSI Z535 designs. Prior to widespread globalization and adoption of standards from the ISO, most countries developed their own standards for safety signage. Text only signs were common prior to introduction of European Council Directive 77/576/EEC on 25 July 1977, which required member states to have policies in place to ensure that 'safety signs at all places of work conform to the principles laid down in Annex I', which required color coding and symbols.In 1992, the European Council Directive 92/58/EEC replaced EEC 77/576/EEC. The new directive included improved information on how to utilize safety signage effectively. Beyond safety signs, EEC Directive 9258/EEC standardize markings for fire equipment, acoustic signals, verbal and hand signals for vehicle movements.In 2013, the European Union adopted ISO 7010 to replace the symbols provided previously, adopting them as European Norm (EN) ISO 7010, standardizing symbols among the EU countries. Prior to this, while symbols were provided, symbols were permitted to vary in appearance 'provided that they convey the same meaning and that no difference or adaptation obscures the meaning'. Australian safety signage started in 1952 as CZ4-1952: Safety signs for the occupational environment. It revised and redesignated as AS1319-1972 in 1972, with further revisions taking place in 1979, 1983 and 1994. In August 2018, AS1319-1994 was reconfirmed as still being valid and not in need of major revisions. Japanese safety signage is notable for its clear visual differences from international norms, such as use of square 'no symbols', vertical formatting of sign text. Safety sign standards are regulated by Japanese Industrial Standards through standards JIS Z9101 (Workplace and public area safety signs) JIS Z 9103 (Safety sign colors) and JIS Z 9104 (Safety signs - General specifications). While design trends have been moving towards international norms of ISO and ANSI standards, differences are still present such as the use of symbols unique to the JIS standards, using colors differently from ISO standards and using a combination of Japanese kanji and English.In addition to typical safety sign standards, Japan introduced JIS Z 9098 in 2016 specifically addressing emergency management needs: informing people of areas susceptible to natural disasters, evacuation routes and safe shelters from disasters. The standard's more unique aspect is the usage of maps and diagrams to provide more detailed information about the area's hazards, shelters and evacuation routes. Chinese safety signage is regulated by Standardization Administration of China using GB standards 2893-2008 and 2894-2008, which all safety signs are legally required to comply with. Designs are similar to ISO 3864 and uses older ISO 7010:2003 symbols, while adding several additional symbols covering a wider range of prohibitions and hazards.