ANSI Standards: Safety Signs and Labels

Summary

This video discusses the importance of standardized safety signage in everyday environments, as established by the ANSI Z535 committee. The committee aims to create a uniform system for hazard recognition to help individuals quickly identify safety risks. The video explains the hierarchy of signal words used on safety signs: 'Danger' (red, severe injury or death), 'Warning' (orange, serious injury), 'Caution' (yellow, minor injury), 'Notice' (blue, non-injury hazards), and 'Safety Instruction' (procedural guidance). Standardized colors and words make safety messages clear and easy to understand.

Takeaways

• 🚗 Safety signage is part of everyday life, seen in advertisements, workplaces, and roads.
• 🏢 ANSI (American National Standards Institute) is responsible for standardizing safety signage through the ANSI Z535 committee.
• 🛑 The ANSI Z535 committee's goal is to create a uniform system for hazard recognition to ensure people can quickly identify safety-related signs.
• 🔴 The 'signal word panel' is the top part of a safety sign, which uses specific words and colors to differentiate hazard levels.
• ⚠️ 'Danger' signals the highest risk, with red color, indicating potential serious injury or death if a hazard is interacted with.
• 🟧 'Warning' is the next level down, using an orange background and black text to signal a hazard that could lead to serious injury or death.
• 🟡 'Caution' uses yellow to indicate that a hazard could result in minor or moderate injuries, but not death or severe injury.
• 🔵 'Notice' signs, with a blue background, are used for non-hazardous situations, like security or housekeeping rules.
• 📝 'Safety Instruction' signs are reserved for specific safety procedures, like lockout procedures or boiler shutdown instructions.
• 🎨 ANSI Z535 standardizes the use of color and signal words to clearly convey varying severity levels of hazards.

Q & A

What is the purpose of the ANSI Z535 committee?

The purpose of the ANSI Z535 committee is to establish a national uniform system for hazard recognition, ensuring that people can automatically recognize safety-related signs, labels, tags, or barricade tapes without confusion.

What does the signal word panel in safety signage do?

The signal word panel, located at the top portion of a safety sign, helps to differentiate the sign and make it stand out from other signs encountered daily. It categorizes the sign according to its severity level.

What are the five signal words standardized by ANSI Z535?

The five signal words are Danger, Warning, Caution, Notice, and Safety Instructional messages. These words help communicate the level of risk associated with a hazard.

What does a 'Danger' sign signify, and what color is associated with it?

A 'Danger' sign, marked with a red color, signifies that interacting with a hazard will result in serious injury or death.

How does a 'Warning' sign differ from a 'Danger' sign?

A 'Warning' sign, marked with a black signal word on an orange background, indicates that interacting with the hazard could result in serious injury or death, but the risk is slightly less severe compared to a 'Danger' sign.

What does a 'Caution' sign indicate?

A 'Caution' sign, which has a yellow background with a black signal word, indicates that interacting with the hazard could result in minor or moderate injury, but not severe injury or death.

What is the purpose of 'Notice' signs?

'Notice' signs, which have a blue background, are used to indicate non-personal injury-related hazards, typically for housekeeping rules or security procedures.

What are Safety Instructional messages used for?

Safety Instructional messages provide specific instructions related to safety procedures, such as safe boiler shutdown, lockout procedures, or other detailed safety steps.

How does the ANSI Z535 standard use color to communicate hazard severity?

The ANSI Z535 standard uses specific colors to represent different severity levels: red for Danger, orange for Warning, yellow for Caution, blue for Notice, and green or white for Safety Instructional messages.

Why is standardization of safety signs important?

Standardization ensures that safety signs are consistent and easily recognizable, preventing confusion and allowing people to understand hazard warnings quickly, regardless of where they encounter the signs.