Top 10 OSHA safety signs
OSHA safety signs indicate and define specific dangers, hazards and precautions in the work place. They communicate the potential, type, and degree of a hazard and whether it is temporary or permanent. Each features a prominent signal word and significant color scheme, easy to read from a safe distance, that instantly reveal the nature and urgency of the information posted. DANGER signs indicate immediate hazard with a high probability of causing severe injury or death. WARNING signs indicate potential hazard that, if not avoided, can result in serious injury or death. CAUTION signs indicate potential hazard that may result in injury, but not death. SAFETY FIRST signs inform about first aid, health, sanitation, and general safety. NOTICE signs provide general information needed to avoid confusion.
Following are the ten most frequently requested safety signs, in descending order.
1. DANGER – HIGH VOLTAGE
Electricity is invisible and has no sound or smell. But, it can give you a shock that may startle you, paralyze you, damage your internal organs, burn your skin, even kill you. Every year approximately 400 people in the U.S. are killed by electric shock and far more are injured. Electric shocks at voltages over 600V are considered high-voltage. At such voltages, because currents are larger, with more likelihood of arcing, serious electrical injury is more common than in lower-voltage accidents. High-voltage electric injury accounts for approximately 3% of all hospital admissions for burn injuries and is also associated with a high incidence of major amputation. And besides shocks to people, electrical accidents can start fires, cause explosions, and damage equipment.
2. DANGER – HARD HAT AREA
A head injury occurs every 15 seconds in the United States; and a single head injury, even if not fatal, can handicap an employee for life. After all, your head houses your eyes, your ears, your nose, your mouth and your brain. Among the most costly workplace accidents, head injuries average more than $135,000 per claim and more than 365 days out of work. Wearing a hard hat can protect from falling objects and hitting your head, insulate from burns or electric shocks, keep hair from getting tangled in machinery or filled with dust, grit or hazardous chemicals. OSHA Regulation 29 CFR 1910.135 requires employers to ensure that each affected employee wears a protective helmet when working in areas with a potential for injury to the head from falling objects, also that a protective helmet designed to reduce electrical shock hazard be worn by employees working near exposed electrical conductors that could contact the head.
3. DANGER – NO SMOKING
An estimated 24% of American males and 18% of American females still smoke. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) estimate that smokers have 29% greater risk for industrial accidents and 55% greater risk for occupational injuries. And smoking around flammable and explosive materials can be fatally dangerous. Smokers tend to forget they are carrying a source of ignition in their mouths and can literally puff their way to disaster. Use of prominently displayed DANGER – NO SMOKING signage can help prevent this from happening.
4. DANGER – NO TRESPASSING
Curiosity, convenience, carelessness – many motives can bring individuals to walk into areas where they don't belong. And sometimes they risk their lives with every step. Hazardous chemicals, high-voltage equipment, fall hazards, even radiation risk can cause injury or fatality. The best defense besides barriers is information, which starts with a clear posting of DANGER – NO TRESPASSING signage.
5. DANGER – DO NOT ENTER
Enclosed or hidden places where you cannot see what lies inside or underneath can present great hazard to unprepared or unwary workers. Hazards may include dangerous equipment or materials, treacherous footing such as sudden drop-offs, a structure in unsafe condition, and low-oxygen or toxic atmosphere. All such areas should be clearly marked to help reduce injury or fatality.
6. DANGER – CONSTRUCTION AREA
Construction areas by their nature are filled with potentially life-threatening hazards. These may take the form of insecure structures or stored materials, heavy equipment in motion, use of explosives, treacherous footing, excavations, falling objects – the list is long. Proper warning signage can prevent many accidents in construction areas by keeping unaware or unprepared personnel from entering.
7. NOTICE – AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL ONLY
Many work sites require limiting entry for reasons other than safety. Some situations involve restricted access to products or information. Many work environments have efficiency reduced by the presence of people other than work staff. Proper signage can help prevent production falloff or compromised security.
8. NOTICE – ALL VISITORS MUST REGISTER AT OFFICE
Well-managed workplaces keep careful account of the people present on-site, 24 hours a day. Partly this is for security, of property, personnel, and information. Partly it's for efficiency, as visitors without proper controls in place can interrupt the work flow. Notification at entrances can help with this visitor management process.
9. CAUTION – SLIPPERY WHEN WET
Statistics from the National Safety Council show falls as the leading cause of nonfatal injuries treated in emergency rooms, with nearly 8 million people treated for fall-related injuries in 2001. One of the major causes of falls is slippery surfaces, especially where no cautionary signage is present. And any surface that becomes slippery whenever it is wet merits permanent signage.
10. CAUTION – DO NOT ENTER
Not all spaces or places to which entry is banned present major physical hazards, yet well-marked signage is still a good idea – one-way warehouse/factory aisles or swinging doors, for example. And good signage helps keep traffic flow, both pedestrians and vehicles, smooth, efficient, and safe.
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