Safety signs are important to any workplace, and legal requirements exist mandating them to be where employees could be exposed to hazardous materials and working conditions. Safety posters additionally work to keep employees safe and limit workplace liability. In addition to catchy safety slogans, a safety sign should have appropriate and eye-catching descriptive pictures. Graphics are preferable to text in many cases because they clearly and concisely convey information to employees. Different types of safety pictures exist to enable an employer to find the right safety picture for the right application.

Hazard Alerts

Hazard alerts inform personnel of potential hazards nearby such as electricity, fire, moving parts and vehicles. The well-known ISO certified hazard alert pictures typically are surrounded by a yellow equilateral triangle.

Prohibition Symbols

Prohibition symbols inform people of actions that are prohibited in the area they are in such as smoking, eating, driving or standing. This type of picture includes a distinctive caricature of the action and is usually surrounded by a red circle with a line through it.

Mandatory Symbols

Mandatory symbols show pictures of safety precautions that must be taken in certain areas. Examples of mandatory symbols include eye and ear protection, masks and locks. For ISO compliance, these symbols are imposed on a blue circle.

When you are operating a business with potential for employees to get hurt, the last thing you want is to leave yourself open to litigation. If an employee gets injured because they were uninformed of certain dangers, they can sue, and it can do a number to your company. Even beyond litigation, keeping employees healthy and happy keeps your conscience clear and your workers working hard. In order to keep everyone around apprised of potential hazards, you have to keep everything well marked. That's where having safety posters hung at every potential hazard is so important. These signs can both alert your employees, so they know to take extra precautions, and outline the steps to take in case of an accident. This way, if something does go wrong, everyone knows how to help the injured party and keep the damage to the minimum, protecting both other employees and your own finances.

Any safety picture should be well-placed in a visible area at eye level, and it is often associated with a verbal description of the warning. Humorous and catchy safety pictures are also very useful in attracting attention to safety and quickly convey information. They should be considered when installing a safety signs campaign.