Essential health and safety signs in the workplace

Health and safety signs play a crucial role in the successful implementation of workplace health and safety programmes. In addition, they’re a legal requirement under the Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) Act 85 of 1993 and relevant SANS codes.

Health and safety signs in the workplace follow a standardised format

To be effective, health and safety signs need to be highly visible, easy to understand, and placed in the correct locations. In addition, health and safety signs must be universal. This means that they must be easily understood by anyone, regardless of their language or geographical location. To this end, health and safety signs in the workplace are based on standardised designs.

Health and safety signs should do the following:

• Attract people’s attention
• Be easy to understand
• Point out hazards and dangers
• Specify immediate actions needed to prevent injury (e.g., use PPE)
• Indicate where emergency equipment is located (e.g., first aid boxes)
• Indicate where certain activities are not allowed (e.g., ‘no smoking’ signs)
• Have set colours to indicate specific information, (e.g., yellow indicates warning, green indicates safety, etc.)

Types of health and safety signs

Prohibition Signs:

Prohibition signs tell people what they are not allowed to do or use in a given area. Prohibition signs play an important role in decreasing incidents and accidents as they remind employees not to commit unsafe acts. These signs feature a black image on a white background, with a red border and red line through the image. Prohibition signs include ‘No Smoking’ signs, ‘No Entry’ signs, ‘No Exit’ signs, ‘No Open Flame’ signs, ‘No Eating’ signs, ‘No Mobile Phones’ signs, etc.

Fire Equipment Signs:

Fire equipment signs indicate the location of firefighting equipment like fire extinguishers, fire hoses, and fire hydrants. These signs feature a red icon on a white background, with a red border. Fire equipment signs play a vital role in fire safety and there are numerous rules and regulations regarding firefighting equipment signage in South Africa. The most important points include:

• All signs pertaining to fires should be coloured red and white.
• Placement should be 2–2.5m from the ground to the bottom of the sign.
• All signage used on the inside of buildings should be constructed of photoluminescent material. The standard white ones from your closest hardware store may not meet legal requirements.
• Where buildings are to be used during the hours of darkness these signs must be illuminated.
• The most common size of signage used is 190mm x 190mm, however 150mm x 150mm cab signs can be used in small offices. Signs measuring 290mm x 290mm are recommended for use in larger warehouses.
• Outside signs should either be constructed of steel or Chromadek. Chromadek signs are recommended as they are resistant to rust.

Warning Signs:

Warning signs feature a black icon on a yellow background and a black triangular border. Warning signs are used to warn people about hazards and dangers in the workplace, including flammable materials, toxic substances, high voltage, fall risks, etc.

Mandatory Signs:

Mandatory signs are circular blue signs with a white icon. These signs alert people to actions they are required to take in a given area or while performing a given task. For example, mandatory signs often indicate the required use of personal protective equipment (PPE) like hard hats, ear protection, masks, etc.

Emergency Information Signs:

Emergency information signs are green with a white icon and are used to communicate information relating to health and safety in the workplace. For example, these signs typically indicate the location of first aid boxes, emergency exits, escape routes, assembly points, etc.

Safe Condition Signs:

Safe condition signs are a subset of health and safety information signs that indicate safe emergency routes, safe pathways, and safe areas.

Directional Signs:

In the context of workplace health and safety, directional signs are used to guide people along a safe route or pathway out of a building during an emergency or evacuation. These sings typically indicate the location of emergency exits, escape routes, and assembly points. Like emergency information signs, directional signs are green with a white icon.

First Aid Box Signs:

Under General Safety Regulation 3 of the OHS Act, businesses are legally required to display prominent signage indicating the location of first aid boxes. First aid box signs feature a white cross on a green background, with a white arrow on a green background pointing down to the location of the first aid box.

Hazardous Material (HAZMAT) Signs:

HAZMAT signs include Hazardous Labels (most often found on intermediate bulk containers or drums containing hazardous materials) and Dangerous Goods Placards (displayed on vehicles transporting large quantities of hazardous materials). Both feature universal hazard diamond signs, which are colour-coded to indicate the predominant hazard posed by the respective substance. Hazard diamond signs may depict flammable liquids, flammable solids, flammable gases, compressed gases, toxic materials, corrosive substances, radioactive materials, or others.

(Our 1-day HAZMAT course covers hazard diamond signs in more detail, as well as  Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDSs), PPE, safe handling of hazardous and flammable materials, spillage control, and more.)

Purchase SABS-approved health and safety signs and equipment

Absolute Health Services stocks health and safety signage and emergency equipment in line with the requirements set out by the South African Bureau of Standards (SABS) and the OHS Act. Contact us to discuss the safety signage needs of your particular workplace.