We see them all around us, but do we know what they mean? For most of us, safety signage is pretty straightforward and unambiguous – it needs to be, right? We’d like to unpack the various types of safety signage a little and make sure we understand what they’re all about.
Prohibition
The icon of a red circle with a line through it is universally accepted as a message firmly stating that you may not do this. Do not enter, no smoking and don’t walk on the grass are common examples of these. Basically, you can but you really shouldn’t.
Mandatory
This is the flip side to the prohibition signage above. This is what you must do and may or may not come with an image or the reason why. Most of these are related to health and safety, such as wearing protective clothing in a potentially hazardous area or washing your hands and show within a blue circle on a white background.
Danger/Hazard
South African danger or hazard signs are shown as yellow triangles, often with the word ‘Danger’ or ‘Hazard’ along with an icon. The icon may be a simple exclamation mark, or it may depict what the potential danger is such as fire, electric shock, aggressive dogs, or corrosive materials. In extreme situations, the triangle will contain a skull and crossbones which basically means that you may well die if you ignore the sign, or the three inward-pointing triangles depicting radiation which also means you’ll die – only a little later. These are signs which you really – really – should adhere to, because if you don’t, well it will only happen once!
Emergency
Emergency signage is informational and appears as a white icon on a green square. The imagery is clear and explicit and will show information such as emergency exits, the location of restrooms, fuel stations or first-aid stations. Safety signs are there for our own benefit and that of others, so we would do well to familiarise ourselves with those around us and take careful note of what they are saying.