How safety sign savvy is your workplace?
Everyone knows Health & Safety policy is essential in the workplace, but how often do you think about your safety signage and the job it does within your premises, asks Paul Kantecki, managing director of safety sign specialists, Spectrum Industrial.
There is a clear legal need for employers to provide a safe working environment for their staff. With evermore stringent legislation in place, companies cannot afford the risk of legal action due to an avoidable injury within the office, factory, warehouse or site environment. The use of appropriate safety signage can help to minimise the occurrence of accidents, providing a simple yet effective safeguard for everyone. By delivering a universally understood method of communicating potentially life-saving messages, clear safety signage at work has never been more important.
Current regulations
According to the Health & Safety Executive (HSE), European Council directive 92/58/EEC gives guidance aimed at helping employers to meet their responsibilities under the regulations and also standardises safety sign use throughout EU member states. This ensures particular signs provide the same message wherever they appear. Intended to benefit mobile workers moving from site to site by creating consistent and impactful images, the regulations cover all safety signage from prohibition signs such as ‘no access’ and warning signs, for example, ‘danger:electricity’ to mandatory signs such as ‘eye protection must be worn’ as well as emergency escape/first aid signs.
In addition, the International Standards Organisation (ISO) has recently added new signs to the ISO 7010 norm furthering its efforts to create an internationally standardised safety language aimed at maximising recognition throughout the world.
Creating safer workplaces
More and more organisations, from construction companies to warehouse and logistics are recognising that a good safety record reflects well on them. They want to show that they take their health and safety obligations seriously to demonstrate a responsible and healthy attitude to the working environment. As such, many companies are prioritising safety signage in an effort to cut the risk of accident or injury and are looking for high quality, durable signs that are fully compliant with all regulations.
In addition, we are finding that as well as standard signage, customers are now investing in bespoke signage that might include a company logo where appropriate for example, or tailored shadow boards that reflect equipment specific to a particular company or workplace situation. This trend demonstrates the importance many organisations now place on health and safety excellence.
Although always in line with EU regulations, the bespoke signage represents a commitment to safety from customers that benefits not only employees but also the business as a whole.
Spectrum Industrial, a trading division of Centurion Europe Ltd, has a team of safety signage experts available to give up to the minute advice regarding signage requirements. We have developed a number of offerings that help make sure our customers are fully compliant with current legislation. We offer site surveys for those who may be unsure of their legal obligations or who have been notified by a regulatory body that their current signage is not adequate. A site visit allows us to advise on the signs needed including size, position and most suitable materials.
Another potentially hazardous environment is that of the construction site. Spectrum has developed signs specifically designed to provide site safety managers with all the information they need to display, as a legal requirement, within one sign. The site information boards are a good example of our bespoke service, which not only allows companies to ‘build their own’ signs but also the opportunity to brand the sign, with the contractors logo for example.
Operating from a purpose built 80,000 sq ft manufacturing and distribution facility in Doncaster, Spectrum Industrial has the creativity, capability and capacity to produce custom products as well as offering over 5000 health and safety stock items.
Safety signage forms a key component of health & safety best practice and, when used correctly, helps to improve safety records within the workplace. Having become a priority for many organisations, it is important for manufacturers like Spectrum to continue to provide not only an excellent product, and bespoke manufacturing services to accommodate changes within legislation quickly and easily, but also advice in which our customers can trust. Our reputations rely on it.
