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Safety markings: Are your employees seeing red?
The National Safety Council™ recommends making it a priority to conduct an annual, thorough review of safety markings in your facility.
How the hazardous areas and equipment marked?
Are traffic lanes clearly identified?
Is first aid equipment properly labeled?
Color Review All markings should adhere to OSHA and ANSI standards… But what do all of the individual colors mean? Color selection for safety applications is not random. Specific colors are required by OSHA (Specification 1910 ·144) , and recommended by the American National Standards Institute (Color scheme from booklets ANSI Z53.1-1979 and ANSI A13.1-1981).
Red: Immediately identifies fire protection equipment and apparatus, including fire alarm boxes, fire blanket boxes, fire extinguishers, emergency stop bars, buttons and switches.
White, Yellow or Black (solids or diagonal strips): These are the basic colors for lane marking.
Yellow or Yellow/Black Diagonal Stripes: Used for marking physical hazards, such as low pipes, beams, handrails, pillar posts and fixtures that extend into work areas. Yellow is also used to warn against using equipment that is under repair.
Orange: Identifies dangerous machine and equipment parts that may cause serious injury. Orange should be used to mark hazardous parts when enclosure doors are open or guards are removed.
Green: Designates safety and first aid equipment, such as fire tanks, eye washes and first-aid kits.
Replace missing, faded or scuffed safety markings with durable 3M vinyl tapes for floor and hazard marking. Durable vinyl tapes provide the fastest, easiest application and longest-lasting performance. Products in 3M's comprehensive collection are flexible and can conform to curved surfaces, so you get a clean line every time. Built to last, yet remove easily when you need them to, high quality 3M vinyl tapes have pigment throughout their vinyl backing-so their color won't peel or chip.
