About Workplace Safety Signs
Warning signs posted in your work place are for more than convenience. Not only can the company be breaking the law for not posting warning signs in areas such as break rooms and parking areas, employees can face serious consequences for ignoring these posted signs which go beyond loosing pay or their employment altogether.
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History
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The Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 was the first major legislation to deal with workplace safety. In 1996, the Health and Safety (Safety Signs and Signals) Regulations went into effect. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration or OSHA is the Federal agency under the Department of Labor which enforces safety and health regulations for most businesses in the United States. OSHA either works with or through state and local officials to inspect and regulate the posting of workplace safety signs, which includes which signs must be posted and in what locations.
Function
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Workplace safety signs serve distinct purposes. They are bulletin warnings of potentially unsafe areas, and also alert people to the degree of danger that is present such as with chemicals being stored in certain areas. To avoid accidents and potential injuries at your place of employment, you would take different precautions for a flammable gas hazard than you would a poisons chemical hazard. Safety signs are designed to help bring your attention to what should or should not be done in particular areas of your work place and aid you in better understanding what the potential danger is.
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Significance
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Work place fatality rates have gone down 78 percent since 1970, as reported by the National Safety Council and the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The combination of regulated safety training, required safety equipment for employees and workplace safety signs have all been apart of this improvement. Employees who ignore the workplace safety signs risk causing themselves and fellow co-workers injury and even death. Because of the severity on non-compliance, employers are obligated by law to discipline those who fail to adhere to warning signs. Employers are also liable by law to post signs to protect and inform employees of compliance requirements.
Types
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Workplace safety signs are not only color-coded, but also come in different shapes and sizes. A Prohibition sign warns that particular actions or behaviors are prohibited in certain areas such as "No Smoking" signs. A warning triangle which is yellow with a black border denotes a hazard is present such as a "High Voltage'"signs or "Wet Floor" signs. Mandatory warning signs are blue and white and they notify you that certain actions must be taken, such as "Hard Hat Required" or "Protective Eyewear Required", in jobs related to construction or whenever there is a danger of being injured from airborne hazards.
Considerations
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In every state in the United States warning signs such as the "Wet Floor'" are required by law. If there are accidents in the workplace that are caused by hazards such as wet floors without warning signs being posted it can lead to lawsuits against not only the company, but the manager or supervisor on duty at the time of the accident or injury.
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