Safety signs: how to organise a working environment

Signs at work: how and when to use them

In this article you can find a number of tips and advice on the subject of safety in working environments and in particular on signs for the warehouse and production areas.

When it comes to safety at work we refer to the set of measures, measures, assessments and monitoring that must be put in place within the working environment to protect the health and integrity of workers, protecting them from the risks present.

Within the various safety measures, the signs is often neglected, so much so that it is very common to find old, damaged or outdated signs in warehouses.

Instead, making the environment safe and protecting employees must be a priority for every company, regardless of its sector. Thus, all those measures such as signs, barriers and labels circumscribing danger zones become indispensable. danger zones in which pay greater attention or that highlight and make clear the directions to be followed, even in more dispersed environments.

Since this is a very important issue, we feel it is necessary to clarify it.

Let us begin by making a distinction between the various signs within theRAJA offer, carefully selected to meet all needs and confto UNI EN ISO 7010 and Legislative Decree 81/08..

The colours, pictograms and reading distance are the main elements to allow the sign itself to be clearly and comprehensibly communicated.

A first important macro-distinction that can be made is to divide signs according to their function:

PROHIBITION
Signs of prohibition have a white background, round border red, a red band inclined at an angle of 45° from left to right downwards and a black pictogram. Any additional text shall be white if in a red field and black if in a white field.

DANGER
The signs of danger are characterised by the yellow colour, the pictograms are black as are the borders. They are of triangular in shape or have a triangle inside them with the vertex pointing upwards. Integrating texts are black.

OBLIGATION
Signs of obligation have a white background and a white pictogram on a round blue background. The texts, if present, are white if the background is blue and black if the background is white.

EMERGENCY
Emergency signs emergency have green background, pictogram and white border. Any text is white on a green background and black on a white background.

FIRE FIGHTING
The signs fire are characterised by a red backgroundpictogram and white perimeter border. Any supplementary text will be shown in white on a red field and black on a white field.

Signs are not the only way to secure a working environment, there are also protective barriers but not only, in addition to the most common vertical safety signs, there are also adhesive pictograms for the floor.

Thanks to all these measures, the working environment will be tidier and, above all, safer, even at peak work times.

Didn’t find what you were looking for? Send us an e-mail to info@rajapack.itwe can customise the signs or create new ones ad hoc, even for small quantities!

How to identify warehouse areas: horizontal and vertical signs

Within a space, it is important to identify which of the different types of signage to choose. Another distinction that can be made is that between signs vertical and horizontal.

With vertical signs refers to all those signs that are hung on the wall or on a vertical surface. This type of signage is very useful in indicating dangers or warnings, but not only that, it is very versatile and can be found in all work environments. An example? The ‘no smoking’ sign on the stairs of many buildings.

Most vertical signs are on aluminium, a choice decreed for its excellent characteristics that are best suited to both indoor and outdoor environments.

However, signs are also available in plastic, aluminium, stickers or fluorescent versions.

Instead, the horizontal signs is mainly characterised by visual elements on the floor that ensure the correct and safe movement of vehicles and people within particular perimeters. The most common and widely used is the adhesive one.

Within very large environments or work spaces, due to busy or particularly hectic working days, it is easy to fall into distraction and not notice particular hazardous areas that require extra attention. Signage can prevent hazardous situations and make the work environment a safe place.

How to use adhesive labels and signage barriers

When we talk about adhesive labels, we are referring to solutions used mainly in pedestrian areas and emergency exits. The main and most important features of adhesive floor markings relate to two factors in particular: the resistance to water or detergents and high visibilityeven and especially in poorly lit places.

We are in fact talking about super-resistant adhesivesproduced in PVC with a protective, transparent and non-slip film with excellent adhesion to the ground and good resistance to treading and abrasion.

Another fundamental ally of warehouse safety are the signage barriers: they increase the level of protection for both pedestrians and warehouse equipment and are available in black and yellow and in different shapes.

The barriers can be used both indoors and outdoors.

For protect and signal edges or protrusions of machinery, shelving, walls or pipes, the best choice are the bumpersavailable in different shapes to suit all spaces.

Also very popular is the signal cone in red and white, used in some inaccessible areas and for a short period of time.

Signposting within the workplace is a preventive action that must be accompanied by other complementary and effective measures that ensure the correct and adequate functioning of the workplace, reducing risks and dangerous situations.

Need advice to determine which signs to use within your workspace? Send us an e-mail to info@rajapack.itor use the chat on our website www.rajapack.it to talk to one of our experts or call us on 848 815 815.