What’s Wrong With This Sign?
Spotted the problem yet?
Let’s look at this together, and start with the main Australian and International Standards relating to safety signage, per below:
AS 1319: 1994 Safety Signs for the Occupational Environment.
AS 1345: 1995 Identification of the Contents of Pipes, Conduits and Ducts.
ISO 7010: 2019 Use of Colour for Marking Physical Hazards
ISO 20559: 2020 Safety Colours and Safety Signs.
The intention of the safety sign above is understandable, particularly if a hot surface is within reach. However, Australian Standard AS 1319: Safety Signs for the Occupational Environment, essentially separates these types safety signage into two main categories:
DANGER for situations likely to be life threatening, if message ignored, and
WARNING signs for hazardous situations but not likely life threatening.
Once you have determined if you need a “Danger” or “Warning” sign the standard states in part we should then clearly state:
What is the hazard eg “Hot surface”, and then
Clear instruction for safety eg “Do not touch”, or “Do not enter” etc.
Under normal circumstances contact with an exposed very hot surface, whilst undesirable, is not likely to be life threatening, and therefore should be a Warning sign, not a Danger sign.
New international hazard symbol
The above sign includes the new international symbol for “Warning”, but currently this symbol is unlikely to be easily recognised by most workers, so we recommend the use of both symbol and wording together, per sign below.
The correct colour and wording for a cautionary safety sign
Note: The words CAUTION and WARNING may be used interchangeably depending upon country and any local cultural preferences, but AS 1319 recommends “warning” for normal use.
