OSHA-Compliant Safety Signage & Hazard Communication Labels
OSHA and ANSI standards mandate that the workplace must be properly marked for employee safety. Failure to comply with OSHA standards could cost your company thousands of dollars in fines or result in serious injury or death to an employee. LEM Products, Inc. manufactures signs in compliance with OSHA and ANSI standards. It also uses the ISO 3864 Standard for international usage.
Safety Identification that Warns, Informs and Complies
OSHA 29 CFR 19102
ANSI Z535
ISO 3864
Safety
Emergency
First Aid
Fire Safety
Identifiability
Mandatory Action
Prohibition
Warning
Safe Condition
OSHA Compliant Products
OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) was formed in 1970 to “save lives, prevent injuries and protect the health of American workers.” LEM signs meet all OSHA (29 CFR 1910) & ANSI (Z535) standards. Our products follow the guidelines as laid out in the ANSI Z535 standards. This standard is made up of six individual standards:
- ANSI Z535.1 – Safety Colors
- ANSI Z535.2 – Environmental and Facility Safety Signs
- ANSI Z535.3 – Criteria for Safety Symbols
- ANSI Z535.4 – Product Safety Signs and Labels
- ANSI Z535.5 – Safety Tags and Barricade Tapes
- ANSI Z535.6 – Product Safety Information in Product Manuals, Instructions, and Other Collateral Materials.
We manufacture our products to these standards because they provide the direction to effectively convey critical safety messages in an easily understandable visual format that stands out prominently. OSHA and ANSI require that safety signs indicate the hazard and define the specific action that, without identification, may lead to death or injury. The standard requires that the header text, or signal word, be accompanied by the safety alert symbol which is an exclamation point in an equilateral triangle. OSHA and ANSI require that safety signs indicate the hazard and define the specific action that, without identification, may lead to death or injury:
- DANGER indicates where an immediate hazard exists with a strong potential for death or severe injury.
- WARNING indicates hazardous situations that may result in death or severe injury.
- CAUTION is used to warn against potential hazards or unsafe practices.
- NOTICE indicates the need to provide general information to avoid confusion.
The International Standards Organization (ISO) has created the Standard #3864 which specifies safety identification colors and design guidelines for the creation of safety signs and markings to be implemented in the work environment and in places of public accommodation convey safety warnings regarding accident prevention, fire protection, health hazards, emergency evacuation and more.
The standard is comprised of four parts:
- ISO 3864-1:2011 Part 1: Design principles for safety signs and safety
- ISO 3864-2:2016 Part 2: Design principles for product safety labels
- ISO 3864-3:2012 Part 3: Design principles for graphical symbols for use in safety signs
- ISO 3864-4:2011 Part 4: Colorimetric and photometric properties of safety sign materials
The system uses symbols formatted from a distinct set of shapes and colors that denote different levels of severity for a universal understanding that can surpass any language barriers. The symbols can stand alone or have supplemental text when needed for ultimate clarity.
- Prohibition signs use a red circle with diagonal bar. A typical example would be, “No Smoking”
- Mandatory Action signs use a blue circle with a white symbol. A typical example would be, “Wear Eye Protection”
- Warning signs use a yellow equilateral triangle with rounded corners. A typical example would be, “Warning: Hot Surface”
- Safe Condition signs use a green square with a white symbol. A typical example would be, “First Aid”
- Fire Equipment signs use a red square with a white symbol. A typical example would be, “Fire Extinguisher”
LEM Products, Inc. creates ISO compliant safety signs and labels for numerous applications such as wind turbines which are installed globally. The wind turbines require a skilled staff of technicians to maintain proper operation. Safety and instructional labels are applied throughout the turbine towers and nacelles at the manufacturing facilities. Our ISO labels are provided in kits to the turbine manufacturers to ensure that all required critical points of safety information are posted with the appropriate safety labels.
Safe and Durable
In addition to the graphic standards, there are durability standards as well. LEM’s lockout tags meet OSHA durability compliance in withstanding 50 lbs. of pull force so that these tags which are critical to a lockout program cannot be torn away from the applications to which they are attached. A number of our material construction methods meets UL certification.