Safety Labels & Signs
Safety labels and signs (safety information signs) are used when safety related information needs to be communicated, but there is not a hazard that could cause an injury. Safety signs are never used to provide warning or caution messages.
Safety labels and signs only provide information related to safety. They are never used to provide general information. Examples of general information include information such as operating instructions, maintenance information, identification of special areas in your facility or providing information about a process.
Safety labels and signs should have a green header on a white background. The heading should be printed in bold white lettering. There are no requirements that specific text be used in the heading. You may use whatever text is best for your facility. However, it is generally a good idea to use the same heading text for similar situations. The objective is for the label and sign to communicate its message clearly and as quickly as possible.
All text, numbers or graphics on the white background should be printed in black.
Several safety signs are shown here. There are no design standards for safety signs, so there are a number of variations in what safety signs look like. For example, some safety signs have an all green background (no header) with white printing. Others have an all white background (no header) with green printing.
Most of the safety signs in a facility may look similar to those on the upper portion of this page. But there are exceptions. In the example shown here green signs with a white pictogram are used to identify the locations of safety showers.
Making Safety Signs
There are a variety of ways to make safety signs. Another section of our web site discusses the options for printing your own safety signs, including using vinyl tape printers up through large format poster printers.
United Kingdom Health and Safety Sign Regulations as published by the Queen's Printer of Acts of Parliament
