Globally it has been estimated that the costs of poor safety at work adds to an estimated 1.25 thousand million US dollars every year. And global, deaths linked to work places amounts to some two million people yearly.

For American businesses it’s been estimated, for every dollar outlaid in workplace safety programs, they get three back – a safety culture at work pays big dividends.

When it comes to improving safe work practices, there is a methodology of surveying hazards, reducing identified hot spot risks and then training and managing for the irreducible exposure . Safety signs slot into this latter task as the ever vigilant reminders of appropriate work practices. Safety signs by themselves don’t make a safe work place – they just reinforce all the other actions

As one might imagine, warning signs have been made to cover thousand’s of different situations and have consequently been organized into functional groups . In order of least to most severe, the safety sign groups are Notice, Stop, Caution, and Danger.

As our desire is to gain the biggest impact improving on safety, we’ll just review the Danger and Caution hazard signs here. 

A caution sign’s role is to advise of conditions not life threatening, but which, could be a risk to human health and/or the environment. Caution signs have a yellow background with a black print for contrast and improved visibility.

As a way of obtaining worker’s attention, the caution sign has effect .

The danger sign means just that; a threat to life exists and failure to observe this sign will have serious consequences: perhaps even death. These signs are limited to the most extreme hot spots and are often discovered in manufacturing – industrial situations, where chemicals, heavy machinery and similar industrial hazards are prevalent.

Knowing the returns on safety investments, safety signs and their content act to make workplaces safe. 

Globally, there are divergence in workplace safety outcomes. In the more advanced economies, the issue is viewed as one of shared responsibility, but one where the employer needs to set the scene.

So, for the employer, this will commence with a workplace audit to comprehend all conditions that may cause undue strain, localized fatigue,  pain or discomfort, regular overhead or heavy lifts, forceful and repetitive exertions, strained work positions, or exposure to continual body vibrations, and any chemical and emissions exposures

This means understanding hazards and establishing the risks.

Action plans for safer work

From the initial survey work, will follow a list of action points, which will contain tasks such as engineering improvements, implementation of safer processes, use of less toxic materials, and safer work practices. Whatever these tasks, they need to be undertaken by the employer. Additionally, if this process has been done thoroughly, it will have considered whether all the relevant workplace safety signs are in place.

Not only should the signs be in place, but that employees completely know the meaning and implications of the subject matter of  factory warning signs in use.

Safety Signs and the Safe Work Culture

Safety signs are hung up because of a hazard in that location. An organization displays them, and an employee is to adhere to them; together they are responsible. Warning signs are not a substitute for  other ways to achieve hazard management; they are to be utilized to supplement or reinforce all the hazard reduction plans identified in the initial assessment.

Building a safety culture in the workplace has numerous benefits for the whole organization. The investment is small in comparison to the enhanced higher team morale, employee welfare and lower insurance premiums. Simply it makes good financial sense.

Proactive business management dictates paying attention to all matters related to OH&S.