Create your own health and safety signs

Safety symbol signs are everywhere, from nurseries and libraries to hospitals and offices. Visible guidance by safety signs gives a clear direction and reduces the possibility of accidents for both employees and non-employees, thus creating a safer work environment. Safety sign symbols must be used to communicate clear, unequivocal messages that are easy for all to understand, even if English is not their first language.

Workplaces should use safety signs to communicate commands that are not typed, such as saying that smoking is prohibited. There are four sign groups: prohibition, warning, mandatory safety messages (such as wearing personal protective equipment or high-visibility clothing), emergency or safety messages (safe conditions such as routes to a fire escape or nearest first-aid kits), plus oral and acoustic signs and manual signals. This blending of colours helps to make the fire safety signs conspicuous and inform the staff about hazardous elements, such as explosives or highly flammable materials. For example, when red is used in a safety sign, this is typically an exclusionary sign intended to alert the viewers to the hazardous conditions nearby or those which could result from their actions.

Red Warning (Prohibition) signs: Some types of conduct are likely to result in health and safety risks. Red Prohibition signs indicate what is not allowed or by whom. Because the prohibition signs direct and communicate about hazardous behaviours or evacuations, employers are responsible for ensuring that everybody is informed about risks. In addition, mandatory signs raise health and safety awareness at work by specifying actions to meet legal requirements.

Blue safety signs are mandatory signs, indicating a particular behaviour needs to occur before proceeding; it could be applying safety glasses while working with chemicals or wearing hard hats while entering a building site. Yellow safety signs Yellow or amber signs are warnings, making people aware they should be taking safety measures or taking care of the surrounding area. 

Warning signs are yellow signs and denote a hazard or a danger that needs to be known, like chemical hazards, electric hazards, or, in the case of the rural and agricultural, warning about bulls in the fields. In other words, our must-use sign range tells you something to do, like drive slowly, keep gates closed, or must wear safety helmets.