In many countries, regulations require that employers provide very detailed phenolic tags safety signs wherever there may be a risk of injury or damage to employees. Of course, if these risks can be avoided or controlled by correcting problems or setting up safety systems, then there may not necessarily be a need for health and safety signs.
Unfortunately, one of the common ways that people use to try and swindle business owners out of their money is by filing legal suits against the company indicating that proper safety notification was not provided.
However, if there is no immediate plan to correct a particular problem, then setting up health and safety signs would definitely lessen the chance of lawsuits being filed against the company by an employee.
Generally, safety signs are put up in key places like emergency exits, sick bays and in hallways. Some prime examples of health and safety signs for the workplace include:
- the emergency fire exit;
- the first aid sign indicating where the sickbay is located;
- the very popular wet floor sign.
As you probably know, many people have gone into a public place or within their workplace and have slipped on a wet floor that had no signage indicating its condition.
Many of these people ended up winning lawsuits against the company because they were not adequately notified of the risk of walking in a specific area.
Generally, if the compound of a specific business place has parking and driving facilities for employees, it is common for signage to be put up indicating how the roadways on the compound should be used.
These signs should also be maintained by the company and kept within visibility and made clear in the event they have started to fade.
Employees should also be briefed on the existence of the signs and what they actually mean to their safety.
Some of the most common signs include labels with words "caution," "danger," or "warning" at the top.
Such signs are often printed in bright yellow or orange to catch the attention of workers. Indications of high voltage, flammable substances, machine safety and presence of explosives can all be made known with the use of simple safety and warning labels.
Of course, warning signs exist everywhere for health and safety including community areas like swimming pools or parks.
Two such examples include a "No Diving" sign for a community wading pool, as well as one that indicates a park or other community area is prone to poisonous snakes.
Health and safety signs are definitely very important for any organization that wants to protect itself from legal liability in the event employees become injured on the job.
This is appropriate for conveying your message to people who cannot speak the language written on the sign. The purpose of these signs is to prevent a problem before it arises. The gentle reminders can save lives and keep all kinds of work environments a safer place to be employed.
The idea is for your organization to reduce as much liability as possible so you do not spend too much time in the courtroom.