Health and Safety Signs

Nearly all businesses are required to provide Health & Safety signage if there is a significant risk that can’t be avoided or controlled in any other way. Safety signs are divided into categories according to the type of message they are intended to convey:

Prohibition Signs

These signs should be used to convey ‘Do not’ type commands.

Warning Signs

These signs should be used to make people aware of nearby danger.

Mandatory Signs

These signs should be used to indicate actions that must be carried out in order to comply with statutory requirements.

Safe Condition Signs

These signs should be used to indicate escape routes, first aid equipment, emergency showers etc.

Exit Signs

In order to comply with the requirements of the Building Regulations, every doorway or other exit providing access to a means of escape, other than exits in ordinary use, should be provided with an exit sign.

Provision of Exit Signs

The regulations place a duty on employers to ensure that safety signs are provided in circumstances where the risk to the health and safety of employees, identified through the risk assessment requirement contained with the Management of Health & Safety at Work Regulations 1992 cannot be entire, engineered or managed out of the workplace.

Supplementary Information Signs

These are signs used to provide additional information. In the Health & Safety (Safety Signs and Signals) Regulations 1996 these are confined to directional arrows.

Illuminated Signs

Exit signs should always be legible on premises where emergency lighting has been considered necessary for means of escape purposes, such signs should be illuminated by the emergency lighting supply in the event of a failure of the normal lighting.

Photoluminescent Signs

The visible areas of these signs are manufactured from Photoluminescent materials. These materials contain chemicals that are able to absorb and store energy from daylight or artificial lighting.

Fire Fighting Equipment Signs

These signs are used to mark the location of firefighting equipment and fire alarm activation points.

Provision of Fire Fighting Equipment Signs

The same general process outlined above is applicable to this section. Again, it is assumed that because there is a possibility of a fire occurring on the premises then firefighting equipment will be needed.