Risk Management
May 2009 Newsletter
The Color of Safety
Creating Safety Awareness with Color
In today’s work environment there are diverse
cultures and multiple languages spoken. It is truly a
challenge to reinforce the importance of safety with
every employee. However, one universal constant
has the ability to reach every employee without
speaking a single word—“Color”. This article
will discuss how colors can be used to educate
employees in safety awareness and help prevent
workplace accidents.
Countless studies have shown that colors have the
ability to invoke a variety of moods. Light colors,
such as off whites and pastels, make objects seem
lighter in weight, areas seem more spacious, and,
usually, will give people a psychological lift. You
may have heard how the prison industry painted
cells pink to calm inmates or how some college
sports teams painted the locker rooms of the
visiting teams to invoke a sense of weakness.
Ancient cultures used colors to heal: red to
increase circulation, blue to soothe illness and treat
pain, and orange to increase energy levels.
Federal OSHA developed and adopted standard
colors for manufacturing facilities and machinery
that provide a “Universal Language” to all workers.
The American National Standards Institute
(ANSI) also developed standards for color and
meaning (ANSI Z545.1. Color Codes.) These
standards have been adopted and promoted by
the Occupational Safety and Health Administration
(OSHA) to protect workers.
The Color Coding chart indicates how each
color can be used to warn workers of hazardous
machinery parts, signify the nature of hazards, and
designate the location of safety equipment and first
aid supplies.
OSHA SAFETY COLOR CODES
* American National Standard Z53.1
Safety Code for Marking Physical
Hazards and the Identification of
Certain Equipment
Fire: Protection equipment and apparatus,
including fire-alarm, fire blanket boxes, fire
extinguishers and fire pumps. Danger:
Safety cans or other portable containers of
flammable Liquids, stop buttons and
emergency stop bars on hazardous
machines.
Identifies fire protection,
danger and emergency stops.
Dangerous equipment: Parts of machines
and equipment that may cut, crush, shock,
or otherwise injure.
Highlights dangerous parts of
machinery or energized
equipment.
Caution: Physical hazards such as
stumbling, falling, tripping, striking against,
and being caught in between.
Marks hazards that may result
in accidents from slipping,
falling or striking against.
Flammable liquid storage
cabinets - Material handling
equipment such as Fork lifts
and gantry cranes.
Safety; First-Aid equipment.
Designates the location of First
Aid or safety equipment such as
emergency respirators.
Used for informational signs and bulletin
boards. Warning: Caution limited to
warning against starting, using, or moving
equipment under repair.
Warning: Caution limited to
warning against starting, using,
or moving equipment under
repair.
Boundaries of traffic aisles, stairways
(risers, direction, and border limit lines.)
And directional signs.
Used in combination as stripes
or checks for traffic markings.
Radiation: X Ray, alpha, beta, gamma,
neutron, proton radiation.
N/A
Regulations (Standards - 29 CFR) Safety color code for marking physical hazards. - 1910.144
* The ANSI Z535 Series provides the specifications and requirements to establish uniformity of
safety color coding, environmental / facility safety signs and communicating safety symbols. It also
enables the design, application, use and placement of product safety signs, labels, safety tags and
barricade tape.
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Orange, for example, warns workers of dangerous
parts of machinery or energized equipment which
may cut, crush, or otherwise injure the worker.
Pulleys, gears, rollers, cutting devices, and
exposed edges of equipment are often painted
orange.
Red carries multiple designations but generally
warns of extreme hazards. For example, red means
“Danger” and “Stop.” Red is the standard color
for emergency stop buttons, bars, and electrical
equipment. Red also designates the location of
fire protection equipment and apparatus such as
fire alarm boxes, fire extinguishers, and industrial
fire hydrants. In addition, red is the standard color
for safety cans and other portable containers of
flammable liquids.
Yellow identifies physical hazards such as
stumbling, falling, tripping, striking against, and
being caught in between. Often safety railings,
catwalks, forklifts and changes in elevation are
marked in yellow.
The benefit of standardizing color codes is to
provide uniform training, especially for workers
that move from one job to another. Using color
also eliminates the need for excessive written
descriptions and signs that may actually create
new safety problems. Color is the universal
language of safety, bypassing cultural differences
and language barriers, with a silent warning.
The next time you walk through your facility or visit
other sites, look for Colors, they will teach you
about safety without whispering a word.
More information on color coding for safety is available at:
http://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/safety-signals-d_359.html
http://www.efuse.com/Design/colorful1.html
http://www.uhh.hawaii.edu/academics/hohonu/writing.php?id=73
http://agsafety.tamu.edu/THE%20COLOR%20OF%20SAFETY.pdf
Special thanks to Kendra Van Wagner and Texas A&M University System for their articles, as well as the American
National Standards Institutes schedule of safety colors marking physical hazards.
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Risk Management
May 2009 Newsletter