Safety and Emergency Escape signs
SAFETY and EMERGENCY ESCAPE SIGNS include signboards, colours, illuminated signs or acoustic signals providing information or instructions about safety or health at the workplace.
Signs are generally used for the following purposes:
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to warn of a hazard or danger (WARNING signs) |
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to prohibit behaviour likely to cause danger (PROHIBITION signs) |
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to prescribe specific behaviour in order to ensure safety (MANDATORY ACTION signs) |
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to give information on emergency exits or first aid, rescue or fire-fighting facilities |
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to provide other information on prevention and safety |
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The purpose of safety signs is to alert people quickly and clearly to safety and health issues or important instructions to ensure safe, prudent and correct behaviour.
The shapes and colours of signs and the symbols used must comply with European standards. Signs must also satisfy legal requirements in terms of their dimensions, sound level, light intensity, etc., to ensure that the message is properly perceived and understood, regardless of the language spoken at the specific workplace.
The necessary SAFETY SIGNS related to specific hazards that are present in laboratories (warning, prohibition, mandatory action signs and safety/emergency operational instructions) must be defined after assessing the hazards that are present in the room. The Laboratory Manager is responsible for putting the necessary signs in place, ensuring that these are always visible and in good condition, removing out-dated signs and, with the help of the Health and Safety Services Unit (PREP), for drawing up and displaying safety and emergency procedures.
EMERGENCY ESCAPE SIGNS (indicating escape routes, emergency exits, assembly points, etc.), and signs related to fire-fighting equipment and facilities are managed by EDILOG, with the assistance of the Health and Safety Services Unit. Whenever construction work is carried out, to build new spaces or alter the layout of existing ones, the Health and Safety Services Unit supports the engineers involved in deciding whether any new signs are required and whether to draw up new evacuation plans or modify those already in place. When maintenance or painting work is carried out, or other work during which safety signs must be temporarily removed, the Site Manager is responsible for ensuring that all signs removed by the Contractor are put back in place upon completion of the work.