Sign Language - Image Creators. Sign makers based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire.

Sat 04 Sep 2010

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British Standards

All the safety signs we manufacture are produced in accordance with the relevant British Standards:

BS 5499-1 Safety Signs, Including Fire Safety Signs - Part 1: Specification

This British Standard outlines:

(1) How to use geometric shapes, colours and graphical symbols to create safety signs with specific meanings:

Geometric shape	Meaning	Safety Colour	Contrast Colour	Graphical Symbol Colour
	Prohibition	Red	White	Black
	Mandatory	Blue	White	White
	Hazard indication: - Danger - Warning - Caution	Yellow	Black	Black
	Safe condition: - Escape route - Safety equipment	Green	White	White
	Fire equipment	Red	White	White
	Supplementary information	Colour of the safety sign	Relevant contrast colour	Relevant contrast colour

(2) How to combine safety signs with supplementary text:

(3) How to use signal words in hazard safety signs. Where a signal word is used, it must have the meaning outlined in the standard:

Signal Word	Meaning
Danger	To indicate an immediately hazardous situation, which if not avoided, will result in death or serious injury. To be limited to the most extreme situations.
Warning	To indicate a potentially hazardous situation, which if not avoided, could result in death or serious injury.
Caution	To indicate a potentially hazardous situation, which if not avoided, may result in minor or moderate injury.

Examples of Signal Words in use:

(4) How to use directional arrows:

The arrow to be used with an escape route shall be as illustrated in Figure 1.
The arrow to be used with any other safe condition safety sign, such as a first aid safety sign, shall be as illustrated in Figure 2.
The arrow to be used with a fire equipment safety sign shall be as illustrated in Figure 3.

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

(5) How to calculate the size of the safety sign you need:

Height of signs and maximum viewing distances
Max Viewing Distance (m)	Minimum Symbol Height (mm)	Recommended Letter Height Supplementary Text Signs (mm)
7	60	5
9	80	7
14	120	10
21	180	15
28	240	20

This British Standard:

(1) Offers best advice on how to combine the BS 5499 running man with text and arrows to produce a well designed escape route sign:

(2) Recommends the correct mounting position and location for escape signs:

Fire exit and exit signs, should be, so far as reasonably practicable, evenly spread and consistently located at the same height so that the evacuee can quickly and effectively predict the location of the next sign within the escape route.
Signs should not be fixed to doors or sited where they may be obscured by open doors.
Signs sited on walls should be mounted between 1.7m and 2.0m from floor level, measured from the base of the sign.

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