Upgrade Your Facility Safety Signs Protection Today

Sometimes your safety signs reinforce training. Some times they must stand on their own. In either case, the goal is the same: effective communication that reduces risk and protects people. And Clarion helps you to accomplish this with safety signs tailored to convey the specific safety message you require.

Safety sign communication in compliance with the latest standards has to be the priority of every company. The old-style safety signs often found in use today date back to 1941-era standards that OSHA picked up and cited when writing their regulations in 1971. A lot has happened in the 70+ years. The old-style safety signs might have been fine back in the day when our society, our companies, our processes and our lives were less complex and less prone to litigation.

Why Clarion is Leading the Way in Safety Sign Technology

Today’s workplaces and public areas require safety signs that use the latest standards-based technology to clearly and accurately describe potential hazards and correct avoidance procedures. 21st century safety signs take advantage of the new global language of graphical symbols to effectively:

1. Grab people’s attention and convey a fuller safety message.
2. Communicate across language barriers and literacy.
3. Remind people of hazards with which they may already be familiar

The first point revolves around noticing the safety sign and understanding its message in full. Though posted with good intentions, the old safety signs on your walls have become like wallpaper. The safety signs no longer stand out and are noticed. The addition of safety symbols helps to separate the new safety sign from the visual clutter of word message signs we see every day. The safety sign that goes unnoticed or is not fully comprehended is next to worthless.

Second, many people in today’s workforce do not have English as their primary language. The United States is still the melting pot of the world and workplace diversity is growing rapidly. Communicating safety to non-English readers may be significantly important to your enterprise and graphical symbols are the key.

Third, safety sign complacency is a problem when it comes to safety. Safety communication must remain front and center in the minds of your people. Symbols help to make sure this happens. It’s much harder to ignore a symbol that communicates its message quickly, instantaneously, than it is to ignore a word message.

Safety Sign Size, Viewing Distance, Legibility

The critical issue to know to determine the size of the safety sign you need is the viewing distance. Once you know the viewing distance, then you can evaluate whether you need a relatively small safety sign, such as 10” X 7”, or a larger safety sign, such as 18” X 12”. What factors go into determining viewing distance? The first is this: where will the worker or visitor be when they see the sign? For instance, a safety sign on laboratory door that is intended to be read before someone enters the room need not be large (of course, you may wish to use a larger safety sign for other reasons, such as to present all safety messages in one place and reduce “sign clutter”).

Likewise, the worker must see the safety sign, and comprehend it, in time to take avoidance action. The safety sign won’t be any good if it’s too late to avoid interaction with the hazard.

Next, determine whether the viewer of the safety sign will be moving or stationary when he/she sees it. A sign indoors that relates to storing cylinders properly must be read at a distance of perhaps 5 to 8 feet, and chances are that the worker will be walking still. On the other hand, a safety sign intended to alert a forklift driver to a pedestrian crossing will need to be much larger, because the forklift driver will be moving and needs sufficient time to not only see and comprehend the sign, but stop the forklift if necessary.

Finally, safety signs intended for outdoor use are usually larger, to be comprehended at a distance, such as those at construction sites. Multi-symbol safety signs and bilingual safety signs are larger, as well, to allow for the symbols and additional language. We’d be happy to provide guidance about legibility and safe viewing distance for a particular safety sign, if you can give us details about the expected viewing distance.

Several Reasons Why Clarion Should Be Your Safety Sign Supplier

• Clarion's approach is to work with each business partner in a collaborative way to meet their needs, whether it's 10 signs or 500 signs. We would be honored to partner with you in protecting your workers today.
• Standards Expertise: Our knowledge of the safety sign standards is unmatched. Where other companies may be aware of standards in this area, Clarion helps to write them! A tremendous amount of Clarion's time is spent working on the standards committees that shape the rules which govern safety sign design. For almost two decades, the president of Clarion, Geoffrey Peckham, has been in leadership positions on the key U.S. and international committees responsible for product safety label and safety sign formats, colors, content and symbols. This is time well spent; because it is only through active participation on the standards-writing committees that we can provide your company with state-of-the-art safety signs. Nothing less will overcome the critical challenges of products liability and international compliance.
• Practical Expertise: With over 9000 manufacturers representing over 180 industries as customers, Clarion has unparalleled experience in applying the standards to a wide variety of products. Our staff's practical, application-based experience gives Clarion the distinctive competence needed to insure that your company receives the signage solutions it requires. No other company has the depth of knowledge and breadth of experience in the design and manufacture of facility safety signs.
• Superior Design: Symbols represent the state-of-the-art for communicating safety information. Clarion has the largest library of safety-related graphical symbols in the world. Unlike the generic signs found in other safety sign manufacturers' catalogs, our signs are designed with properly designed and formatted symbols; an important key to meeting both U.S. and international requirements.

In short, Clarion is the best qualified supplier. We can provide your company with the finest in safety signage and we look forward to earning your business.