Mandatory signage is used in various places to inform the general public that it is obligatory to carry out specific actions at those sites. These signs are used to implement basic safety standards. Construction sites, factories, hospitals, roadways and other public places make use of mandatory signs to ensure safety and prevent possible hazards at these locations.
General Aspect of the Signs
A sign suggesting a mandatory requisite action comprises a blue circle with a centrally placed pictogram or text depicting the action. The graphic or the text is white in colour and occupies roughly fifty per cent of the blue area. A variety of materials like rigid plastic, aluminium sheets and polyvinyl chloride sheets backed with an adhesive are used to construct the signs.
Fire Action Notices
The requirements for signs relating to fire safety instructions are different from signs associated with health and safety at workplaces and other sites. Fire safety directives do not include graphics, but use text only.
In addition, rectangular and not circular backgrounds are used to accommodate the text. Accordingly, a fire safety notice consists of a white text placed against a blue rectangle. However, the universal white exclamation mark against a blue circle is often used along with the text notice.
Road Safety Signs
Mandatory signs are crucial for putting into practise measures for safety on the roads. Each sign should be at least 1.96 feet wide for rural roads and 1.31 feet in city areas. However, signs fitted into traffic lights at crossings can have a width of 0.98 feet.
Mandatory road signs serve to allocate specified areas for different classes of vehicles. Hence signs are used to segregate buses, trams and cars from bicycle paths. A red line running through the sign indicates that the particular zone is deregulated and any vehicle may use that part of the roadway.
The signs use unmistakable graphics to convey the message to the public. For instance, a sign with a pictogram of a stroller indicates that people may use strollers to carry infants in a particular place or a graphic with chains over a wheel calls for the use of snow chains.
Sometimes a single blue circle is used to indicate two activities separated by a white vertical line. For example a pictogram with the graphic of a bicycle separated from that of a woman and child walking implies that cyclists and pedestrians may use that zone.
Use of Signs at Work Places
Mandatory signs at construction sites, refineries, factories and other workplaces instruct employees to be particularly attentive regarding the nature of the work environment. Construction sites have signs that recommend workers to put on safety helmets and use eye and ear protection techniques.
Refineries may put up signs that advise workers to carry explosion warning systems at specific places. Maintenance departments of various production units may use signs to stipulate that workers must wear aprons while doing their jobs.
Departmental stores use signs to allocate lifts for carrying goods. Signs at the workplace may instruct people to open only one drawer at a time. Sometimes the signs can be very explicit. A factory owner can remind his work personnel to oil the cutting tools before work, by the effective use of signs.
General Aspect of the Signs
A sign suggesting a mandatory requisite action comprises a blue circle with a centrally placed pictogram or text depicting the action. The graphic or the text is white in colour and occupies roughly fifty per cent of the blue area. A variety of materials like rigid plastic, aluminium sheets and polyvinyl chloride sheets backed with an adhesive are used to construct the signs.
Fire Action Notices
The requirements for signs relating to fire safety instructions are different from signs associated with health and safety at workplaces and other sites. Fire safety directives do not include graphics, but use text only.
In addition, rectangular and not circular backgrounds are used to accommodate the text. Accordingly, a fire safety notice consists of a white text placed against a blue rectangle. However, the universal white exclamation mark against a blue circle is often used along with the text notice.
Road Safety Signs
Mandatory signs are crucial for putting into practise measures for safety on the roads. Each sign should be at least 1.96 feet wide for rural roads and 1.31 feet in city areas. However, signs fitted into traffic lights at crossings can have a width of 0.98 feet.
Mandatory road signs serve to allocate specified areas for different classes of vehicles. Hence signs are used to segregate buses, trams and cars from bicycle paths. A red line running through the sign indicates that the particular zone is deregulated and any vehicle may use that part of the roadway.
The signs use unmistakable graphics to convey the message to the public. For instance, a sign with a pictogram of a stroller indicates that people may use strollers to carry infants in a particular place or a graphic with chains over a wheel calls for the use of snow chains.
Sometimes a single blue circle is used to indicate two activities separated by a white vertical line. For example a pictogram with the graphic of a bicycle separated from that of a woman and child walking implies that cyclists and pedestrians may use that zone.
Use of Signs at Work Places
Mandatory signs at construction sites, refineries, factories and other workplaces instruct employees to be particularly attentive regarding the nature of the work environment. Construction sites have signs that recommend workers to put on safety helmets and use eye and ear protection techniques.
Refineries may put up signs that advise workers to carry explosion warning systems at specific places. Maintenance departments of various production units may use signs to stipulate that workers must wear aprons while doing their jobs.
Departmental stores use signs to allocate lifts for carrying goods. Signs at the workplace may instruct people to open only one drawer at a time. Sometimes the signs can be very explicit. A factory owner can remind his work personnel to oil the cutting tools before work, by the effective use of signs.
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