News

Posted On: 10/04/2011

NEMA publishes safety alerting standards

NEMA

The National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA) has published ANSI Z535.1 through .6 and Color Chart for Safety Alerting Standards.

• ANSI Z535.1 Safety Colors sets forth the technical definitions, color standards, and color tolerances for the ANSI Z535 uniform safety color.
• ANSI Z535.2 Environmental and Facility Safety Signs regulates requirements for the design, application, and use of safety signs in facilities and in the environment through consistent visual layout. Reorganized to best describe the five types of safety signs used in facilities, the 2011 edition of this standard is revised to better harmonize with ANSI Z535.4, ANSI Z535.5, and ANSI Z535.6.
• ANSI Z535.3 Criteria for Safety Symbols provides general criteria for the design, evaluation, and use of safety symbols to identify and warn against specific hazards and information to avoid personal injury.
• ANSI Z535.4 Product Safety Signs and Labels delivers specifications for design, application, use, and placement of safety signs and labels on a wide variety of products. A new type of product safety sign, the “safety instruction sign,” was added to join the existing types of signs, hazard alerting signs, and safety notice signs, which were also more clearly defined and named in this edition. The definitions for “accident,” “harm,” and “incident” were refined to more clearly delineate a separation between physical injury and other safety-related issues (e.g., property damage). It was revised to correspond with ANSI Z535.2, ANSI Z535.5, and ANSI Z535.6.
• ANSI Z535.5 Safety Tags and Barricade Tapes (for Temporary Hazards) discusses tag and tapes, which are used only until the identified hazard is eliminated or the hazardous operation is completed. The Z535.5-2011 edition was revised to link with ANSI Z535.2, ANSI Z545.4, and ANSI Z535.6. The Safety Instructions Tag was added in addition to the existing types of signs, hazard alerting tags, and barricade tapes, as well as safety notice tags and barricade tapes, which were more clearly defined and named in this edition. Industries (typically manufacturing and construction) that employ lockout/tagout procedures or have a need to mark an area affected by a temporary hazard will find this standard beneficial.
• ANSI Z535.6 Product Safety Information in Product Manuals, Instructions, and Other Collateral Materials has been updated for manufacturers to promote efficient development of safety messages.
• ANSI Z535 Color Chart bears a 2011 designation with updated and corrected information concerning ink specifications for the Z535 safety colors.