General Information

The ANSI Z535.4 2002 Standard is born out of the following ideal: "The diversity of culture and background in American society increases the need to standardize a visual alerting identification system for safety signage.

The great need to eliminate accidents and suffering among individuals who may be exposed to hazards requires the use of standard formats, sizes, colors, shapes and a firm understanding of the degree of the hazard."

The ANSI Z535.4 2002 Standard recognizes that language barriers are no match for common symbols and as such, it has become important for manufacturers to use the correct symbols on their product safety labels.

The entire planet has become a single marketplace for many products and it is doubly important that there are safety reminders in place that will quickly communicate hazard information – the symbols stay the same or similar across the board, even if the language changes.

It is easy for most of us to ignore a message written in words, but symbols are distinct from cluttered textual information we see, and ignore almost without pause, each and every day.

ANSI labels are comprised of five key elements:

• Signal Word Panel – NOTICE, CAUTION, WARNING, DANGER. This signal word panel must be used in conjunction with the Safety Alert Symbol anytime there is a possible personal injury hazard.

• While it is not required that you use a pictorial image, it is recommended that you do and that the image clearly depicts and identifies the hazards, consequences, or precautions.

• Simple Identification of the hazard or action statement – for example: "Crush Hazard" would describe a hazard clearly and concisely, while "Do Not Enter" gives a clear statement of what you should or shouldn't do.

• Instructions on how to avoid the hazard.

• Consequences to ignoring the sign and not avoiding the hazard.

Standards set by ISO for safety labels include:

• Optional signal word panel.

• A text summary of the hazard and hazard avoidance (optional).

• ISO Format symbol required – see "Pictorial Panel" section for the three symbol types used.

We offer both sets of standards (the new and the old) here at Dixie Signs & Decals because our customers desire the use of both. While you may still use the older version, we highly recommend that you switch over to the new ANSI Z535.4 Standard in order to conform to the ANSI regulations and get your place of business and all your work sites up to standard.

Check out our online store to view our catalog of safety signs and decals or go to the DSD Design Center and you can design a custom safety label to your specifications while meeting the ANSI standard!

Design & Content – the Primary Parts of a Safety Label

ANSI Panels

Header Section: This section contains signal words like "Caution", "Danger", "Notice", or "Danger". The words contained within the header must be formatted to ANSI standards.

Pictorial Panel: This section holds symbols that are appropriate to the hazard information you would like to make clear. While you do not have to use these pictorial images, they are recommended.

Message Panel: This section usually contains text that identifies the hazard, the consequences to ignoring the hazard, and the safety measures that should be taken. This section must be formatted to ANSI standards as well.

The following is a more in depth break-down of each of these sections to help you understand exactly what is involved in each section. They look simple, but they can hold vast amounts of information.

Header Section

The header section, in an ANSI standard safety sign will always have a signal word and a safety alert symbol. The appropriate signal word in conjunction with a colored background that changes to reflect the severity of the hazard are extremely important to properly convey, with a glance, the danger in any given area.

The first part of the header section is the Signal Word. The standard signal words for safety products are "DANGER", "WARNING", "CAUTION", and "NOTICE". These words begin to signify to the reader what degree of hazard or seriousness there is in the area.

The Safety Alert Symbol is nothing more than an exclamation mark (!) within the confines of a triangle. This symbol is required to be used in conjunction with a signal word when a personal injury hazard is present by the new ANSI Z535.4. The ANSI Safety Alert Symbol will be one of the following:

• A black triangle with an exclamation mark (!) that matches the color of the header background (WARNING, CAUTION).

• A white triangle with an exclamation mark (!) that matches the color of the header background (DANGER).

If you are putting your safety label on a product that will be shipped outside the U.S. then you will probably want to use symbols that appear in ISO format. An ISO format safety alert symbol is comprised of a black exclamation mark (!) inside a yellow triangle.

The following is a breakdown of the Signal Words and what they mean:

DANGER: This Signal Word indicates a hazardous situation that will result in death or serious injury if it isn't avoided. DANGER should always be limited to only the most extreme situations.

WARNING: This Signal Word indicates a hazardous situation that could result in death or serious injury if it isn't avoided. WARNING will be used in most situations that are otherwise stable whereas DANGER is used when conditions are less than stable.

CAUTION: This Signal Word indicates a hazardous situation that could result in a minor or moderate injury if not avoided. CAUTION is sometimes used without the safety alert symbol as an alternative to using the Signal Word of NOTICE.

NOTICE: This Signal Word is generally preferred when addressing practices that aren't related to personal injury. NOTICE isn't used with a safety alert symbol. You may, as an alternative, use the Signal Word CAUTION without the safety alert symbol to indicate a message that isn't related to personal injury.

Pictorial Panel

The ANSI Z535.4 Standard, whenever it is practical to do so, encourages the usage of safety symbols. A pictorial symbol will be able to communicate regardless of the primary language spoken and read in any given area.

They are an eye-catching means to communicate dangers quickly and effectively. You have the choice between two different formats of pictorial – a standard graphic or one that is formatted in the ISO 3864-2 standard. An ANSI standard graphic will always be seen as a black image on a white background:

ANSI Standard Safety Signs use one of two types of pictorials. One is the Hazard Alerting Pictorial and the other is a Hazard Avoidance Pictorial. Here is a break-down:

Hazard Alerting Pictorial: These pictorials should identify the hazard clearly and they should concisely portray the potential consequences that may occur should the hazard not be avoided.

Hazard Avoidance Pictorial: These pictorials should identify the actions and/or equipment that will be necessary to employ in order to effectively avoid the hazard.

The ISO formatted graphic appears as a black graphic in a yellow triangle with black band, or a white graphic in a blue circle, or a black graphic inside a red prohibition circle with red slash.

An ISO formatted graphic is slightly different in that it will appear as one of three base images:

• A yellow triangle with a black band.

• A white graphic in a blue circle.

• A black graphic inside a red prohibition circle with a diagonal red slash across it.

In an ISO Standard safety sign there are 3 basic types of safety symbols used. The following is a break-down of these:

Mandatory Action: This symbol is used on a safety label to indicate an action should be taken and/or equipment should be used to avoid a hazard.

Prohibition: This symbol is used on a safety label to indicate an action that you shouldn't take or one that you should stop doing if you are already doing it.

Hazard Identification: This symbol is used on a safety label to indicate a hazard.

Message Panel

It is recommended when using the ANSI Z535.4 standard that a combination of upper and lower case text in Sans Serif type should be used. It is acceptable to use upper case lettering in cases where very short messages are printed or to emphasize individual words within the regular text. A safety sign comes with the primary objective of communicating information quickly and in such a way as to let a person understand easily and to take appropriate actions in order to avoid the hazard.

Three items should be identified and present in the message panel. These are an action statement, the hazard identification, and a statement about consequences. Here is a break-down of an ANSI message panel:

Action Statement: The action statement gives you instructions on how you may avoid the hazard. These statements should always be simple, direct, accurate, and only relevant to the hazard involved.

Hazard Identification: The hazard identification should specify the hazard involved and it should do so with clear, simple language.

Consequence Statement: The consequence statement should be lined out in clear, concise, and accurate language that is, at the same time, simple. The statement should contain language strong enough to convey a warning about the potential consequences should the warning be ignored.