The Three ANSI Z535.4 Signal Words and Signal Word Panels

The Three ISO 3864-2 Signal Words and Signal Word Panels
(Hazard Severity Panels) (Optional for ANSI Z535.4-2007)

How do I choose the right signal word?

It is important for your safety labels to have the appropriate choice of signal word because this word and its colored background communicate the severity of the hazard. The ANSI Z535.4-2007 standard will use the following definitions for signal words:

• 4.14 signal word: The word that calls attention to the safety sign and designate a degree or level of hazard seriousness. The signal words for product safety signs are "DANGER", "WARNING", "CAUTION", and "NOTICE".
• 4.14.1 DANGER: Indicates a hazardous situation which, if not avoided, will result in death or serious injury. This signal word is to be limited to the most extreme situations.
• 4.14.2 WARNING: Indicates a hazardous situation which, if not avoided, could result in death or serious injury.
• 4.14.3 CAUTION: Indicates a hazardous situation which, if not avoided, could result in minor or moderate injury. It may also be used without the safety alert symbol as an alternative to "Notice".
• 4.14.4 NOTICE: "NOTICE" is the preferred signal word to address practices not related to personal injury. The safety alert symbol shall not be used with this signal word. As an alternative to "NOTICE" the word "CAUTION" without the safety alert symbol may be used to indicate a message not related to personal injury.

The above definitions from the standard make it clear that CAUTION is to be used for minor injury. It is interesting to note that relatively few (approximately 10%) of the safety labels Clarion sells to equipment manufacturers use CAUTION as the signal word. Minor burns, cuts, scratches, pinch points that result in bruises, and minor chemical irritation are some of the few examples where CAUTION is chosen. This is a judgement call to be made on your part. Is the possible injury minor or moderate? Sometimes this decision is based on whether one can easily recover from the injury - that the injury is fully repairable (a bruise, minor burn, broken finger, etc.) and does not typically result in permanent disability, significant disfigurement, or pain.

As shown in the examples below, using CAUTION on safety labels that are meant for hazards that really could (or will) result in serious injury or death does not adequately warn of the proper seriousness of the hazard. This could have serious product liability repercussions! Therefore, we recommend that you reevaluate any CAUTION safety labels you currently use in light of the ANSI Z535.4 definitions noted above.

By and large most of the safety labels we sell for equipment use WARNING or DANGER as the signal word because the hazards warned about on safety labels meant for equipment usually "will" or "could" cause serious injury or death. What is serious? Another judgement call on your part. An injury that cannot be restored 100%? Serious injuries typically result in permanent loss of function, significant disfigurement, substantial and prolonged medical treatment, long periods of disability, considerable pain and suffering over long periods of time i.e. mangled or amputated finger, a third degree burn, loss of eyesight etc. These types of hazards are most often categorized as serious and deserve WARNING or DANGER. To determine which of these to use, see below.

How do I choose between DANGER and WARNING?

Both words are to be used for hazards that cause serious injury or death. But the ANSI Z535.4 signal word definitions make it clear that DANGER is to be limited to the "most extreme situations." The difference has to do with the probability of interaction with the hazard. Is it a "will" or a "could" situation? If a person ignores the safety label, is it likely that they "will" come in contact with the hazard or is it a situation where they "could" contact the hazard? DANGER is to be used only when the hazard is "imminent" and injury "will" result if the safety label is ignored. For instance, normally if a person operates equipment without the guards in place, it does not mean that their action "will" result in serious injury or death. It is usually looked at as a "could" situation and that leads to the choice of WARNING for the signal word, not DANGER or CAUTION. If it is an open blade hazard, like on a band saw used in woodworking, and the safety label warns about the cutting hazard and says you should keep your fingers clear, if you ignore this safety label, you WILL cut your fingers. Thus, DANGER is the right choice for signal word for this safety label.

If the majority of your safety labels use DANGER, you really should ask yourself if you are using DANGER appropriately. The signal word DANGER should be used only for those hazards truly calling for the immediacy of injury that warrants communicating this level of hazard severity.

The ANSI Z535.4 2007 revision will include a new annex – Annex E – Risk Estimation and Signal Word Selection. Included within this annex are two signal word selection matrices that will assist with the selection of the appropriate signal word.

What signal word can be used on safety labels meant for equipment damage or practices not related to personal injury?

If your safety labels are intended to warn persons about hazards that could result in only equipment damage or practices not related to personal injury, the signal word NOTICE (white letters on a safety blue background) should be used. NOTICE will be the preferred ANSI Z535.4 (2007 revision) signal word for this use. The safety alert symbol is not used with this signal word. As an alternate, the signal word CAUTION may be used without the safety alert symbol.

Note: DANGER or WARNING should not be considered for property damage accidents unless personal injury risk appropriate to these levels is also involved.

Example of preferred use of NOTICE

CAUTION will be permitted as an alternative to NOTICE for property-damage-only accidents or practices not related to personal injury in the ANSI Z535.4 2007 revision. The safety alert symbol should never be used to alert persons to property-damage-only accidents.

Example of alternative use of CAUTION

Note: It is the intention of the ANSI Z535 Committee to eliminate the option of using the signal word CAUTION without the safety alert symbol for situations not related to personal injury in the 2011 version of the standard. This will help to differentiate between safety messages intended for personal injury and those intended for practices not related to personal injury.

What is the safety alert symbol?

The safety alert symbol is the triangle with an exclamation mark that is used next to the signal word. In the vocabulary of ANSI Z535 signage this symbol indicates a possible personal (human) injury hazard exists. The ISO 3864-2 standard refers to this as the general warning sign.

Three Examples of ANSI Safety Alert Symbols

Three Examples of ISO 3864-2 Safety Alert Symbols
Utilized in the Clarion Harmonized format
(Optional for ANSI Z535.4-2007)

Is it important to have the right colors on my safety labels?

Yes! You must use the right color combinations for the signal word panel. The Z535.4 standard states that DANGER should be in white letters on a red background, WARNING as black letters on an orange background, and CAUTION as black letters on a yellow background.

The safety alert symbol is shown as a triangle that is the contrast color of the signal word panel's background color, and the exclamation mark is the same color as the panel's background color. The ANSI Z535.4 2007 revision will offer optional use of the ISO safety alert symbol with a black exclamation mark within a yellow triangle. These should be the only color combinations used for ANSI Z535.4 safety labels. When NOTICE or SAFETY INSTRUCTION safety labels are needed for equipment, we use the color definitions for these types of safety labels set out in the ANSI Z535.4 and the ANSI Z535.2 Environmental and Facility Safety Sign standards (i.e. blue/white and green/white respectively).

The Three ANSI Z535.4 Signal Word Panels

The ISO 3864-2 signal word color combinations are the same as the ANSI colors with the exception of only permitting use of the safety alert symbol in which the exclamation mark is black within a yellow triangle (an option in the ANSI Z535.4 2007 revision). This yellow safety alert symbol is the general warning sign W001 specified in ISO 7010.

The Three ISO 3864-2 Signal Word Panels (Hazard Severity Panels)
Utilized in the Clarion Harmonized format
(Optional for ANSI Z535.4-2007)

The president of Clarion chairs the ANSI subcommittee for safety colors that is in charge of the ANSI Z535.1 Safety Color Code. This standard sets forth specific color definitions for the tolerance limits of the safety colors used on product safety labels, signs, and tags. It is important that the colors on your safety labels are within these tolerance limits. The reason for these color boundaries is to define a definite separation between the colors (e.g. so red is always red, not orange/red), and through the use of standardized colors, people will more easily recognize the colors. This is why, for instance, all school buses are painted the same shade of yellow. Clarion has its colors custom produced to fall within the ANSI Z535.1 and ISO 3864 safety color code's tolerance limits.