There has been much talk recently about signs pollution, the proliferation of signs all over our town and countryside, from high street to motorway, from factory to farm. Which not only can blight our landscape or built environment, but also cause confusion by virtue of the sign’s own cluttering promiscuity.

Does this apply to health and safety signs?

Not so, in our view. First, the very purpose of properly located and appropriate safety signage is to protect staff and visitors on your premises, when all other means to mitigate a risk has been considered an actioned. In this case “familiarity does NOT breed contempt – rather the continual and consistent viability of such safety aids increases awareness and comprehension of the potential dangers and the means of avoiding or evading them. This is not just a negative “do not” approach as is evident from essential use of fire and emergency exit signs in their various forms.

Secondly, the key to effective health and safety signage starts with the comprehensive assessment of the risks in a workplace and, where these can not be avoided, the selection of the most appropriate signs – which in many cases, separate safety messages can be incorporated in one multi-purpose sign, so quite legitimately saving space and money.

Safety Signs Training

A further crucial ingredient is the general level of safety awareness that is developed within your organisation, and in particular, the education and training of staff with respect to safety signs. Here, there are a number of aides, such as pocket guides (for example, these can be included in an induction pack) and the Health and Safety Law Poster that are in any event a legal requirement to display.

In all these areas Stocksigns can help, although ultimately, of course the responsibility lies with you. Our advice, a combination of physical surveys and the wide range of signs on offer, will eliminate the over-use of signs, but protect the organisation, and its employees and visitors, which after all, is the whole point.