How is the ANSI Z535 ASC working to address signs and symbols used in multi-language workplaces?
From its beginnings, one of the important design considerations we have addressed in our committee has been how to effectively communicate safety information in a diverse cultural setting. We address not only multi-lingual environments, but also situations in which there are literacy problems. Our standards specifically address how to properly format multi-lingual safety signs, labels and instructional messages as well as how to design and evaluate symbols that can be used for “wordless” communication. Our standards incorporate and prescribe the use of specific safety colors as an additional wordless way to help communicate the relative severity and probability of safety issues. How has the ANSI Z535 ASC integrated the need for signs and symbols into the traditional hierarchy of safety engineering? Do you feel that instead of first “engineering out” hazards or exposures, too many facilities rely on signs and symbols to warn people of these hazards and exposures? Is this hierarchy conce
