Proposed changes to the legal requirements covering workplace safety signs have prompted health and safety products distributor Arco to introduce a new reference catalogue to aid compliance.
The Health & Safety (Safety, Signs & Signals) Regulations 1996 make it a legal requirement for all organisations with public access to buildings to highlight health and safety risks through the use of suitable signs.
According to Arco, the 1996 Regulations are supported by the British Standard BS 5499-1:2002 Graphical symbols and signs – safety signs, which includes guidelines on the use and appearance of safety signs in the UK. In 2003, the ISO 7010:2003 Graphical symbols – safety colours and safety signs standard was introduced to ensure consistency between safety signs used throughout Europe.
It has now been proposed that this standard, which was updated last year, will become ISO EN 7010. The change, explains Arco, would see the standard become a European Normative, rather than simply a recommendation on best practice, and this would result in it being written into UK and EU law. It would not be a legal requirement to change existing signs, adds Arco, but all new safety signs would have to conform to the new standard.
To help businesses specify the correct sign, the company has put together a comprehensive catalogue, containing all the essential safety signs in the workplace that conform to these new requirements.
To request a copy of the Arco Safety Signs catalogue, visit www.arco.co.uk/safetysigns
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