Dangerous machine components - do you know how to properly label them?

It is the duty of every employer to ensure the safety of his employees in the workplace. Many aspects related to this are a direct result of the law, others are preventive measures that the employer determines on its own. In any workplace where there are machines that can pose a potential threat to human health and life, care must be taken to ensure that they are properly marked.

What follows from the regulations?

Section 6 of the Ordinance on General Regulations on Occupational Safety and Health reads that at workplaces, all places where there is any danger to workers must be properly marked with visible colors and easy to interpret warning and prohibition signs. The same is true for dangerous places, such as crosswalks, where there is a risk of slipping, tripping and falling. They should be painted with safety colors that follow the Polish Standards.

How to label dangerous machine components?

Machinery and its components may pose a potential hazard to the worker. Not only improper use of them, but even touching them in the wrong place can result in an accident. Workers, of course, must be trained in advance on how to use the machine on which they will work. However, they may come into contact with other equipment in the workplace that they do not operate on a daily basis.

Machinery and its components should therefore be marked in an appropriate manner. Signs in various shapes, colors and with specific pictograms and inscriptions are designed for this purpose. They should be individually matched to the workplace and the function and mechanism of the machine. It shall be placed in a conspicuous place so that it directly indicates the type of danger and the desired behavior of the employee. It is best to fix the sign on the line of sight. Moreover, the sign's visibility is determined by its lighting.

Signs affixed to machines must furthermore be permanent. They should be resistant to abrasion and damage. Self-adhesive stickers work best and adhere very well to surfaces. If the sign is damaged and becomes invisible or barely legible, replace it immediately. So it's worth having a sign sheet in case you need to replace it.

Warning signs placed on machines

Warning signs are characterized by a triangular shape, yellow background, black border, pictogram and sometimes inscription. They warn of potential danger. Among such signs are: Warning of toxic materials, Warning against automatic startup, Hot surface warning i Hand crush warning.

Prohibition signs for marking machinery

There are also prohibition signs at workplaces. They will be recognized by their round shape, white background, red border and cross-out, and black pictogram. As the name implies, they prohibit the performance of specific actions to avoid accident and injury. The m.in. Ban on placing heavy objects, Ban on putting hands inside i Don't switch.

Prohibitory and prohibitory signs should be in accordance with the PN-EN-ISO 7010:2012 standard. It is from it that the colors and shape of the proper signage should be. It is also the standard that indicates the specific signs that are intended to mark machines with hazardous elements in workplaces.