Going Lean? Get Colorful
Nothing speaks to work area personnel like color-coded signs and labels. When used consistently to address similar hazards or facility features, standardized colors help personnel more easily link them to specific meanings so recognition is instant.
Just think how easy it is to find something in a well-organized filing cabinet. Add color coding and the benefits are multiplied many times.
The trick is to standardize your facility's colors first. This requires assertiveness on your part to organize a meeting with all production, safety and facility managers. Their participation will play a critical role in helping you to standardize your facility's colors. After all, you don't want to standardize a color and later find out the safety manager already has a different color in use.
To select your colors.... take some time to survey your facility by walking around and making some detailed notes of what issues and features are already labeled. Then mark down all of the areas where your facility would benefit from the addition of a label or sign. Begin to formulate a list of color you feel could be associated with certain label and sign types.
While you're at it... you may want to consider labeling all of those unknown dials and switches... nobody seems to use or know what they're for. Think like a new employee when reviewing these possible locations for labels and signs. Would I know how to operate this piece of equipment without supervision? Should I operate this piece of equipment without supervision? Everything a new employee should know about safely working and walking through a facility can be placed on a label or sign. Of course, color coding these signs makes them even more effective.
When selecting colors for your facility, choose shades that relate to issue or information you hope to communicate. OSHA has already standardized several colors for safety signage... so red, orange, yellow, blue and green should be reserved for their appropriate use. There's a whole spectrum of labeling supply colors out there to choose from... so don't worry about finding others.
As an example, you may want to associate the color gray with inventory, since it is has a more generic look and does not require an immediate call to attention. Procedural signs, such as equipment operation directions, try sticking to bright colors that attract attention and are easy to read. Even variations of OSHA colors are fine, like light orange or light red.
The goal is to make sure to use these same colors, consistently, for the same uses over and over. So that work area personnel never have to think about what a sign is for. They know what they're going read.... long before they can read it.
Color Supplies
Label & Sign Printers
Special Packages
Just think how easy it is to find something in a well-organized filing cabinet. Add color coding and the benefits are multiplied many times.
The trick is to standardize your facility's colors first. This requires assertiveness on your part to organize a meeting with all production, safety and facility managers. Their participation will play a critical role in helping you to standardize your facility's colors. After all, you don't want to standardize a color and later find out the safety manager already has a different color in use.
To select your colors.... take some time to survey your facility by walking around and making some detailed notes of what issues and features are already labeled. Then mark down all of the areas where your facility would benefit from the addition of a label or sign. Begin to formulate a list of color you feel could be associated with certain label and sign types.
While you're at it... you may want to consider labeling all of those unknown dials and switches... nobody seems to use or know what they're for. Think like a new employee when reviewing these possible locations for labels and signs. Would I know how to operate this piece of equipment without supervision? Should I operate this piece of equipment without supervision? Everything a new employee should know about safely working and walking through a facility can be placed on a label or sign. Of course, color coding these signs makes them even more effective.
When selecting colors for your facility, choose shades that relate to issue or information you hope to communicate. OSHA has already standardized several colors for safety signage... so red, orange, yellow, blue and green should be reserved for their appropriate use. There's a whole spectrum of labeling supply colors out there to choose from... so don't worry about finding others.
As an example, you may want to associate the color gray with inventory, since it is has a more generic look and does not require an immediate call to attention. Procedural signs, such as equipment operation directions, try sticking to bright colors that attract attention and are easy to read. Even variations of OSHA colors are fine, like light orange or light red.
The goal is to make sure to use these same colors, consistently, for the same uses over and over. So that work area personnel never have to think about what a sign is for. They know what they're going read.... long before they can read it.
Color Supplies
Label & Sign Printers
Special Packages
posted by Eric Johnson
at
9:26 AM
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