What is an OSHA Safety Sign and Why is it Important?

OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) is an agency of the United States Department of Labor that is dedicated to preventing work-related injuries, job related illnesses and occupational fatalities by enforcing safety standards in the workplace. As one might expect, OSHA regulations can be tedious. But they can also be simplistic, particularly when it comes to placing OSHA safety signs at certain points throughout a building. OSHA safety signs range from first aid station signs to signs that indicate emergency exits in the event of fire evacuations. In this article, we discuss three OSHA safety signs that are crucial to aiding building occupants as they evacuate during a fire or attempt to combat a fire.

Fire Extinguisher Signs

Safety & Survival

Under normal conditions, an OSHA safety sign that indicates a fire extinguisher can seem redundant. But during low visibility that results from a fire, building occupants typically commonly and forget their surroundings, even in buildings where they have worked for decades. A fire extinguisher sign serves as an emergency indicator of a fire extinguisher, particularly if the sign is luminous and not just reflective. In the event of large building fires, building occupants would rarely fight the fire with a fire extinguisher. But a well indicated fire extinguisher could be a lifesaver when used to extinguish flames that block egress paths.

Fire Hose and Standpipe Signs

A fire hose and stand pipe unit is also a fire extinguisher, but its connection to a building's water supply and long hose make it more formidable than a classic fire extinguisher. Whereas fire extinguishers are excellent for extinguishing small fires and fighting one's way through fiery egress paths; if used properly, a fire hose and standpipe unit can extinguish a large fire before it spreads and claims an entire building. Therefore, by indicating your fire hose and standpipe units with the appropriate luminous OSHA safety sign, as well as conducting training sessions on how to use the units, you might do more than save lives; you might also save your building.

Running Man Sign

A right or left running man sign is used to indicate exit-leading doors within vertical exit enclosures (i.e. exit stairwells) and exit passageways. This allows evacuees to travel only through doors lead to an exit. Without running man signs, vertical exit enclosures and exit passageways can easily turn into a guessing game of which door to open, even if building occupants have a practiced evacuation plan. When outfitting your building with OSHA safety signs, the best approach is ask what information a person would need to know if they suddenly lost their senses, because that's often what happens during a major fire evacuation.

What is an OSHA Safety Sign and Why is it Important?

In my research on fire safety signs, I've found that an OSHA safety sign can mean the difference between safe and dangerous fire evacuations.