Safety signs are to all intents and purposes a means of prevention and protection. They provide information or state a requirement concerning safety or health and must be complied with if potential hazards are present in the environment which cannot be managed by technological systems or organisational processes.
In order to allow immediate understanding of the messages, safety signs bear standardised symbols, usually pictograms that are universally recognised and easily understood regardless of the nationality of the viewers.
Safety signage includes the following five types of signs:
Since they are a means of prevention and protection, they are appropriately regulated, and checking that the signs are in good condition and that they are appropriate for the risks involved is part of the control and maintenance activities to be carried out.