Electrical Contracting News (ECN) August 2016 | Page 28

EMERGENCY LIGHTING

It is essential to
communicate safety
information in a
common language.

SIGN OF THE TIMES
Signs are an important part of health and safety in and around the work place. Introduced in 2013, the
British Standard relating to safe signage – BS EN ISO7010 – is still relatively new and as such there is
still some confusion surrounding it. Paul Dawson of ESP seeks to clarify some of the questions it raises.

B

S EN ISO7010 is an
international standard
for consistent safety
sign regulation across
Europe. It aims to
bring consistency in
safety signage.

Sign language
With increasing trade and travel across
international borders, it is essential
to communicate safety information

in a common language. So BS EN
ISO7010 specifies safety signs that
use standardised symbols instead of
words. The standard also reduces the
potential for confusion and accidents
by ensuring that there is only one sign
for each meaning.
The date for adoption was January
2013, when it became a European
Normative and replaced the previous
British Standard BS5499-5. The
standard applies to all locations where
safety issues must be addressed,

including workplaces and other
buildings, ships and public areas; as
well as signs that appear in manuals,
notices, product labelling, and escape
and evacuation plans.
Anyone with responsibility for public or
workforce safety will need this standard
– in particular building owners, facility
managers, safety managers and sign
makers, and people who select, install or
inspect safety signs.
Whenever a new British Standard
is published for any kind of product,

there seems to be a rush of literature on
the back of it claiming that you have to
replace this or that in order to comply.
BS EN ISO7010, relating to graphical
symbols, safety colours and signs, and
registered safety signs, is no exception.

Is it the law?
No, British Standards are not law. They
are Codes of Practice, generally affecting
only new products, as opposed to those
previously produced.

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18/07/2016 10:35