GB/T 2893.5-2020Graphical symbols—Safety colours and safety signs—Part 5: Principles and requirements for the use of safety signs (English PDF)

1 Scope

This Part of GB/T 2893 specifies the principles and requirements for selecting, combining, setting safety signs in actual use.

This Part applies to safety signs, which are used in public places, workplaces or public buildings, other than private residences. This Part does not apply to:

- Road traffic signs;

- Public information graphic symbols;

- Dangerous goods transport signs.

This Part does not contain requirements for the use of evacuation route signs and water safety signs.

Note 1: Evacuation route signs and their use requirements are as specified in GB/T 23809.

Note 2: The provisions of water safety signs and their usage guidelines are in GB/T 25895.1 and GB/T 25895.3, respectively.

2 Normative references

The following documents are essential to the application of this document. For the dated documents, only the versions with the dates indicated are applicable to this document; for the undated documents, only the latest version (including all the amendments) is applicable to this standard.

GB/T 2893.1 Graphical symbols - Safety colors and safety signs - Part 1: Design principles for safety signs and safety markings

GB/T 2893.3 Graphical symbols - Safety colors and safety signs - Part 3: Design principles for graphical symbols for use in safety signs

GB/T 2893.4 Graphical symbols - Safety colors and safety signs - Part 4: Colorimetric and photometric properties of safety sign materials

GB 2894 Safety signs and guideline for the use

GB 7000.1 Luminaires - Part 1: General requirements and tests

GB 13495.1 Fire safety signs - Part 1: Signs

GB/T 15565 Graphical symbol - Terms

GB/T 20002.4 Drafting for special aspects in standards - Part 4: Safety aspects for their inclusion in standards

GB/T 31523.1 Safety information identification systems - Part 1: Signs

GB/T 31523.2 Safety information identification systems - Part 2: Setting principles and requirements

3 Terms and definitions

Terms and definitions, which are defined in GB/T 15565 and GB/T 20002.4, apply to this document.

4 Principles of use

4.1 The type and function of safety signs shall comply with the provisions of GB/T 2893.1. Safety signs can be presented in a variety of forms, including but not limited to signs, labels, or painting directly on the carrier.

4.2 The safety signs used should ensure that, the observers within the maximum viewing distance can know the location of the hazard, the nature of the hazard, the measures needed to control the risk to an acceptable level.

4.3 Safety signs shall also comply with the following principles when used:

a) The safety sign is easy to be noticed; there is sufficient contrast between the safety sign and the use environment;

a) The need to implement risk controls, including:

1) Prohibit dangerous actions or behaviors;

2) Prohibit specific persons, processes or practices;

3) Perform specific action, process or practice.

b) Requirements for implementing emergency plans:

1) Determine the location of safety equipment and facilities;

2) Determine the location of firefighting equipment.

c) Requirements of health and safety laws or regulations.

d) Requirements of government administrative departments.

e) Other requirements of the site manager and person in charge, etc.

5 Requirements for use

5.3 Use of auxiliary text

5.3.1 Auxiliary text helps to enhance the understandability of safety signs. For safety signs, that people are more familiar with, such as "No Smoking", it should also further enhance their comprehension, through auxiliary text, when using them.

5.3.2 If the result of the risk assessment considers that the target audience in the assessment area may be unfamiliar with the safety sign, the safety sign used shall have auxiliary texts, that can convey the meaning of the safety sign.

5.3.3 When using auxiliary text, it shall play the following functions:

a) Give the meaning of the safety signs;

b) Expand or elaborate in detail on the meaning of the safety sign, by providing more information.

5.3.4 There shall not be any conflict or contradiction, between the content of the auxiliary text and the meaning of the safety sign in the national standard.

5.3.5 Auxiliary text shall not be used alone. When using auxiliary text:

a) The significance of the auxiliary text should not exceed the accompanying safety signs;

b) Chinese auxiliary characters should use isometric fonts, which have the same stroke thickness, such as bold, etc.;

c) If the auxiliary text is in English, then:

1) Only the first letter of the first word in English is capitalized; the letters of other words are all lowercase;

2) If the warning word "Warning" is used in the English auxiliary text, which is used together with the warning sign, then the English word after the warning word should start from a new line; the first letter of the first word in the new line shall be capitalized, whilst the letters of the rest of the words shall all be lowercase;

3) English fonts should be sans-serif fonts, which have similar stroke thickness.

5.3.6 The character height of Chinese auxiliary texts should be greater than or equal to 6 mm, OR not less than 10% of the height of the safety sign, whichever is greater. The height of lowercase letters in English auxiliary texts (measured by the lowercase letter "x") should be half the height of the Chinese characters, which are used at the same time.

b) For the target group of safety information, safety signs should be sufficiently conspicuous.

c) It should be set, within the normal field of view of the intended observer.

d) There should be sufficient contrast with the set background environment.

e) Safety signs, which convey the same information, shall maintain the same setting height.

f) The placement of safety signs needs to consider the following aspects:

1) It should be close to the hazard source or the equipment to be marked;

2) It will not be blocked by doors, guardrails, plants or other equipment and facilities and other signs;

3) It should not be adjacent to other signs, that can distract the attention of the safety sign;

4) There should be no obstacles ahead, so that the observer can approach and identify the sign.

1) When the safety sign is set in an outdoor environment AND only needs to function during the day, the light source of the safety sign can only use sunlight;

2) The chromaticity and photometric properties of externally illuminated safety signs, internally illuminated safety signs, phosphorescent safety signs shall meet the requirements of GB/T 2893.4. Appendix B gives examples of safety sign settings.

6 Evaluation and maintenance