You may have seen these tags on a lot of things, most of the time on equipment and areas that pose some threat or bodily harm to a person. You may have also noticed that these tags oftentimes come with headers on top, which may include such words as Warning, Danger, Caution, and Notice. These four headers are actually more than just words that capture your attention to these tags. These serve a higher purpose and are as important on your warning and instructional plates as the message that is on them.
When you see these headers, you should be aware of the level of danger that is present even without seeing what the entire tag says. It is important to read what the tag says, but these headers will already give you an idea as to the level of hazard that is present when you see these. There is more to these than just mere indicators of the presence of danger and in fact, these actually tell you how much danger is present.
Whether you are complying with OSHA or ANSI regulations, these headers mean basically the same thing for both. Here is what you should expect when you see any of these headers on your warning and instructional plates:
Danger – this presents the highest level of hazard and any incidents that happen with the equipment or in the area is likely to cause very serious injuries and the high probability of death. You will often see these headers on signs and tags that are posted on equipment with a lot of moving parts, very heavy equipment, high voltage sites, and high traffic areas.
This particular header comes with a red, white, and black design, making it highly visible and very easy to discern from others. Merely seeing the color scheme will alert you to the amount of danger that you will be facing if you are not careful.
Warning – this is the second highest level of danger you can encounter, with the possibility of serious injury and a probability of death. This particular header is also used for equipment that pose some threat to life and limb when misused, and can be seen on tags that are attached to heavy equipment, electrical equipment, and areas in a facility with a high level of danger.
This header has an orange, black, and white color scheme, which also helps you identify it even from afar.
Caution – when you see this header on a warning or instructional plate, care should be taken since any wrong moves or carelessness can result in minor injuries but not necessarily ones that can be fatal. These are used on equipment and areas that pose some danger to a person’s wellbeing, but not to their life. This does not mean however that you should take less notice of these since these still indicate danger and the possibility of getting hurt.
These headers come with a yellow and black color scheme and are also relatively easy to take note of.
These are just a few of the main headers that you will find being used on warning and instructional tags. Some of the other headers that you can find being used, particularly for those tags that are more instructional than warning, include Notice, Safety First, and Be Careful.
