The Irish System of Safety Signs

Safety signs used in workplaces must comply with the design requirements set out in Schedule 9 and Chapter 1 of Part 7 of the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work (General Application) Regulations 2007.

Only information authorised in accordance with Chapter 1 of Part 7 of these Regulations may be displayed on safety signs, with Regulation 162 explicitly prohibiting the use of non-compliant information on safety signs:

"An employer shall ensure that signs at work which are displayed for the purposes of this Chapter do not include information other than that authorised by this Chapter."

Safety signs used in Ireland should also conform to Irish Standard I.S. EN ISO 7010:2020, which standardizes the look of safety signs and their meaning for international use and for the purposes of accident prevention, fire protection, health hazard information and emergency evacuation. In any area where there is a conflict between the Standard and the Regulations (such as in the design of the symbol for fire exits), a regulation always takes precedence over a standard.

What is a Safety Sign?

A safety or health sign is a sign referring to a specific object, activity or situation and providing information or instructions about safety, health, or both, at work by means of a signboard, a colour, an illuminated sign, an acoustic signal, a verbal communication or a hand signal. There are two types of safety signs:

• A signboard is a sign which provides specific information or instructions by a combination of a geometric shape, colours and a symbol or pictogram, without written words, which is rendered visible by lighting of sufficient intensity.
• A supplementary signboard is a sign used together with one of the signs covered by the definition of signboard (above) and which gives supplementary information, including, where appropriate, information in writing.

The basic design principles of the Irish system of safety signs for use in workplaces are as follows:

• The objective of the system of safety signs is to draw attention rapidly and unambiguously to objects and situations capable of causing specific hazards.
• A system of safety signs must never be used as a substitute for necessary protective measures.
• The system of safety signs may only be used to give information related to safety.
• The effectiveness of the system of safety signs is dependent in particular on the provision of full and constantly repeated information to all persons likely to benefit therefrom.

All safety signs used in a workplace must comply with these design principles.

The system for signboards use a colour-coding system which is based on traffic light colours:

• Red for prohibition
• Yellow for caution
• Green for positive action

A fourth colour, blue, is used for mandatory signs and to convey information.

The system for signboards use standardised geometric shapes to convey meaning:

• Discs for prohibitions and instruction
• Triangles for warnings
• Squares and rectangles for emergency and informative signs

The instructions in the table below apply to all signs incorporating a symbol/pictogram.
The instructions in the table below apply to all signs incorporating a safety colour.
The table below shows how a shape is combined with a safety colour to form a signboard.
The categories of safety signs and their definitions are as follows:

• A prohibition sign is a signboard or supplementary signboard prohibiting behaviour likely to incur harm or cause danger.
• A warning sign is a signboard or supplementary signboard giving warning of a hazard or risk.
• A mandatory sign is a signboard or supplementary signboard requiring specific behaviour.
• An emergency escape or first-aid sign is a signboard or supplementary signboard giving information on emergency exits or first-aid or rescue facilities.
• A fire protection sign is a signboard or supplementary signboard giving information on the identification and location of fire-fighting equipment.