Thursday 23 December 2010

Lockout Tags: OSHA v Safety Signs & Signals Regs


I have read that The Health & Safety (Safety Signs & Signals) Regulations 1996 stipulates the guidelines for design, layout and colour of safety signs. These regulations apply to signs and tags used for lockout tagout applications. Users will have noticed a consistent and easy to follow standard, for example a red circle with a diagonal line through it has a generic meaning Danger/Alarm. This might include a message such as ‘Do Not Operate’.

In the United States, tags are produced in accordance with OSHA regulations and do not follow the same colour coding and symbol convention. An equivalent OSHA tag does not have the same symbol or colour coding.

On that note, for discussion, would an OSHA compliant tag be valid for use in a UK site? In the event of an accident on equipment bearing OSHA compliant tags, would the tag be considered to be a contributing factor to the accident?

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