ISO 3864-2, Graphical symbols – Safety colours and safety signs – Part 2: Design principles for product safety labels, has been updated. The 2nd Edition (2016) is available now from Document Center Inc. in both paper and pdf formats. You can also include it in our enterprise cloud service, Standards Online. The document provides you with additional layouts for product safety labels described in ISO 3864-1.
What should safety signs and labels show? Per ISO 3864-2, you’ll want to communicate the severity level of the hazard and supplementary information in either word or symbol form. To make such signs and labels “universal,” ISO has standardized a variety of layouts and symbols. And of course, safety communications can also occur in product documentation.
This means that you will need to not only generate a label, but will need to consider such factors as the level of risk associated with your product and how much of a warning is appropriate. Additionally, regulatory requirements in the various jurisdictions where your product will be sold or used should also be taken into account.
The use of a standard like ISO 3864-2 means that you will be in line with industry best practices when it comes to product labeling. You will be alerting users to specific hazards and identifying how they can be avoided. You’ll certainly be using it for consumer products and industrial equipment.
The standard provides you with guidance on safety colors, the use of hazard severity panels, and the types and layout of safety labels. 4 Annexes cover increasing the recognition of label components, translation of “signal” words, examples of safety labels, and special attention to the color orange. A 12-item bibliography completes the 26 page publication.
There are technical changes in this 2016 Edition, which means that it cancels and replaces the previous 1st Edition and it’s amendment. So if you are using this standard you’ll need to get a copy of the new update. Choose Document Center Inc. for your purchase. We have been working with standards since 1982 and are an authorized distributor of the ISO publications. Search for and order standards from a wide variety of sources at our website, www.document-center.com. Here is a direct link to the order page for ISO 3864-2 for your convenience.
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