While zero workplace injuries isn’t a realistic target, improving signage, floor markings, and organization throughout your facility can help reduce accidents. When it comes to the most common workplace accidents, many could be prevented with considerations for updated processes and visual communication. Explore these common industrial workplace injuries—and see what solutions—including floor marking tape and signage—are available to reduce the hazards responsible for worksite accidents.
Signage Solutions to Reduce Electric Shock Accidents
Electric shock injuries may cause severe burns, nerve damage, heart problems—even death. To prevent serious injury, follow OSHA guarding requirements, restrict access to hazardous areas, require regular training, and clearly mark shock hazards as required by OSHA standard number 1910.303.
Signage should include notice of risk, such as “DANGER: High Voltage” or “WARNING: Electric Shock Hazard” as well as any safety prevention requirements or access restrictions. Posted notices should also communicate required next steps to keep employees safe, such as “Restricted, authorized personnel only” or clear reminders to disconnect power sources before maintenance work.
Floor markings help keep electrical panels and equipment unobstructed. A pre-cut electric panel floor marking kit provides messages via text and easy-to-understand graphics so employees are aware of the requirements, related dangers, and required procedures.
Preventing Slips, Trips, and Falls with Clear Visual Cues
Keeping floors clean and dry and securing rugs and floor mats can help reduce slip and fall hazards, but there’s more to preventing injuries than regular cleaning procedures alone. From bringing attention to wet surfaces, icy steps, and seasonal hazards to properly marking elevation changes, floor tape visual cues go a long way in improving worksite safety.
Visual communication may include floor marking tape or signs, color-coded walkways, and barriers that bring attention to physical hazards and keep employees safe. Create a safer workspace with floor markings, signage, visual cues, and training.
- Elevation changes create trip and fall hazards, so use highly visible tape to mark the edges, steps, and transition areas so they’re easier to spot.
- Use visual cues in entryways and other areas that face extreme cold, too: Freezer Floor Marking Tape sticks even in freezing temperatures.
- Grease, water, dirt, debris, wood chips, and dust can create slippery situations. Gritty non-slip tape can provide traction and slip resistance where slip hazards are common.
- Appropriate barriers, railings, safety nets, and guardrails paired with highly visible signage can reduce fall-related injuries.
- Clearly mark floor damage or uneven surfaces to communicate the danger.
- A fall hazard training program can bring attention to the dangers employees face, instruct on preventative measures to reduce injury, and help each staff member understand how to reduce fall-related accidents.
- Pair visual communication with safety specifications: Use signage to remind staff of slip-resistant footwear requirements, keep supplies readily available for quick clean-up, and provide regular training on how to reduce walking and working surface hazards.
Separate Foot and Vehicular Traffic to Prevent Accidents
Forklift accidents are a leading cause of injury in the workplace. Collision, tipping, or crushing accidents can seriously injure—or even kill—employees. Bring attention to transportation hazards in industrial facilities or warehouses with prominent visual cues to keep traffic flowing smoothly and prevent pedestrian or bystander strikes.
Use protective barriers or permanent railings wherever possible to separate foot and forklift traffic, and clearly mark pedestrian and vehicle lanes with highly visible floor marking tape. Custom and repeating messages provide detailed notices and warnings about traffic flow such as one way, forklift only, right of way, speed limits, or vehicle restrictions.
Organize Work Areas to Prevent Repetitive Motion Injuries
Ergonomics aren’t just for the desk: Bending, twisting, reaching, and lifting injuries cost employers time and money. Improving workflow and organization with 5S/Lean Methodology can reduce the need for bending and reaching, which may help prevent injuries—but it doesn’t replace proper ergonomics or dedicated safety training. To avoid preventable injuries, use health and safety signage to clearly mark lifting restrictions, post lifting weight limits, use ergonomic lift assists where necessary, and consider which organization methods to streamline workflows.
Organize work areas and create processes using 5S and Lean to reduce stretching, reaching, and bending, which can help prevent ergonomic injuries. Arrange work stations to reduce repetitive reaching, twisting, or turning by designating tool and supply areas and applying outlines on the floor for waste receptacles. These solutions can help prevent related ergonomic injuries.
Additionally, using Floor Marking Equipment, like a Kaizen Cart or Tamper Cart, reduces bending and stooping for a quicker, easier application process which can help prevent injury while performing tape maintenance.
Visual Cues to Prevent Object-Related Injuries
Bring attention to swinging doors, shelving weight limits, PPE-required areas, traffic restrictions, and pallet corners with visual cues. Graphics, text, and color-coding can express important messages at a glance so employees and visitors have the information necessary for safety. Because messaging differs from facility to facility, custom-printed floor marking tape is an ideal tool to improve safety and efficiency. Consider specific needs such as:
- Door swing marking kits offer a reminder that the door may open without warning, so employees can steer clear and avoid being struck.
- Pair Helmet Required signs with notices of drop hazards and falling object risk.
- Displaying PPE reminder signs in areas where gloves, masks, safety glasses, hearing protection, or other protective gear is required.
- To reduce unnecessary pedestrian traffic in areas where hazards exist, display notices, floor tape, and signage restricting access.
- Label shelf weight or capacity limits or stack height restrictions to prevent overloaded shelving and dangerous collapse.
- Pinch points carry the risk of minor to severe injury, including blisters, lacerations, amputation, or death—properly label finger, hand, foot, or other pinch or nip points to bring attention to the danger.
Reducing workplace clutter can help prevent accidents or injury, as well. From industrial facilities to office buildings, improving organization methods can reduce the risk of injury.
- Mark workspaces so everything has its own space and to encourage employees to take responsibility for organizing and picking up their own tools, hoses, wires, and materials during and after shifts.
- Use taped lines and text to clearly mark walkways, which helps reduce obstructions in traveled areas, reduces trip hazards, and ensures egress and emergency exits remain clear as required.
- Corner markers ensure pallets are properly organized, spaced accordingly, and out of traveled lanes.
- Use signage to remind employees to fully close cabinets, drawers, and doors to prevent injury to the head, shoulders, arms, knees, and legs.
- Require jackets and belongings be left in a locker so they do not end up draped over chairs or beside desks, where they may cause trips or entanglement.
Visual cues are important, but too many can be confusing. Limit visual messaging to brief, clear instructional text, don’t stray from required or facility-specific color standards, and avoid cluttering the area with too much signage. When applying new signs or floor marking tape, ensure old signage has been removed to prevent sending conflicting messages.
Signage and floor tape provide visual cues to help prevent accidents and injury. Improve worksite safety with clearly marked work areas, pedestrian and forklift travel lanes, workplace policies and procedures, and important warnings. Our Resource Center offers additional floor tape information and how-to guides to improve facility safety.
