COUNCIL DIRECTIVE 92/58/EEC of 24 June 1992 on the minimum requirements for the provision of safety and/or health signs at work (ninth individual Directive within the meaning of Article 16 (1) of Directive 89/391/EEC)
An exit sign designed in accordance with the Directive
The Directive 92/58/EEC specifies the minimum requirements for safety signs within the European Union.[1] It superseded the Directive 77/576/EEC.[1] While not being replaced by the standard ISO 7010, both signage systems can be used.[2] This directive does not apply to signage used for controlling roadway, railway, waterway or air transportation.[1]
Directive 92/58/EEC consists of 3 sections, 12 articles and 9 annexes.[1] Section one simply defines the function of the directive, as well as provide definitions. Section 2 specifies that employers are required to post safety/health signs, whenever a hazard can't be eliminated.[1] It also provides guidance to member states regarding adoption of the directive in their laws and the implementation of the law. Signs already in use had to be brought up to Directive 92/58/EEC standards within 18 months after 24 June 1994. Signs posted on or after 24 June 1994 were required to comply with the directive when posted.[1] Section 3 contained the effective date for the directive, repealed the older Directive 77/576, and reporting obligations of member states to the European Commission.[1]
Annexes
The nine annexes of the directive layout the actual designs and requirements of signs regulated by the directive.[1]
Annex I
Annex I, General Minimum Requirements Concerning Safety And/Or Health Signs At Work, lays out the types of signs, the colors used on signs, and the implementation/installation of signs.[1]
Colour
Purpose
Examples
Red
Prohibited sign
Restriction of dangerous or undesirable behaviours or objects
Danger alarm
Stop, shutdown, evacuate, identification and location of emergency stop switches
Fire-fighting equipment
Identification and location of fire-fighting equipment
Yellow/amber
Warning sign
Identification of hazards
Blue
Mandatory sign
requiring a specific behaviour or action, wearing personal protective equipment
Green
Emergency escape, first aid sign
location and identification of doors, exits, evacuation routes, equipment and facilities
No danger
Return to normal working
Annex II (Signboards)
Annex II, Minimum General Requirements Concerning Signboards, spells out the designs of symbols used in the directive. While specific symbol designs are provided, pictograms are permitted to vary so long as the variation in design does not reduce the symbol's effectiveness at conveying its meaning.[1]
The directive contains five categories of signs, as shown below:[1]
General mandatory sign (to be accompanied where necessary by another sign)
Emergency escape or first-aid signs
Emergency exit/escape route
Emergency exit/escape route
Emergency exit/escape route
Emergency exit/escape route
Emergency exit/escape route
This way (supplementary information sign)
This way (supplementary information sign)
This way (supplementary information sign)
This way (supplementary information sign)
First-aid post
Stretcher
Safety shower
Eyewash
Emergency telephone for first-aid or escape
Fire-fighting signs
Fire hose
Ladder
Fire extinguisher
Emergency fire telephone
This way (supplementary information sign)
This way (supplementary information sign)
This way (supplementary information sign)
This way (supplementary information sign)
Annex III
Annex III, Minimum Requirements Governing Signs on Containers and Pipes', lays out specific requirements for labeling of piping systems and storage containers containing dangerous substances defined by Directives 67/548 and 88/379.
Annex IV
Annex IV, Minimum Requirements for the identification and location of fire-fighting equipment, is specific to fire-fighting equipment, specifying that red should be used to mark the equipment and its storage location, to supplement the fire-fighting signage provided in Annex III.
Annex V
Black and yellow hazard stripes defined by Annex V.
Annex V, Minimum Requirements Governing Signs Used For Obstacles and Dangerous Locations, and Marking Traffic Routes, lays out the use of colored stripes for marking obstacles and identifying of traffic routes in work places.[1]
Annex VI
Annex VI, Minimum Requirements for Illuminated Signs, sets standards for the use of illuminated signage, the incorporation of colors and pictograms, as defined in Annex I and II and usage with acoustic signals.[1]
Annex VII
Annex VII, Minimum requirements for Acoustic Signs, sets requirements for sound signals, such as horns, sirens, alarm bells.[1]
Annex VIII
Annex VIII, Minimum requirements for Verbal Communication, sets requirements for communications using words, and defines specific code words.[1]
Code word
Meaning
Start
To indicate the start of a command
Stop
To interrupt or end a movement
End
To stop the operation
Raise
To have a load raised
Lower
To have a load lowered
Forwards
To be coordinated with the corresponding hand signals
Backwards
Right
Left
Danger
For an emergency stop
Quickly
To speed up a movement for safety reasons
Annex IX
Annex IX, Minimum Requirements for Hand Signals, describes specific hand signals and the requirements of a "signalman", the person giving the hand signs.[1]
Meaning
Description
Illustration
A. General Signals
Start. Attention. Start of command.
Both arms extended horizontally with the palms facing forward.
Stop. Interruption. End of movement.
The right arm points upward with the palm facing forwards.
End of the operation.
Both hands are clasped at chest height.
B. Vertical Movements
Raise
The right arm points skywards with the palm facing forward and slowly makes a circle.
Lower
The right arm points downwards with the palm facing inwards and slowly makes a circle.
Vertical Distance
The hands indicate the relevant distance.
C. Horizontal Movements
Move forwards.
Both arms are bent with the palms facing upwards, and the forearms make slow movements towards the body.
Move backwards.
Both arms are bent with the palms facing downwards, and the forearms make slow movements away from the body.
Right to the signalman.
The right arm is extended more or less horizontally with the palm facing downwards and slowly makes small movements to the right.
Left to the signalman.
The left arm is extended more or less horizontally with the palm facing downwards and slowly makes small movements to the left.
Horizontal Distance
The hands indicate the relevant distance
D. Danger
Danger. Emergency stop.
Both arms point upwards with the palms facing forwards.
Quick
Make all movements faster
—
Slow
Make all movements slower
—
Implementation in member states
European member states adopted the directive in the following legal acts in their nation.
↑ Republic of Austria (11 April 1997). "Kennzeichnungsverordnung"(PDF). ris.bka.gv.at (in German). Archived from the original(PDF) on 6 March 2023. Retrieved 1 September 2023.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
