The Machinery Directive specifically mandates the application of the Safety Signs Directive 92/58/EEC where appropriate, so you can make a case that equipment within the scope of the Machinery Directive must use the conventional colour code and shape system defined therein. Luckily, this is consistent with the information given in the marking and warning standards such as EN 61310 and the relevant parts of (for instance) EN 60204-1.
For equipment outside the scope of the Machinery Directive, I think it's more difficult to argue that there are any mandatory requirements, but certainly the need for good contrast to aid visibility is clearly common sense. Remember, however, that good contrast created solely with the aid of colours may in fact not be particularly visible in some lighting conditions or to persons with impaired colour vision. The UK's Royal National Institute for the Blind publish quite a useful guide on sign design, which contains several lessons applicable to the design of safety markings. IIRC, it costs about GBP 20 (USD 30). Regards Nick. At 14:14 -0700 11/2/03, Georgerian, Richard wrote: >Greetings All, > ><SNIP> > >A more general question to keep this thread on more general terms - >For safety requirements, are there specific color codes that one >must adhere to for specific symbols? Or is it enough to show a high >contrast between lettering and background for such symbols? > This message is from the IEEE EMC Society Product Safety Technical Committee emc-pstc discussion list. Visit our web site at: http://www.ewh.ieee.org/soc/emcs/pstc/ To cancel your subscription, send mail to: [email protected] with the single line: unsubscribe emc-pstc For help, send mail to the list administrators: Ron Pickard: [email protected] Dave Heald: [email protected] For policy questions, send mail to: Richard Nute: [email protected] Jim Bacher: [email protected] Archive is being moved, we will announce when it is back on-line. All emc-pstc postings are archived and searchable on the web at: http://www.ieeecommunities.org/emc-pstc
