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Greetings everyone, and welcome back to Mighty Line Monday Minute. I'm here to talk about effective safety messaging. Last week, we talked about the critical nature of using phrases and how often those are heard in Safety, but what really is effective? So let's get into it!

We also talked about how to improve upon phrases we've heard before, rather than say, "Be prepared for the unexpected," "Risk assess, educate, communicate, then mitigate."

Today on Monday, April 8th, 2024, a total solar eclipse will first appear to those in the U.S. at Eagle Pass, Texas. And at 3:15 PM Eastern Daylight Time the headquarters of Mighty Line Tape in Rocky River, Ohio will see its first total eclipse in more than a century! Of course I won't be at my desk at 3:15, as this important event represents a once in a lifetime opportunity to observe, share, and celebrate with family and friends.

And to think that in many ancient cultures, solar eclipses were often interpreted as signs or omens from the gods or supernatural beings. In some cultures they were even seen as a manifestation of divine anger or displeasure. Or as a punishment for sins or wrongdoing. Some cultures believe that a solar eclipse occurred when a celestial creature or monster temporarily swallowed the sun!

Today, solar eclipses are significant events that capture the attention and imagination of everyone, leading to a rich tapestry of beliefs, interpretations, rituals, and connections across many different cultures. So why am I telling stories today?

Well, with safety, and especially for the art of effective safety messaging, it is often essential to begin by telling stories. That is because you can use those moments to catch and engage the interest of others, particularly if you want listeners to be able to take action with information that you plan on delivering. That is critical if you're hoping to change behavior and impact safety culture in a positive way.

So the next time you plan on delivering a safety presentation or giving a toolbox talk, try telling a story first. Engage your listeners in that manner, as opposed to simply talking about statistics, regulations, or even delivering charts. Just try it!

So, yes folks soon I will be donning my ISO protective eyewear for the solar eclipse and assure that everyone around me does so as well. I hope that you are able to learn from this. Most importantly, I hope that you continue to improve in your safety communications and take advantage of the tips that we have provided.

Do take a moment to listen to Mighty Line and what they have to say about their products and how they can be of help to you in assuring a safe workplace.

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Greetings everyone and welcome to Mighty Line Monday Minute. I'm going to cover some interesting topics this entire month, and that will be on the area of communications and safety. I hope that you will find this effective because over my many years, one of the important things to me was hearing things that meant something.

We’ll be discussing the art of effective messaging in risk management and EHS. That is to say, reflecting upon what we hear from our senior leaders and managers that is actually true, and importantly, is effective, sticks with us, and calls us to take action. Let’s just call it “The art of pontificated messaging.”

I’ll run through three “safety earworms” that I’ve lived with throughout my safety and risk management career; ones that I have found to be clear, effective, and useful. So here they are:

1. Guarding Against Hazards:
   “If you can reach your hand over, under, around or through the guard and into the point of operation, then it’s not guarded.” That phrase was hammered into me by my first safety supervisor, who, with many years of service with the State of Ohio, had seen it all. It was especially timely as I had recently graduated from college and found myself investigating the most severe of industrial accidents throughout Northern Ohio. In addition to conducting site surveys and investigations, I was teaching mechanical and hydraulic press safeguarding classes at various employers. The measuring tool provided by Rockford Safety Systems was an essential visual and physical communication tool that demonstrated how so many guards were in fact, not “guards.” In summary, if you are able to reach into an in-running powered roll, a point of operation, or reach a pinch-point, then the machinery or equipment is not “guarded.”
2. Acknowledging Accident Severity:
   “The severity of an accident is a matter of chance.” My supervisor would often remind me of this. His point was, of course, that no matter how minor the nature of the workplace injury or illness was that resulted from an accident, and even where no-one was hurt, that it was merely a matter of chance that the accident or event didn’t result in a more serious outcome. Don’t we often think that way? For example, “Boy was he or she lucky,” or, “That could have been a real tragedy, but thankfully it wasn’t.” In other words, that could also imply “Let’s move on.” However, the phrase was fair warning to all that even the smallest of accidents and all near-misses should be paid attention to, and that we must always strive to identify those hazards and risks that could lead to an injury or illness, so let’s mitigate the risk before anything happens.
3. Preparation for the Unexpected:
   “Be prepared for the unexpected.” Fine words they are. This phrase always reminded me of my scouting days with the Scout Motto “Be Prepared.” However, the reason I pack a blanket, warm clothing, sports drinks and a Kind bar into my 4-wheeler every winter in Cleveland is actually due to my scouting years. That’s because we experienced those frigid winter weather campouts in pup tents. And it did pay off once during a blizzard when I spent 8 hours stuck on the Ohio Turnpike with a full tank of gas, warm clothing, sufficient water, and a jar of peanut butter.
   But, was the Port of Baltimore really prepared for the very recent and unexpected tragedy involving the Dali container shipped that struck the Francis Scott Key Bridge, and should the event have been anticipated?
   The phrase, “Be prepared for the unexpected” was always of some concern to me as there was not a clear and direct call to action. For example, wouldn’t “Plan for the unexpected” be better stated, so that planning actually became an action item? An

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Greetings everyone and welcome to Mighty Line Minute. Our mission is to enhance your understanding of safety, health, and loss control principles. We'll do that by providing up-to-date information that can be applied to modern industrial workplaces. Our aim is to help you achieve a higher level of operational and safety excellence. So stay tuned.

 Last week we discussed the more recent 2022 edition of the American National Standard known as Z535.1 Standard for Safety Colors. We also discussed the use of the standard from OSHA, and the context that it takes in light of ANSI, as well as identifying specific ANSI safety colors.

And we discussed colors that are commonly used in industrial environments. Specifically those that are used for the demarcation of machinery, equipment storage, and aisleways where safe travel is necessary.

So today folks we'll be discussing color from a different approach, and that is using the International Standards Organization, otherwise known as ISO, and their standard numbers 3864:2011 edition and 7010:2019 edition.

In these global color and safety sign standards. color really begins to shine, particularly when we talk about its correlation with ANSI.

And that is largely because color is used every day in safety, caution, information and warning signs, as well as the reflective clothing that you see everywhere.

In signage, the color black can be used as an alert symbol, such as when used as an exclamation mark or wording, along with contrasting white or yellow background, and as a signage border. Safety black is a specific color that is identified in both the earlier and later editions of ANSI Z535 and ANSI Z535.1-2022; additionally, the safety color charts found in ISO 3864-4:2011 edition Safety Color Tables.

 The color black, which is not a specific OSHA color code, is not commonly used in warehouse or industrial floor striping, although, it has been used to demarcate special machinery or equipment in industrial settings. Black is and can be used outside of OSHA, such as for striping special floor storage areas or equipment areas.

And that's because OSHA accepts the use of ANSI Safety Color Standards, particularly where there are none within the OSHA standard itself.

So, we might ask, in general, where lie the differences between ANSI and ISO color charts and tables? Let's discuss that. Interestingly, ANSI 2022 edition dropped the colors gray and brown from their 2011 safety color chart, as did ISO. ISO 3864:2011 edition does not include the colors orange or purple as a safety color. However, ISO adds the unique safety color “phosphorescent yellow-white contrast.”

Let's summarize several examples of the differences between the ANSI and the ISO Standards with safety colors.

The colors, gray, brown, and purple have seemingly become less important as a safety color with both ANSI and ISO.

However, brown is used by the U.S. National Park Service (NPS) for recreational and cultural interest signage for parks, historical sites and scenic routes. And purple is used by the U.S. National Weather Service (NWS) service to illustrate the most severe weather. Also, by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) to illustrate the most intense seismic activity.

The color orange remains an ANSI Safety Color, though not with ISO standards. And orange remains in prevalent use with the U.S. DOT traffic control standards, especially involving work zones.

Phosphorescent yellow-white contrast is a color that has gained importance through ISO. As such, the U.S. Federal Highway Administration has specified high-visibility clothing and PPE for workers in

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Welcome folks, to the Safety Stripes Network! We are here to update your knowledge on safety health and loss control principles, with current information that can be applied to today's industrial work environment. Our goal is to help you achieve a higher level of operational and safety excellence, while improving efficiency, productivity, and sustainability. We appreciate your time with us today, and especially, for your personal efforts toward achieving an injury and illness-free work environment. And now, here’s Dave with today’s Mighty Line Minute!

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Hello everyone, and welcome back to Mighty Line Monday Minute. Last week, we talked about OSHA and color. We'll be moving on now to talk about ANSI Z535.1, the 2022 edition and how it will help improve operational efficiency, productivity and importantly, the area of safety and assuring that people go home safely. 

The American National Standards Institute, otherwise known as ANSI, publish a wide number of standards used in the world of safety. 

ANSI Z 535.1 is known as the American National Standard for Safety Colors. The Z535.1 2022 Standard updates all previous additions in the American National Standards Institute library for color. 

Additionally, ANSI Z535.2 is the American National Standard for Facility and Safety Signs for Environmental. 

Z535.3 Safety Symbols. 

535.4 Product Safety Signs and Labels. 

535.5 is Safety Tags and Barricade Tapes such as for temporary hazards; and 

Z535.6 is the American National Standard for Product Safety Information in Product Materials, Instructions, and Other Collateral Materials.

It's important to note that in the area of Hazard Communication and Standards such as the HazComm Standard, ANSI is widely referenced for the use of safety colors and signage. In OSHA 1910.145, OSHA incorporated by reference earlier additions of the ANSI Safety Color Standards. However, now that they've been updated, it's important to understand some legal concepts that OSHA recognizes. OSHA now recognizes the later use of ANSI Standards such as the most recent 2022 edition. The way they do that is as follows:

"Employers are allowed to use and adopt most current consensus standards applicable to their operations, rather than with the OSHA standards in effect at the time of inspection, when the employer's action provides equal or greater employee protection. So as long as the standards used by the employer provides such protection, a violation where the employer is not in compliance with OSHA standards, but is in compliance with the new standards, may be considered ‘de minimis’ and not be cited." 

So specifically they're referring to the old Z53.1 standards developed back in 1967 and 1968 that are now replaced by the updated 2022 ANSI 535 standards. 

So what colors are we actually talking about in the new Z535.1 Standard? Let's get specific and talk about the color chart involved. Colors are: Safety Red. Safety Orange. Safety Yellow. Safety Green. Safety Blue. Safety Purple, and Safety White.

Interestingly, the 2022 standard brings in some very slight changes to the specific color codes involved. To the eye those may not be recognizable, but it's important to note that if you are involved in formulation and do want to get more specific about your colors, they may be refe

Greetings everyone and welcome back to Mighty Line Minute! This is Dave. I'll be covering color again. Last week we discussed the importance of color, and what it means to our own health and well-being. Today, we'll jump into the standards. More specifically, we'll start with OSHA. And in the coming weeks, we'll talk about other standards that relate to color. Stay tuned!

We commonly think of color from what we know and what we see. Think about red for flammable liquid storage cans, gasoline containers. or red for stop signs, yellow for yield signs. The color green used for medical oxygen and medical oxygen tanks.

But then we get into the workplace, and in the work environment oftentimes people wonder: “What does OSHA require?” Or we hear “Use this OSHA color." Is it really an OSHA color? We're going to talk about that for a moment, and what OSHA does say about color.

One of the most common areas where OSHA requires a color is that in 1910.144 involving the use of hazardous equipment and machinery. There it refers to the use of red for the color of stop buttons, stop devices, and stop bars for such machinery. And in that same section, OSHA also requires that red be used for certain fire protection equipment. Examples include fire alarm pull stations, fire extinguishers, and other fire protection equipment. 

In that same section 1910.144, Safety Marking For Physical Hazards, OSHA says the following about the color yellow:

“Yellow shall be the basic color for designating caution and for marking physical hazards, such as striking against, stumbling, falling, tripping, and caught in between.” 

And if you look deep enough, for example in 1910.261, which is pulp and paperboard mills, you'll see that yellow is required for booms on cranes. 

If you move back further into Subpart J which is “General Environmental Controls,” you'll find recommendations from OSHA for signs and tags. Some of those are as follows: 

Danger signs and tags: red background with white lettering. 

Caution signs: black background with yellow lettering. 

Safety instruction signs: green background with white lettering with additional information on a white background with black lettering. 

Directional signs, other than automotive traffic signs, with a black panel and a white directional signal with additional lettering black on a white background. 

For hand signaling or flaggers, there are specific colors required to be worn. 

For example. those colors would be orange, yellow, or strong yellow-green in a vest or shirt or jacket. And for nighttime work, such garments might also include a reflective white or a gray in addition to the reflective requirements for evening use. 

Biological hazard signs or tags require fluorescent orange or orange-red background with contrasting lettering. 

While you won't find much from OSHA to help you in the area of compressed gas cylinder coloring, you can go to the Compressed Gas Association (CGA) and get their viewpoint on color. Specifically, the Compressed Gas Association recommends the use of a printed word for cylinders, such as labels or tags attached to the shoulder of the cylinder or on the side.

Next week we'll get into the ANSI Safety Standard for Color. That will be the most important standard that we'll pay attention to in the series ahead, other than discussing the ISO standard, International Standards Organization, Safety Standard for Color. 

But that's an important area for all of 

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