The language of color

Using color as a tool helps improve plant safety, visibility and productivity

by Sheri Thompson

Plant areas are typically color-coded for identification and safety purposes. Color-coding for safety is not new. Efforts to establish a consistent, cohesive safety color system began in 1945 and have continued as the Occupational Safety and Health Administration and the American National Standards Institute have worked in tandem to provide uniform guidelines. But in recent years, the two agencies’ Safety Color Code has been revised, resulting in an even more useful and safer code.

Further, the Safety Color Code merged several years ago with the Highway Traffic Sign Safety Color Code. Doing so increased the uniformity of safety color-coding, improving recognition and therefore the spontaneity of action in times of emergency.

The Safety Color Code enables workers at any facility to quickly identify hazards and locate safety devices, preparing employees for emergencies and improving plant safety. Workers can move to various building sites and even change employers and still know what the colors represent. The code has been adjusted to provide better color discrimination for observers, whether they are of normal or color-deficient (color blind) vision.

The understanding that a color code should follow a logical pattern as well as traditional color associations, such as red for fire protection and green for safety, underlies the Safety Color Code. Its developers believe a safety program should not only attract attention, but also result in a specific predetermined association for each color. The reaction should be immediate and positive, with no doubt in the mind of the employee as to the message and appropriate response.

Safety colorspeak
Under the Safety Color Code, red denotes danger. It is used to identify fire protection equipment, highlight fire hazards, identify emergency stop switches and indicate containers of flammable liquids.

Orange identifies dangerous parts of machines or energized equipment, while yellow signifies that caution should be used around physical hazards, storage cabinets, handrails, cranes and catwalks.

Green represents the location of first aid and safety equipment, and blue designates information signs and bulletin boards.

Black, white and yellow — or combinations of black and white or black and yellow — are designated for traffic aisles or housekeeping markings. Black and yellow, or a combination of those two colors, identify radiation hazards.

The American Standards Association has issued similar guidelines for pipe identification colors. Red designates pipes used for fire protection materials, while yellow or orange indicate dangerous materials. Blue signifies protective materials, and the colors green, white, black, gray and aluminum represent safe materials.

Clearly, color is an important communication tool. When planning a maintenance painting program for an industrial facility, it makes sense to make the most of color. Facilities that have maintained an established safety color code for a number of years generally should retain the same color code throughout the balance of the plant. However, in light of newer color interpretations, it would be a good idea to review older plans with local OSHA authorities.

Color, lighting and behavior
But there are other benefits to a well-planned color program in addition to improved safety. For industrial planners, the interaction of color, lighting and human behavior is significant because the work environment has a direct bearing on morale and productivity. Properly planned and executed, color can increase employee job satisfaction and yield cost savings through reduced workplace accidents and injuries. When color is used to properly identify safety hazards, companies generally experience lower accident rates and significantly reduce personal injuries.

Because color can have such a dramatic impact in the industrial workplace, it is important to make informed decisions prior to beginning a painting project. The planners of such a project may benefit from consultation with a group of color professionals. Color experts are skilled in the language of color, and bring insight into its uses. For example, they understand how to use color to compensate for sensory discomforts: heat may be counteracted by the use of light blues; high-pitched noises by olive greens; sweet odors by greens and blues; and dampness by yellows and tans.

They also have an understanding of the interaction of color and lighting. For example, where high-pressure sodium lighting is used, even safety red may appear washed out, so safety banding — a striping effect used to highlight an area so it stands out from its surroundings — might be recommended.

While lighting affects color, color also can have an impact on lighting. Reflections from ceilings, walls and floors are secondary lighting sources that contribute to task visibility. With proper color selection, you can maximize available light on work surfaces and reduce shadows.

Generally, a high-reflectance lighting level has a more positive effect on task visibility than a high level of direct lighting.

But what if there is no available light due to a power outage combined with failure of backup power systems? When planning for such situations, consider a relatively new product, luminescent safety marking paint. The single-component acrylic has a phosphorescent luminescent pigment that enables the paint to glow in the dark for up to four hours, making it ideal for marking aisleways, emergency routes, boundaries, stairways or other routes of safe passage.

Virtually every surface in a well-maintained facility is painted or coated in some way. While the primary reason for applying coatings may be to protect substrates from wear or corrosion, coatings also are a useful means for enhancing the safety and appearance of industrial facilities. Beyond the usual investment in coating materials, there is no additional cost for getting this extra mileage out of color.

Sheri Thompson is the director of color marketing and design for the Sherwin-Williams Company. To learn more about paints and coatings, visit www.sherwin.com.

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