Is the order of safety sign colors red-yellow-blue or yellow-red-blue?
3 Answers
Safety warning signs follow the color sequence of yellow, red, blue, and green. According to the guidelines for safety signs and their usage: When multiple signs are displayed together, they should be arranged in the order of warning, prohibition, instruction, and indication, from left to right and top to bottom. Each color on a safety sign has a specific meaning. Meaning of safety sign colors: National regulations specify four safety colors: red, blue, yellow, and green. Their meanings are: red indicates prohibition and stop (also represents fire prevention), blue indicates instructions or mandatory compliance, yellow indicates warnings and caution, and green indicates guidance, safe conditions, and passage.
I've been in safety management for over a decade, and there's actually a lot to consider when it comes to the order of safety signs. While national standards don't strictly specify whether it should be red-yellow-blue or yellow-red-blue, we generally follow logic on-site: prohibition signs (red) come first as they're most urgent, warning people against dangerous actions; warning signs (yellow) go in the middle to indicate potential risks; and mandatory signs (blue) come last to specify required actions. For example, in chemical plant pipeline areas, you often see the red-yellow-blue combination of 'No Open Flames - Beware of Leaks - Wear Protective Gear'. But in special scenarios like electrical maintenance, the order might be adjusted to yellow-red-blue, with the 'High Voltage Danger' yellow sign placed before the 'Do Not Close Switch' red sign. The key is that signs must be eye-catching and coherent, with spacing that doesn't exceed the visual range to be effective.
During the last training session at the construction site, the experienced instructor shared some tips on hanging safety signs. Prioritize them based on the level of danger: bright red prohibition signs should be the most eye-catching and must be hung at the highest and most visible positions; yellow warning signs come next; blue instruction signs should be placed near operational areas. For example, in high-altitude work zones, the red 'No Throwing' sign is typically hung on steel frames, the yellow 'Beware of Falling' sign is placed at the edge of the platform, and the blue 'Wear Safety Harness' sign is posted near the ladder. When actually hanging the signs, consider the site's traffic flow—what workers see first as they move around is crucial. Don’t rigidly fix the order; for instance, in an oil depot, the red 'No Open Flames' sign should be prominently displayed and placed ahead of ordinary yellow signs to be effective.
