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How to Use Caution Signs

Caution signs are produced in many shapes, colors and sizes. Most caution signs are manufactured from durable PVC plastics or lightweight aluminum. Signs come in a wide array of mounting choices from adhesives to nails and screws. Caution signs intended for outdoor use often require industrial bolts. Caution signs are available in folding, standing units for wet floors. They are created in bright colors, and signs for outdoors are often reflective for night viewing. According to Seton Identification and Safety Experts, you should “post a Caution Sign any place there is a potentially hazardous situation.”

Things You'll Need

  • Caution sign
  • Mounting hardware OR Adhesive mounting squares
  • Optional:
  • Screwdriver or Hammer
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Instructions

  1. Interior Caution Sign Usage

    • 1

      Identify the warning to be conveyed for a hazardous area or situation. For example, in a school biology classroom, a cabinet storing flammable materials should be marked flammable.

    • 2
      OSHA has specific requirements for occupational hazard signs.

      Investigate if your sign needs to meet a certain requirement, such as in a restaurant or job site, for size and/or color, or for legal purposes by consulting the OSHA website (see References) or discussing the signs with your work supervisor. According to the U.S. Department of Labor Occupational Safety & Health Administration, certain “specifications apply to the design, application, and use of signs or symbols … to define specific hazards of a nature such that failure to designate them may lead to accidental injury to workers or the public, or both, or to property damage.”

    • 3

      Purchase the appropriate sign. Caution signs can be purchased online and in stores intended for safety promotion for occupational purposes. Many paper safety signs can be downloaded and printed from online sources for use in schools, daycares and churches.

    • 4

      Peel the paper backing away from one side of an adhesive mounting square.

    • 5

      Apply the mounting square, adhesive side down, onto the corner of the caution sign. Repeat steps 4 and 5 for all four corners.

    • 6
      Press and rub the corners of the sign onto the wall.

      Press the sign onto the wall, cabinet, door, etc at eye level. Firmly press and rub the corners to ensure a secure bond for the adhesive square to the mounting surface.

    Exterior Caution Sign Usage

    • 7

      Follow steps 1-3 from Section 1.

    • 8
      Determine the location for the caution sign.

      Locate the pole, wall, fence, etc where you wish to mount the caution sign.

    • 9

      Mount the caution sign at eye level or higher (if meant to be seen from longer distances such as a No Parking Zone) using the mounting hardware that came with the sign, such as screws, nails or bolts.

    • 10

      Consult your local police department before installing traffic control-related signs, such as parking, to ensure you are not in violation of any local ordinances.

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