Workplace Safety Posters

Safety posters in the workplace provide employers an extra tool to promote safety and at the same time offer employees a visible reminder of job hazards. Displaying workplace safety posters exceeds Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) requirements, but for any business building or maintaining safety programs, safety awareness cannot be overdone.

Why They Exist

• Safety posters in the workplace are everywhere you look. They can be serious and direct, calling the readers to be safe and vigilant; they can be cartoonish, advertising an outlandish safety offender; or they could be as simple as announcing safety achievements and failures. Whatever appears on safety posters, the overall purpose is to promote safety awareness so workers perform their task safely; the posters reinforce their safety knowledge.

Safety Signs vs. Posters

• Safety signs and workplace safety posters are completely different. Safety signs convey to the worker a definite danger or hazard or suggest caution--some examples include wet floor, safety glasses beyond this point and flammable material. OSHA regulates these signs to have definitive colors, placement and wording.

  Safety posters promote favorable safety trends or highlight bad ones. They are not limited in any communications.

Benefits

• Safety posters help employees perform their work safely and remind them of safety issues. Displaying workplace safety posters suggests that the companies and corporations care about their employees' safety. The posters aim to avoid the costs associated with work-related accidents, including worker's compensation.

Features

• Manufacturers distribute and print posters according to individual needs. Some employers display a tally of the number of safe hours worked, and many employers try to display specific safety achievements, such as being designated an OSHA Voluntary Protection Program (VPP) Star Site. Attaining Star Site status requires company-wide participation regarding safety and up to two years of preparation to ensure their safety programs meet OSHA Star Site approval. Many companies participate to endorse the transparency of their safety programs and promote their excellence in safety standards.

Safety Resources

• To better understand where, how and why to display safety posters consult with your company's environmental, health and safety (EHS) officer. If your company or business is not staffed with a safety officer, visit OSHA online or contact your local OSHA representative for consultation and recommended resources.