ISO 3864

ISO 3864 is an International Organization for Standardization technical standard for safety signs and markings in workplaces and public facilities. These labels are graphical, to overcome language barriers.<ref name="3864-1"/> The standard is split into four parts.

Parts

ISO 3864 consists of four parts, that provide more specific and situation specific guidance depending on the application.

• ISO 3864-1:2011 Part 1: Design principles for safety signs and safety markings<ref name="3864-1">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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• ISO 3864-2:2016 Part 2: Design principles for product safety labels<ref name="3864-2">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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• ISO 3864-3:2012 Part 3: Design principles for graphical symbols for use in safety signs<ref name="3864-3">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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• ISO 3864-4:2011 Part 4: Colorimetric and photometric properties of safety sign materials<ref name="3864-4">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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Part 1 explains how to layout the components of safety signage, dictate the color scheme and sizing information. Part 2 covers the same concepts as part one, but specifically for labels applied on machinery, vehicles and consumer goods. Part 3 contains guidance for designing new safety symbols. Part 4 specifies the standards for phosphorescent material and colours of a sign, as well as testing to confirm these signs meets required standards.

Components of ISO 3864

Colours

These are the colours specified in ISO Standard 3864-4 in RAL colour standard.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="3864-4"/>

Meaning	RAL Name	RAL Number	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>!! Example of Colour
Warning	Signal Yellow	1003	#F9A900
Prohibition/Fire Equipment	Signal Red	3001	#9B2423
Mandatory	Signal Blue	5005	#005387
Safe Condition	Signal Green	6032	#237F52
Backgrounds and Symbol	Signal White	9003	#ECECE7
Symbol	Signal Black	9004	#2B2B2C

In addition, ISO standard 3864-2:2016 lays out the following colours that correspond to levels of risk.<ref name="3864-2"/> This standard adds "Orange" as an incremental colour to the pallette above.

Meaning	Signal word	Background colour of panel	Contrast colour	Definition	RGB Hex	Example of Colour
Low level of risk	CAUTION	Yellow	Black	RAL 1003 (per ISO 3864-4)	#F9A900
Medium level of risk	WARNING	Orange	Black	RAL 2010, Munsell 2,5YR6/14G, or Munsell 5YR6/15G	#D05D29
High level of risk	DANGER	Red	White	RAL 3001 (per ISO 3864-4)	#9B2423

Arrows

ISO 3864-3 defines four types of arrow designs, and specifies what situations each type should be used in.<ref name="3864-3"/>

Arrow Type	Arrow image	Meaning	Arrowhead angle in degrees
check|unknown=|preview=Page using Template:Center with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | style }}	File:ISO 3864 - Arrow A - Movement in Direction - Right.svg	General movement of objects	60°
check|unknown=|preview=Page using Template:Center with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | style }}	File:ISO 3864 - Arrow B - Rotating in Direction - Left.svg	Direction of rotation	60°
check|unknown=|preview=Page using Template:Center with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | style }}	File:ISO 3864 - Arrow C - Movement of Force - Right.svg	Movement of forces; pressures, fluids, gasses	84°
check|unknown=|preview=Page using Template:Center with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | style }}	File:ISO 3864 - Arrow D - Movement of Persons - 90 Degree.svgFile:ISO 3864 - Arrow D - Movement of Persons - 45 Degree.svg	Movement of people	84° – 86°

Safety markings

Part 1 also provides design standards for 'safety markings', which are safety colors combined with a contrasting color in an alternating 45° stripe pattern, intended to increase the visibility of an object, location or safety message.<ref name="3864-1"/>

Marking	Colours	Meaning
borderless	Yellow/Black	Indicate location of a hazard
borderless	Red/White	Indicate location of firefighting equipment or a prohibition.
borderless	Blue/White	Mandatory Action
borderless	Green/White	Safe condition

Signage design

In addition to prescribing colours for safety signage, ISO 3864 also specifies how to layout the elements of the sign: A symbol and optional 'supplemental sign' which contains the supplementary text message.<ref name="3864-1"/>

• Examples of ISO 3864 sign layouts
• ISO 7010 - Mandatory - Vertical Example.svg

  A 'mandatory' sign, in a vertical format.

• ISO 7010 - Mandatory - Horizontal Example.svg

  A 'mandatory' sign, in a horizontal format, with the text box to the right of the symbol.

• ISO 7010 - Fire Protection - Vertical Example.svg

  A 'fire protection' sign, in a vertical format.

• ISO 7010 - Fire Protection - Horizontal Example.svg

  A 'fire protection' sign, in horizontal format, with the text box to the right of the symbol.

Multi-message signs

For situations where more than one message needs to be communicatedTemplate:Efn, ISO 3864 also provides guidance for "multiple signs", which consist of two or more symbol and text messages combined into a single sign. Additionally, fire protection and safe condition signs, which mark the location of equipment or exits can be combined with an arrow to indicate the direction to the item depicted on the sign.<ref name="3864-1"/>

• Examples of ISO 3864 'multiple signs' layouts
• ISO 7010 - Multi-message - Warning, Mandatory - Vertical Example.svg

  A multi-message sign for hazard and mandatory action, in a vertical format

• ISO 7010 - Multi Message - Warning, Prohibited, Mandatory- Horizontal Example.svg

  A multi-message sign, with hazard, prohibition and mandatory action, in a horizontal format.

• ISO Exit - Up Left.svg

  An exit symbol, combined with an arrow pointed up, to the left.

• ISO 7010 F001 with Right Arrow.svg

  A Fire extinguisher sign, combined with an arrow to the right.

Related standards

The corresponding American standard is ANSI Z535. ANSI Z535.1 also explicitly uses multiple levels of hazard, including Yellow (Pantone 109) for 'caution' messages, and Orange (Pantone 151) for stronger 'warning' messages.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Like ISO 3864, ANSI Z535 includes multiple sections: ANSI Z535.6-2006 defines an optional accompanying text in one or more languages.

ISO 3864 is extended by ISO 7010, which provides a set of symbols based on the principles and properties specified in ISO 3864.<ref name="3864-3"/>

See also

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