Clarion Safety Systems Featured In Leading Electrical Engineering Publication With Update On Product Safety Label Standards
Milford, PA (PRWEB) April 25, 2017 -- Clarion Safety Systems, a leading designer and manufacturer of safety signs and safety labels, has been featured in the latest issue of In Compliance Magazine, a leading resource for electrical engineering professionals.
In Compliance delivers the latest news, standards updates, technical explanations and guidance, as an aid for engineers to turn to for education, information and inspiration. Clarion Safety Systems provides insight for the magazine’s “On Your Mark” series. “On Your Mark” is a regular column that readers have enjoyed for six years running, discussing the best practices and cutting-edge trends in product safety labeling.
The latest column, published in the magazine’s April 2017 edition, is the second installment in a four-part series. The article shares insight on the latest updates to the ANSI and ISO product safety label standards.
For domestic use, the primary standard for product safety labels is ANSI Z535.4 Standard for Product Safety Signs and Labels. Internationally, it’s ISO 3864-2 Graphical symbols – Safety Colours and safety signs – Part 2: Design principles for product safety labels. Both of these standards are revised regularly according to ANSI and ISO procedures, typically every five years. The latest revision cycles occurred recently, falling in late 2016 and early 2017, respectively.
Clarion is an active member of both the ANSI and ISO standards committees. The company’s CEO, Geoffrey Peckham, is chair of the ANSI Z535 Committee for Safety Signs and Colors and of ANSI’s U.S. TAG to the ISO standards committee responsible for safety signs, labels, colors and symbols (ISO/TC 145). ISO/TC 145 is responsible for writing and revising ISO 3864-2. In the article, Angela Lambert, Clarion’s Director of Standards Compliance, explains the latest changes to the ANSI and ISO standards, and the implications for product manufacturers and their labeling.
“Your legal obligation as a product manufacturer is to meet or exceed the current versions of standards related to your products when they’re placed into commerce. Using the principal product safety label standards – ANSI Z535.4 and ISO 3864-2 – for the design and layout of your labels is key to fulfilling that requirement. Legally, when a standard is revised, your duty to warn in the U.S. obligates you to making sure your labels are still in compliance with the latest updated standard,” says Lambert.
ANSI Z535.4 is in the process of being balloted for reaffirmation without changes. If that occurs, the new version will be identical to the 2011 standard. The revised ISO 3864-2 standard was published in December 2016 and it includes several significant changes to the label formats it allows.
As part of Clarion’s standards role, Lambert attended the ISO/TC 145 standards meeting in Berlin in fall 2016 when the final version of the new ISO 3864-2 standard was affirmed for publication after several years of revision work.
The revised standard includes two major changes to ISO label formats: 1) the safety label format that used a single safety symbol without an ISO-colored surround shape was removed from the standard and 2) a new “wordless” format that conveys risk severity was added to the standard.
“It’s important to be aware that the changes made in ISO 3864-2 are significant. They open up new format possibilities that can help companies to better warn their product users about potential hazards associated with their products,” says Lambert.
“Because the ISO standard changed, it’s time to reevaluate your labels to see if they continue to meet your market’s requirements, and whether or not the wordless format makes sense for some or all of your labeling. The bottom line is that, as the standards develop, they provide product manufacturers with better tools to meet their safety label program objective of better protecting people from harm.”
The full article is available through In Compliance Magazine’s website. To learn more about the latest developments in product safety labeling, visit Clarion’s online safety label Learning Center or watch its short, educational videos on “Effective Safety Symbols, Signs and Labels” and “ISO Symbols for Safety Signs and Labels.” Clarion also offers safety label assessments, where they work with companies to evaluate their labels, including reviewing the latest OSHA, ANSI and ISO standards.
ABOUT CLARION SAFETY SYSTEMS
Clarion Safety Systems, LLC, is the leading designer and manufacturer of visual safety solutions that help customers in more than 180 industries worldwide to make their products and premises safer. Clarion offers a full range of standard and custom products including machinery safety labels, environmental and facility safety signs, pipe and valve identification markings, lockout/tagout products, and safety-grade photoluminescent egress path-marking escape systems. Founded in 1990, the company continues to play a leading role in the development and writing of international and national standards for safety signs, labels, and markings. Clarion is headquartered at 190 Old Milford Road in Milford, PA, 18337, and online at http://www.clarionsafety.com.
Erin Earley, Clarion Safety Systems, http://www.clarionsafety.com, +1 570-296-5686 Ext: 228, [email protected]
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