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Admonishments (SafetyRelated Warning Messages) When to Use Them and How to Present Them on Workplace Signs, on Product Labels, and in User Documentation

TCIF Guideline

TCIF-99-021 Issue 1 12/27/99 Signs, Labels, and Documentation

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TCIF Guideline Admonishments

Admonishments (Safety-Related Warning Messages)

Prepared by the TCIF Information Products Interchange Working Committee, http://www.atis.org/atis/tcif/. Approved by TCIF Guideline Review, December 26, 1999. To order, please contact TCIF, +1 202 434-8844, FAX +1 202 393-5453. If you have questions or comments, please contact Donald F. Pratt, +1 732 699-4012, FAX +1 732 336-3640, e-mail [email protected]. Copyright © 1998-1999 ATIS. This document is printed and distributed by the Alliance for Telecommunications Industry Solutions (“ATIS”) on behalf of the Telecommunications Industry Forum (“TCIF”). Participants in TCIF are hereby authorized to reproduce this document and distribute it within their own business organizations and to others for TCIF-related business provided that this notice continues to appear in the reproduced documentation. Resale is prohibited.

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Contents Tables

Contents 1. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.1. Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.2. Background . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.3. Traditional Practice and Current Standards 1.3.1. Telecom Tradition . . . . . . . . . . 1.3.2. ANSI Z535 and OSHA 1910 . . . . 1.3.3. ISO 3864 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.3.4. Other Considerations . . . . . . . .

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2. Recommendations for Design and Use of Admonishments 2.1. Basic Principles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.2. Categories of Admonishments and Reasons for Use 2.3. Message Content . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.4. Layout . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.5. Typography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.6. Color Definitions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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3. Recommended Designs for Documentation . 3.1. Recommended Color Designs . . . . . 3.2. Acceptable Variations in Color Designs 3.3. Grayscale and Halftone Variations . . 3.4. Two-Tone Variations . . . . . . . . . 3.5. Text-Only Variations . . . . . . . . .

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Tables Table 1-1. ANSI Admonishment Types and Their Signal-Word Panel Designs 7 Table 1-2. ISO Admonishment Types and Their Surround Shapes and Colors . 8 Table 1-3. Contrast Problem for ANSI Black-and-Orange Messages . . . . . . 9 Table 2-1. Telecom Admonishment Types and Their Symbols and Signal Words 13 Table 2-2. Sign and Label Layouts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Table 2-3. Color Definitions for Admonishments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

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1111 1.1

TCIF Guideline Admonishments

1 Introduction 1.1 Summary Standardization of safety-related warning messages has the goal of making the warnings easy to recognize and easy to understand, and thus limiting the human and dollar cost of foreseeable errors and accidents. In the telecommunications industry, where such messages are commonly referred to as “admonishments,” traditional usage has been in direct conflict with current standards from ANSI (the American National Standards Institute) and ISO (the International Organization for Standardization) and current regulations from OSHA (the Occupational Safety & Health Administration of the U.S. Department of Labor). This is a Guideline for implementing those standards and regulations in the telecom industry. It describes new kinds of admonishments consistent with the standards, explains when to use each type, and shows how to present them. It enables the highest degree of compliance that is practical, given the contradictions among the standards themselves. The information in this Guideline is important — it applies to all safety-related messages in workplace signs, on product labels, and in user documentation — and it is not currently available elsewhere. The most significant changes from traditional telecom practice are these:

• The words CAUTION and WARNING, along with DANGER, should now be used only for risks to personal safety, in compliance with ANSI and OSHA.

• There are now no categories of admonishments that correspond directly to two traditional meanings of CAUTION and WARNING: risks of service interruption and equipment damage, respectively. Instead, to comply with ISO, a distinction is made between prohibitive and imperative messages, either of which could replace a CAUTION or WARNING.

• Additional categories of lower-level admonishments have been created to cover all uses defined by both ANSI and ISO.

• Presentation has been standardized around the colors and symbols prescribed by ISO and the layouts and typography prescribed by ANSI, with alternatives for those situations where the use of color or graphical symbols is impractical.

1.2 Background Safety-related warning messages (admonishments) are increasingly part of our everyday lives, and the reasons are obvious. The makers and sellers of products are expected to do all they reasonably can, and maybe more, to ensure that customers are aware of any risks inherent in the use of their products. Part of the manufacturer’s responsibility is to make safety warnings easy to recognize and easy to understand. To this end, national and international standards have been developed to promote consistent designs for safety messages and consistent contexts for their use. Following such standards will, it is hoped, minimize the

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Introduction Traditional Practice and Current Standards

chances that valuable employees or customers will fail to notice or understand information important to their safety. Until now there has been little of this desirable consistency in the design and use of safety-related messages within the telecommunications industry. Individual companies have attempted to follow the traditions, standards, and regulations they believed were applicable to them, but this has led to variations in practice that could cause confusion and misunderstanding among users of products from more than one vendor, with possibly expensive or tragic consequences. Consistency has been needed:

• Among the major telecommunications equipment suppliers, in the user manuals, signs, and labels associated with their products, so that safety-related messages will be immediately recognized and understood.

• Between U.S. telecom practice and relevant ANSI standards and OSHA regulations (these specifically cover workplace signs and product labels, but imply that admonishments should be presented in much the same way in product documentation).

• Across international boundaries, especially between North America and Europe (where ISO, IEC, ITU, DIN, or other standards may have the force of law), since products are increasingly used in both areas. A TCIF Guideline prepared under the auspices of the Information Products Interchange Committee has seemed the appropriate way to promote the consistency needed, and recent queries directed to TCIF from member and nonmember companies have indicated that others saw TCIF as the appropriate forum. However, any coverage of this topic raises concerns for legal liability that cannot be fully addressed by this Guideline. Therefore all persons with a responsibility for writing, designing, or posting admonishments are strongly advised to consult their companies’ legal departments for any further rules and guidance.

1.3 Traditional Practice and Current Standards 1.3.1 Telecom Tradition Several pre-Divestiture Bell System documents, including some that are still referenced (such as AT&T/Bellcore/Telcordia IP 10260, “Standards for TaskOriented Practices”) specified that admonishments were to be used as follows:

• DANGER — possibility of personal injury • CAUTION — possibility of service interruption • WARNING — possibility of equipment damage. In some other references, the meanings specified were:

• DANGER — possibility of serious or fatal injury • CAUTION — possibility of minor injury or of service interruption

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• WARNING — possibility of equipment damage or software corruption. Unfortunately, these definitions have been in direct conflict with standards from ANSI (American National Standards Institute) and regulations from OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration, U.S. Department of Labor) that have been developed more recently. 1.3.2 ANSI Z535 and OSHA 1910

1.3

Current ANSI standards for workplace signs and product labels require that the words “DANGER” and “WARNING” be used only for risks to personal safety. OSHA 1910.145 requires that “DANGER” and “CAUTION” be used only for risks to personal safety. These are paraphrases of the definitions in ANSI Z535.2-1991, “Environmental and Facility Safety Signs,” and ANSI Z535.4-1998, “Product Safety Signs and Labels”:

• DANGER — imminent hazard that will result in death or serious injury if not avoided.

• WARNING — potential hazard that could result in death or serious injury if not avoided.

• CAUTION — potential hazard that could result in minor or moderate injury if not avoided. (CAUTION is also permitted for property-damage-only hazards in the ANSI standards, but is specifically limited to injury risks in OSHA 1910.145, which also incorporates older versions of the ANSI standards by reference.) ANSI also defines these further types of admonishments in Z535.2:

• NOTICE — statement of company policy regarding safety of personnel or protection of property.

• General Safety (“SAFETY FIRST,” “BE CAREFUL,” “THINK,” etc.) — for general instructions and reminders and to mark locations of safety equipment. Table 1-1 illustrates the ANSI standards and OSHA regulations. The “signal-word panels” shown should appear above a black-on-white message panel, with an optional symbol/pictorial panel to the left of or between those two required panels. Unfortunately, the colors and shapes specified by ANSI and OSHA are partly in conflict with those in the corresponding standard from ISO (International Organization for Standardization).

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Introduction Traditional Practice and Current Standards

Table 1-1 ANSI Admonishment Types and Their Signal-Word Panel Designs Admonishment Type

Current Design (1998)

Obsolete design (1991)

DANGER – Imminent risk of death or serious injury

White alert symbol and “DANGER” centered on red background

White “DANGER” in red oval, white border, black background

DANGER WARNING – Potential Black alert symbol and risk of death or serious “WARNING” centered on orange background injury

WARNING CAUTION – Risk of minor to moderate injury

Black alert symbol and “CAUTION” on yellow.

NOTICE – Company policy

White “NOTICE” on blue background

SAFETY – General instructions or reminders related to safety

CAUTION

DANGER Black “WARNING” in truncated orange diamond on black background

WARNING Yellow “CAUTION” on black background.

CAUTION White “NOTICE” on blue background

NOTICE

NOTICE

White key words (which vary) on green background

White key words on green background

SAFETY FIRST

SAFETY FIRST

1.3.3 ISO 3864 ISO 3864 specifies the meanings of colors and shapes for safety signs, but does not specify signal words like “DANGER” and “CAUTION” — because it is an international standard. Instead, current and future ISO standards specify icons to be used within the shapes for various hazards, with the exclamation point as a default:

• Safety hazards: Yellow (with black) and a triangular shape shall be used for all warnings about risks to personal safety.

• Other colors: Red shall be used for “Stop,” prohibition, and fire-related safety messages (but not for warning of risks to personal safety). Blue shall be used for “mandatory action” (the opposite of prohibition). Green shall be used to indicate safe conditions (agreeing with ANSI and OSHA). Colors other than yellow, red, blue, and green have no specific safety-related meaning in signs, and blue is meaningful only when combined with a circular shape. (Florescent orange-red is allowed as an alternative to yellow for marking hazards in dimly lit areas, but it is not an alternative for signs.)

• Other shapes: Circles shall be used for prohibition (when red) and mandatory action (when blue). Squares and rectangles shall be used for informational signs:

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red for fire safety, green for other safety information, other colors for non-safetyrelated information. Table 1-2 illustrates the ISO standard. Table 1-2 ISO Admonishment Types and Their Surround Shapes and Colors

1.3

Icons specified in ISO 3864 (more to come)

Purpose

Icon surround shape and colors

Warning

Triangle (yellow). Examples (general Fire, explosion, corrosive use, electrical hazard): substance, toxic substance, electric shock.

Imperative/ prohibitive

Circle (blue for mandatory action, red No smoking, no open for prohibition). Specified for general flame, no thoroughfare, don’t use water, eye use: protection required, ear protection required, hard hat required. Specified and permitted examples (no smoking, speed limit):

50 Informative – general instructions or reminders related to safety

Square (red for fire safety, green for First aid, direction to general safety, another color for other safety. information). No general sign is specified. Permitted examples (location of fire equipment, direction to safety, suggested speed):

120 According to a representative to both the ANSI Z535 Committee and the corresponding ISO committee (TC 80), there is currently no expectation that the differences between the ANSI and ISO standards (mainly in the color coding) can be resolved. ISO is committed to using “universal” colors and symbols, even if they require training, rather than any language- or culture-dependent cues. For instance, the ISO-standard “stop” sign is

which combines the “universal” symbol for “yield” with the “universal” surround shape for “imperative/prohibitive.”

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Introduction Traditional Practice and Current Standards

ANSI, on the other hand, is relatively much more concerned with limiting legal liability, so it tries to combine the verbal, color, and shape cues that are most recognizable to Americans without any special training. In the judgment of the aforementioned representative, it is not realistic to wait for the disagreements to be resolved. 1.3.4 Other Considerations To facilitate recognition, there should be consistency across the three contexts of safety-related printed messages: workplace signs, product labels, and user documentation. Therefore the limitations of all three media should be considered. One important limitation is the added cost of color for labels and documents. Typically signs can be made with colored ink or stock for about the same cost as black-and-white, but for a product label or paper document to have a two-color admonishment means that two ink colors must be used in printing. An absolute requirement for two colors is not practical, at least at this time, so single-ink-color versions of all types of admonishments are needed. Further, a document designed in color may be printed or copied in black-and-white, and messages must remain legible in that case. ANSI “safety orange,” specified for “WARNING” messages, is very difficult to print accurately with typical computer printers and even more difficult to reproduce legibly in black-and-white. To see the problem, make a photocopy of Table 1-3. Table 1-3 Contrast Problem for ANSI Black-and-Orange Messages Printing the best computer approximation of ANSI orange (100% Red, 50% Green, or 50% Magenta, 100% Yellow):

WARNING Printing the approximate grayscale value of ANSI orange (40% Gray):

WARNING Printing the approximate halftone equivalent of ANSI orange (40% screen of Black):

WARNING Another problem in applying the ANSI standard to documentation is its requirement that the symbol-and-signal-word combination be centered horizontally in the signal-word panel above the text message. Many documentation applications (Web browsers in particular) would be likely to use a fixed-width graphic over an adjustable-width text column, making the center a moving target. Other limitations involve size and placement. Designs must be simple enough to be recognized at a distance or when available space is limited (as on small products). On the other hand, messages must not be small when available space is large, or they may not be noticed.

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Overall, it must be recognized that maximizing compliance with the applicable standards, while a desirable goal, is not necessarily the best strategy, since literal compliance may not be technically or economically feasible. The writers of the standards recognize the limitations themselves, and frequently use the words “may,” “should,” “when feasible,” “preferably,” “as much as possible,” “it is recommended that,” and “it shall be permissible to.” It is the TCIF’s belief that all designs suggested in this Guideline fall within the range of variation allowed by the applicable standards for at least some circumstances.

1.3

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Recommendations for Design and Use of Admonishments Categories of Admonishments and Reasons for Use

2 Recommendations for Design and Use of Admonishments 2.1 Basic Principles 1. Admonishment content and design should follow applicable standards and regulations (ANSI, ISO, and OSHA) as much as is feasible and practical. (The applicability of these standards to product documentation, though not explicit, is assumed because of the overall goal of consistency.) This leads to some divergence from traditional telecom practice in documentation, especially that “WARNING” and “CAUTION” should be used only for hazards to personal safety. 2. Where the standards themselves differ, practicality should again be the deciding factor. This leads in particular to a decision to use ISO color coding in place of the ANSI color coding, because the ISO use of yellow for all safety messages has two important practical advantages:

• Red, specified by ANSI for the most serious safety risks, already has two other significant uses (stop/prohibition and fire safety). Yellow is used only for safety.

• The black/orange color combination for ANSI “WARNING” messages offers very poor contrast, making it hard to read, especially in photocopied documents. The decision to use ISO color coding seems also to have been made by at least a large portion of the automotive industry in the United States, judging by what can be seen under the hoods of many new-model cars. 3. All recommended designs should be recognizable and distinguishable if reproduced in black-and-white, but alternative designs should be provided for halftone (grayscale) and two-tone (dark-and-light) printing. NOTE In the remainder of this document, “ISO,” “ANSI,” or “OSHA” appearing in parentheses without further explanation will indicate that ISO 3864, ANSI Z535, or OSHA 1910, respectively, is the basis for a particular recommendation. “TCIF” will indicate a decision by the TCIF IPI Committee (usually on a matter apparently left open by the standards and regulations).

2.2 Categories of Admonishments and Reasons for Use The following seven categories of admonishments should be used as indicated:

• DANGER: use to warn of a hazard the reader will be exposed to and that will likely result in death or serious injury if not avoided (ANSI, OSHA).

• WARNING: use to warn of a potential hazard the reader may be exposed to and that could result in death or serious injury if not avoided. DO NOT use for situations that pose a risk only to equipment, software, data, or service (ANSI).

• CAUTION: use to warn of a potential hazard the reader may be exposed to and that could result in minor or moderate injury if not avoided (ANSI, OSHA). DO

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NOT use for situations that pose a risk only to equipment, data, or service, even if such use appears to be permitted in some of the applicable standards (OSHA).

• ALERT (Prohibitive): use to alert the reader to an action that must be avoided in order to protect equipment, software, data, or service (ISO).

• ALERT (Imperative): use to alert the reader to an action that must be performed in order to prevent equipment damage, software corruption, data loss, or service interruption (ISO).

2.2

• FIRE SAFETY: use to inform the reader of (1) fire-safety information, reminders, precautions, or policies (those not related to a particular safety hazard), or (2) the locations of fire-fighting and fire-safety equipment (ISO).

• SAFETY: use to inform the reader of general safety information, reminders, precautions, or policies not related to a particular source of hazard or to fire safety (ISO, ANSI, OSHA). An eighth type of message is not an admonishment, but may be used with admonishments:

• NOTICE: use (optionally) to inform the reader of general rules or policies not related to safety (ANSI). The order listed is the “order of importance” and the order that should be observed in sequencing multiple messages from top to bottom or left to right (ANSI for safety messages, TCIF for the rest). Although the standards permit multiple messages of different types to be combined under the label for the “greatest seriousness level,” separate messages are preferable (TCIF); extremely limited space may require that messages be combined. Signs and labels and other messages in documentation that state a policy (“NO SMOKING”) or provide information (“ENTRANCE”), but are not primarily for the purpose of protecting people, equipment, software, data, or service should not be considered admonishments, and therefore:

• They should occur after any admonishments (in top-to-bottom or left-to-right sequence)

• They should not look like admonishments. Specifically, they may include a prominent symbol, such as

but they should not include a symbol-and-signal-word panel as described in Section 2.3 (TCIF):

FIRE SAFETY The ANSI “NOTICE” message is not considered an admonishment; it may be presented in the same manner as an admonishment with a signal-word panel, as illustrated in Section 3.1 (TCIF), as long as the panel does not include a symbol.

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Recommendations for Design and Use of Admonishments Message Content

2.3 Message Content All admonishments consist of:

• REQUIRED (ANSI): A symbol-and-signal-word panel over the text message, containing an icon (the default or a more specific one) within the ISO-specified surround shape for the admonishment type, followed horizontally by the signal word(s) specified for the admonishment type in Table 2-1. Table 2-1 Telecom Admonishment Types and Their Symbols and Signal Words Admonishment Type

Colors, as defined in Table 2-3

Symbol Surround Shape

Symbol Default Icon

DANGER

Black on yellow (ISO, contrary to ANSI)

Triangle “!” (ISO, DANGER (ISO, ANSI) ANSI) (ANSI)

WARNING

Black on yellow (ISO, contrary to ANSI)

Triangle “!” (ISO, WARNIN (ISO, ANSI) ANSI) G (ANSI)

CAUTION

Black on yellow (ISO, ANSI)

Triangle “!” (ISO, CAUTION (ISO, ANSI) ANSI) (ANSI)

ALERT (Prohibitive)

Red symbol, black icon on white (ISO); text white on blue (preferred, TCIF) or black on white or white on red

Circle with slash (ISO)

ALERT (Imperative)

White on blue (ISO, ANSI) Circle (ISO)

FIRE SAFETY

White on red (ISO, ANSI)

Square (ISO) Flame (TCIF)

SAFETY

White on green (ISO, ANSI)

Square (ISO) “!” (ISO) SAFETY (TCIF)

NOTICE (not an admonishment)

White on blue (ANSI)

None (TCIF) None (TCIF)

None (ISO)

Signal Word

ALERT (TCIF)

“!” (ISO, ALERT ANSI) (TCIF) FIRE SAFETY (TCIF)

NOTICE (ANSI)

• OPTIONAL (ANSI): A pictorial panel with any useful pictorial information (which may include more-specific icons), to the left of or between the symboland-signal-word panel and the text message (see Table 2-2). The pictorial panel may include an ISO icon, but the symbol-and-signal-word panel must still contain at least the default icon in the surround shape specified in Table 2-1.

• REQUIRED (ANSI): A text message, preferably black text on a white background, which must include: – For documentation and labels, but not signs: the signal words repeated from the symbol-and-signal-word panel or more specific words identifying the nature of the risk (TCIF). These words repeat or narrow the meaning of the signal word(s) because there is the chance that the symbol-and-signal-word panel will not be

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readable: as a computer graphic, it may not display or print correctly, and if printed as a knockout (light text on dark background), it may be misregistered. – A brief statement of the specific risk, problem, policy, or information content. For a safety hazard, this is a statement of what could happen if the precaution is not taken. – If needed, terse but complete instructions on the precautions to be taken: how to avoid the risk or how to perform the necessary actions.

2.4 Layout For an admonishment sign or label with a single message in a single language, there are three acceptable layouts; each may be extended for multiple messages or multiple languages. Acceptable layouts are illustrated in Table 2-2 (these are a selection by TCIF from the layouts allowed by ANSI).

2.4

Table 2-2 Sign and Label Layouts Nonpictorial (two-panel):

Horizontal pictorial (three-panel):

@ SIGNAL

@ SIGNAL

Text message.

Text message. Picture

Vertical pictorial (three-panel):

@ SIGNAL

Vertical nonpictorial multimessage or multilanguage:

@ SIGNAL Text message.

Picture

@ SIGNAL Text message.

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Second text message, etc.

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Recommendations for Design and Use of Admonishments Layout

Table 2-2 Sign and Label Layouts (Continued) Horizontal pictorial multimessage or multilanguage:

@ SIGNAL Text message. Picture

Horizontal nonpictorial multimessage or multilanguage:

@ SIGNAL

@ SIGNAL

Second text message.

Third text message, etc.

Vertical pictorial multimessage or multilanguage:

@ SIGNAL @ SIGNAL

@ SIGNAL

Text message. Second text message, etc.

Picture

Alternative pictorial multimessage or multilanguage:

Picture

Text message.

@ SIGNAL

@ SIGNAL

Text message.

Second text message, etc.

@ SIGNAL Second, etc.

Height-to-width ratios and proportions may vary, as long as the height (top-tobottom measurement) of the symbol-and-signal-word panel is at least 25% of the shorter overall dimension (height or width) of the largest pictorial or text panel (TCIF). For instance, in the first example shown in Table 2-2, the height of the symbol-and-signal-word panel should always be at least 25% of the height (shorter dimension) of the text panel. In the lower left example in the table, the height of the symbol-and-signal-word panel should be at least 25% of the width (shorter dimension) of the picture panel (largest panel). The minimum width of the symbol-

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TCIF Guideline Admonishments

and-signal-word panel is automatically constrained by the width of the symbol and text, since the type size will vary with the height of the panel (Section 2.5). Corners of the sign or label may be rounded (ANSI). Borders are unnecessary if the background of the sign or label is a contrasting color; but if there is another sign or label or other text near the admonishment, there must be a border along any edge between admonishment and nonadmonishment text (ANSI). On signs and labels, the symbol and signal word should be centered horizontally and vertically within the symbol-and-signal-word panel (ANSI). In documentation, they may be centered or to the left of center or left-aligned so as to accommodate varying column widths (TCIF, contrary to ANSI). In documentation, the overall width of the admonishment (particularly the colored background of the symboland-signal-word panel) should be at least 2/3 of the width, and preferably the full width, of the text column in which the admonishment appears; if less than the full width, it may be centered or left of center or left-aligned within the column (TCIF).

2.5 Typography (All of these recommendations are in accord with ANSI Z535.4, except as noted.) All admonishment text should be in a highly readable sans-serif typeface, such as Arial/Helvetica, Folio, Franklin Gothic, Frutiger, Gill Sans, Lucida Sans, News Gothic, Trebuchet MS, Verdana, or Univers. Do not use “display” typefaces with unusual letter shapes, such as Avant Garde or Impact. Signal words in the symbol-and-signal-word panel should be in ALLCAPS (UPPER CASE) and in a bold (or “demibold,” but not “heavy” or “black”) font. The measured height of the letters should be at least 40% of the height of the panel, but not more than 75%; the point-size measurement might vary but will usually be 55% to 100% of the panel height in points (TCIF). For maximum readability, type in the message panel should be in normal mixed case, left-aligned and ragged right (not centered and not fully justified). A bold font is optional; bold type may be reserved for emphasis. If the text is entirely in a bold font, ALLCAPS is preferred for emphasis; italics, which are harder to read, should be avoided whenever possible. The minimum type size used in documentation should be 14 points for signal words and 11 points (but not smaller than body type) for message text (TCIF). For type not measured in points, the minimum height of capital letters such as “E” should be 0.14 in. (3.6 mm) for signal words and 0.11 in. (2.8 mm) for message text. For signs and labels, the minimum type size depends on the expected reading distance: capital letters in signal words should have a minimum height of 1% of the viewing distance, and capital letters in message text should have a minimum height of 0.7% of the viewing distance. Equivalently, point sizes should be at least 1.0 and 0.7 points for each inch of distance. The viewing distance should not be assumed to be less than 12 inches (30 cm), so the type used in labels, even on small parts, should be at least 8.4 points for message text, 12 points for signal words.

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Recommendations for Design and Use of Admonishments Color Definitions

The symbol surround shape should be at least as large as the signal-word type (0.01 inch per point of type size), but not larger than 250% of the type size (TCIF). The symbol should be separated from the signal word by about half its height or width.

2.6 Color Definitions Table 2-3 defines the colors to be used for admonishments. The Munsell and “Printer’s Ink” values are taken from ANSI Z535.1, “Safety Color Code.” The “Computer RGB” values are the color mixtures that appear to give the best approximations of the ANSI standard colors on most computer screens. The “Printer CMYK” values are ranges, allowing adjustments; the first values are exact equivalents for the RGB values in the previous column, but the colors may have to be adjusted toward the second values to get the best approximations of the ANSI colors with most computer color printers. Table 2-3 Color Definitions for Admonishments Computer RGB (TCIF)

Printer CMYK (TCIF)

Substitute Gray (TCIF)

60 parts Warm Red, 4 Rubine Red, 1 Black

100% R

100% M, 100% Y, 0-10% K

100% (Black)

5.0Y 8.0/ 12.0

Pantone 108C

100% R, 100% G

100% Y, 0-10% M

10% to 20%

Green

7.5G 4.0/ 9.0

Pantone 3415C

80% G, 20% B

100% C, 60-80% Y, 20-0% K

50% to 60%

Blue

2.5PB 3.5/10.0

27 parts Process Blue, 5 Reflex Blue

40% G, 80% B

100% C, 60-40% M

50% to 60%

Black

Should be at most 3% of the luminance of a perfect reflecting diffuser (ANSI).

White

Should be at least 75% luminance (ANSI).

Color (see Table 2-1)

Munsell (ANSI)

Printer’s Ink (ANSI)

Red

7.5R 4.0/ 14.0

Yellow

Samples of these colors appear in Section 3.1.

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TCIF Guideline Admonishments

3 Recommended Designs for Documentation Specifications for admonishments in documentation must allow that graphic designs will be constrained by the capabilities of the originator’s publishing software. These recommendations provide options that accommodate a wide range of capabilities while maintaining distinctiveness and consistency in appearance.

3.1 Recommended Color Designs In these first examples (preferred color designs), exact matches to the dimensions shown are not expected. As illustrated, the triangular and circular surround shapes are each larger than the rest of the symbol-and-signal-word panel so that the icons inside them can be as large as they are in the square surround shapes, but the oversize triangles and circles are not necessary. The panel type is 14-point bold. The panels themselves are 18 points (0.25 in.) high (the triangular symbols in these example are 21 points high, the imperative symbol 23 points and the prohibitive symbol 25 points). All border lines are 2.5 points thick. The outlines of the surround shapes are approximately 2 points thick. If printed in black-and-white, yellow areas may be 10% to 20% gray, blue and green may be 50% to 60% gray, and red may be black (TCIF). The symbol is a required part of each symbol-and-signal-word panel (ISO, ANSI). More-specific icons may be used within the symbols (ISO, ANSI), but all specific icons used in admonishments should be explained in the frontmatter of the document (TCIF). ISO standard symbols should be used whenever possible (only a small number have been defined so far). The DANGER message below uses all bold type, slightly larger than body type — the size and weight are optional, but sans-serif type and a size at least equal to body type are strongly recommended in all cases. The signal word (“DANGER”) should appear in both the symbol-and-signal-word panel, where it is more noticeable, and at the beginning of the text message, in case the graphic panel does not print legibly (TCIF).

!

DANGER

DANGER! (Sample only!) Do not do touch bare wires. Severe or fatal electric shock may result. This sample WARNING message uses regular type slightly larger than body type — again, size and weight are options:

!

WARNING

WARNING! (Sample only!) Do not cross this fence. If you proceed, you will be exposed to avoidable risk of severe injury or even death from falls or rock slides.

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Recommended Designs for Documentation Acceptable Variations in Color Designs

This sample CAUTION message has type the size of body type in the message:

!

CAUTION

CAUTION! (Sample only!) Wear protective gloves and goggles while chopping Habaneros. You risk chemical burns while handling this kind of chile, and especially its seeds.

The next two examples are of admonishments involving risks of equipment damage, service interruption, data loss, software corruption, etc. The prohibitive message may be simplified to two colors by using a solid red panel, like the FIRE SAFETY message, but the suggested design is more distinctive (TCIF).

ALERT ALERT! Do not turn off this switch except in emergency. Service to customers will be interrupted. (Prohibitive symbol.)

!

ALERT

ALERT! Use only approved solvents when cleaning. Equipment can be damaged by ordinary solvents. (Imperative symbol.)

Next is an example of an admonishment specifically related to fire safety. (“Standard” icons for fire were found to be unrecognizable at sizes appropriate for documents; artwork for this icon is available from TCIF.)

FIRE SAFETY FIRE SAFETY: Fire extinguishers are located on all floors in this stairwell.

This is an example of an admonishment regarding general safety practices (note that the signal word may be replaced by something more specific in the label of the text message):

!

SAFETY

FOR YOUR SAFETY: Follow all safety instructions on equipment in this room.

Finally, an example of a non-safety-related policy notice (a quasi admonishment that should not have a symbol in the signal-word panel):

NOTICE NOTICE: Visitors must be escorted at all times.

3.2 Acceptable Variations in Color Designs The following are examples of how the designs shown above may be varied while remaining within the overall recommendations in this Guideline.

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Messages may use type the same size as body text. Symbols may be less than or equal to the height of the panel, and, when a color panel background is used, may have their own color reversed. Yellow panels and borders may be outlined in black to provide better contrast in black-and-white reproduction (TCIF):

DANGER ALERT! (Sample only! Example of a DANGER message with ordinary type, a symbol no larger than the panel, and panel outlined in black.)

Prohibitive ALERT messages may use just two colors for the panel (TCIF):

3.2

ALERT ALERT! (Example of a Prohibitive ALERT message with a two-color symbol-andsignal-word panel and a symbol no larger than the panel.)

If necessary, admonishments may use borders only rather than solid-color panels (solid panels are closer to the ANSI standard and are therefore preferred):

DANGER ALERT! (Sample only! Example of a DANGER message using yellow borders but no background on the symbol-and-signal-word panel.)

Similarly for all other types:

FIRE SAFETY ALERT! (Example of a FIRE SAFETY message using red borders but no background on the symbol-and-signal-word panel.)

In documents, pictorial and even nonpictorial admonishments may be implemented as tables, using cell shading and borders with the appropriate colors: (Artwork here.)

ALERT ALERT! (Example of an Imperative ALERT message laid out within a ruled table with a border in the panel color.)

Or:

DANGER ALERT! (Sample only! Example of a DANGER message laid out within a ruled table with a thin black border.)

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Recommended Designs for Documentation Two-Tone Variations

3.3 Grayscale and Halftone Variations If color printing is not feasible, grayscale or halftone coloration is the preferred alternative, as in these examples (TCIF). Table 2-3 specifies the gray values to substitute for each color.

WARNING ALERT! (Example of a WARNING message with a 20%-gray symbol-and-signalword panel.)

Or, with acceptable black outlining:

WARNING ALERT! (Example of a WARNING message with a 20%-gray symbol-and-signalword panel.)

And:

ALERT ALERT! (Example of a Prohibitive ALERT message with a black symbol-andsignal-word panel. The panel may also be 60% gray.)

And:

ALERT ALERT! (Example of an Imperative ALERT message with a preferred 60%-gray symbol-and-signal-word panel.)

3.4 Two-Tone Variations If neither color nor halftone printing is possible, black-and-white presentations may use borders for DANGER, WARNING, CAUTION and either borders or knockouts for the other types. Use thicker borders for DANGER, WARNING, and CAUTION than for any other admonishments using borders:

DANGER ALERT! (Example of a DANGER message with a two-color symbol-and-signalword panel.)

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And:

CAUTION ALERT! (Example of a CAUTION message with a two-color symbol-and-signalword panel. The symbol is smaller than above, an acceptable variation.)

And:

ALERT ALERT! (Example of a Prohibitive ALERT message with a two-color symbol-andsignal-word panel.)

And:

ALERT ALERT! (Example of an Imperative ALERT message with a two-color symbol-andsignal-word panel.)

3.5

Or, for types other than DANGER, WARNING, and CAUTION:

ALERT ALERT! (Example of an Imperative ALERT message in two tones with a knockout symbol-and-signal-word panel.)

3.5 Text-Only Variations When no graphical capability exists in the presentation medium (as on an ASCII terminal), these designs are recommended. Danger: ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// /!\ DANGER! Text message. /////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Warning: ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// /!\ WARNING! Text message. /////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Caution: ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// /!\ CAUTION! Text message. /////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

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Recommended Designs for Documentation Text-Only Variations

Prohibitive Alert: ============================================================= (\) ALERT: Text message. =============================================================

Imperative Alert: ============================================================= (!) ALERT: Text message. =============================================================

Fire Safety: ============================================================= [!] FIRE SAFETY: Text message. =============================================================

General Safety: ============================================================= [!] SAFETY: Text message. =============================================================

TCIF will provide a font that includes all approved safety symbols for systems that can display symbols more easily as fonts than as graphics.

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References References

Appendix A: References ANSI Z535.1-1991, American National Standard: Safety Color Code, Washington, DC: National Electrical Manufacturers Association, 1991. ANSI Z535.2-1991, American National Standard: Environmental and Facility Safety Signs, Washington, DC: National Electrical Manufacturers Association, 1991. ANSI Z535.3-1991, American National Standard: Criteria for Safety Symbols, Washington, DC: National Electrical Manufacturers Association, 1991. ANSI Z535.4-1998, American National Standard: Product Safety Signs and Labels, Rosslyn, VA: National Electrical Manufacturers Association, 1998. ISO 3864, International Standard: Safety Colors and Safety Signs, Switzerland: International Organization for Standardization, 1984. OSHA 1910.144, OSHA Regulations (Standards – 29 CFR): Occupational Safety and Health Standards: Subpart J – General Environmental Controls: Product Safety Signs and Labels. http://www.osha-slc.gov/OshStd_data/ 1910_0144.html. Washington, DC: Occupational Safety & Health Administration, U.S. Department of Labor, 1996. OSHA 1910.145, OSHA Regulations (Standards – 29 CFR): Occupational Safety and Health Standards: Subpart J – General Environmental Controls: Specifications for accident prevention signs and tags. http://www.oshaslc.gov/OshStd_data/1910_0145.html. Washington, DC: Occupational Safety & Health Administration, U.S. Department of Labor, 1996. OSHA 1926.200, OSHA Regulations (Standards – 29 CFR): Safety and Health Regulations for Construction: Subpart G – Signs, Signals, and Barricades: Product Safety Signs and Labels. http://www.osha-slc.gov/ OshStd_data/1926_0200.html. Washington, DC: Occupational Safety & Health Administration, U.S. Department of Labor, 1993.

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