The leading ISO standard for safety signs, ISO 7010, has just been updated.
Why an ISO 7010 standard?
The ISO 7010 standard has 5 categories of safety and health signs:
E for rescue and evacuation signs;
F for firefighting signs;
M for mandatory signs;
P for prohibition signs;
W for warning signs.
All pictograms are produced according to the same standard, which makes them internationally recognisable. ISO 3864-1 describes the requirements that an ISO 7010 pictogram must meet. ISO 3864-1 is limited to the colours and pictograms to be used. Pictograms according to the international standard ensure that everyone speaks the same language when it comes to safety.
Application in the workplace
The use of the ISO 7010 standard in Belgium is voluntary and not mandatory. However, it can be recommended to switch directly or in the long term to pictograms according to ISO 7010.
The ISO 7010:2011 standard deviates slightly, for some signs, from the annexes of Directive 92/58/EEC and the latest adaptation. Many new symbols have also been introduced. In practice, the differences between the ISO 7010 standard and the annex to the directive can be applied, taking into account a number of principles.
BESWIC press release
