INTERNATIONAL ISO
STANDARD 3864-2
Second edition
2016-12-15
Graphical symbols — Safety colours
and safety signs —
Part 2:
Design principles for product safety
labels
Symboles graphiques —
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Partie 2: Principes de conception pour l’étiquetage de sécurité des
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ISO 3864-2:2016
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Reference number
ISO 3864-2:2016(E)
© ISO 2016
ISO 3864-2:2016(E)
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ISO 3864-2:2016(E)
Contents Page
Foreword......................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... iv
Introduction...................................................................................................................................................................................................................................v
1 Scope.................................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 1
2 Normative references....................................................................................................................................................................................... 1
3 Terms and definitions...................................................................................................................................................................................... 1
4 Purpose of safety colours............................................................................................................................................................................. 3
4.1 General............................................................................................................................................................................................................ 3
4.2 Contrast colours...................................................................................................................................................................................... 4
4.3 Use of colour.............................................................................................................................................................................................. 4
5 Hazard severity panels.................................................................................................................................................................................... 5
5.1 General............................................................................................................................................................................................................ 5
5.2 Layout of hazard severity panels.............................................................................................................................................. 5
6 Type and layout of product safety labels...................................................................................................................................... 6
6.1 General............................................................................................................................................................................................................ 6
6.2 Single safety sign.................................................................................................................................................................................... 6
6.3 Safety sign used with a separated supplementary safety information text panel......................... 7
6.4 Safety sign used with a separated supplementary safety information text panel
which includes a hazard severity panel.............................................................................................................................. 7
6.5
6.6
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Combination product safety label not incorporating a hazard severity panel................................. 7
Combination product safety label incorporating a hazard severity panel........................................... 8
6.7 (standards.iteh.ai)
Multiple product safety label not incorporating a hazard severity panel............................................. 9
6.8 Multiple product safety label incorporating a hazard severity panel.................................................... 10
Annex A (informative) Guidelines for increasing ISO 3864-2:2016 the recognition of product safety
label components...............................................................................................................................................................................................11
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Annex B (informative) Translation of signal words............................................................................................................................13
Annex C (informative) Examples of product safety labels............................................................................................................14
Annex D (informative) Product safety label development considerations.................................................................16
Annex E (informative) References from colour order systems for signal colour orange.............................18
Bibliography.............................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 19
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ISO 3864-2:2016(E)
Foreword
ISO (the International Organization for Standardization) is a worldwide federation of national standards
bodies (ISO member bodies). The work of preparing International Standards is normally carried out
through ISO technical committees. Each member body interested in a subject for which a technical
committee has been established has the right to be represented on that committee. International
organizations, governmental and non-governmental, in liaison with ISO, also take part in the work.
ISO collaborates closely with the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) on all matters of
electrotechnical standardization.
The procedures used to develop this document and those intended for its further maintenance are
described in the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 1. In particular the different approval criteria needed for the
different types of ISO documents should be noted. This document was drafted in accordance with the
editorial rules of the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 2 (see www.iso.org/directives).
Attention is drawn to the possibility that some of the elements of this document may be the subject of
patent rights. ISO shall not be held responsible for identifying any or all such patent rights. Details of
any patent rights identified during the development of the document will be in the Introduction and/or
on the ISO list of patent declarations received (see www.iso.org/patents).
Any trade name used in this document is information given for the convenience of users and does not
constitute an endorsement.
For an explanation on the meaning of ISO specific terms and expressions related to conformity assessment,
as well as information about ISO’s adherence to the World Trade Organization (WTO) principles in the
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Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) see the following URL: www.iso.org/iso/foreword.html.
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The committee responsible for this document is ISO/TC 145, Graphical symbols, Subcommittee SC 2,
Safety identification, signs, shapes, symbols and colours.
ISO 3864-2:2016
This second edition cancels and replaces the first edition (ISO 3864-2:2004), which has been technically
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It also incorporates the Amendment ISO 3864-2:2004/Amd 1:2011.
A list of all the parts in the ISO 3864 series can be found on the ISO website.
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ISO 3864-2:2016(E)
Introduction
There is a need to standardize a system of communicating safety information on products. This
document provides layouts for product safety labels that can be used to convey safety information
related to the installation, operation, use, maintenance and/or disposal of a product. Product safety
labels are not to be used as safety signs on walls in workplaces and public buildings.
This document builds on the system of hazard communication set forth in ISO 3864-1. This document
sets forth additional layouts for product safety labels that assist in communicating
a) the severity level of the hazard, and
b) supplementary safety information in word or symbolic form.
To assist in the communication of safety information across language barriers, all of the product safety
label layouts shown in this document incorporate safety signs. This document includes product safety
label layouts that use only safety signs as well as layouts that use additional graphical symbols and
text. Product safety labels that include text can be used when some of the necessary safety information
cannot be communicated in symbolic form, when the combination of safety sign with text is judged to be
more effective or when legal requirements in countries mandate the use of text to communicate safety
information. Education is an essential part of any system that provides safety information. Because the
amount of safety information necessary to operate or service a product safely may be more than can be
conveyed in a product safety label, a product’s accompanying documentation (e.g. product literature,
installation manual, operation manual, service manual) may supplement the product’s safety labels to
provide the user with the additional information necessary for safety. A product’s user documentation
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also offers a place to educate users on the meaning of the safety signs and supplementary safety
information symbols shown on the product’s safety labels (see Annex A).
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When a product safety label is to be developed, the hazards associated with the product and their
corresponding risks should be evaluated. ISO 3864-2:2016
Many factors are considered when deciding whether or not
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to warn, whether to warn on the product in the form of a product safety label and/or to warn in user
documentation. Such factors include64f5aeceaa6a/iso-3864-2-2016
the severity of the risk, the probability of engaging the hazard, the
degree to which the risk is obvious and the type of person likely to possibly engage the hazard.
Statutory or regulatory requirements in some countries may differ from some requirements given
in this document. To facilitate international standardization of product safety labels, this document
should be considered when revising regulations.
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INTERNATIONAL STANDARD ISO 3864-2:2016(E)
Graphical symbols — Safety colours and safety signs —
Part 2:
Design principles for product safety labels
IMPORTANT — The colours represented in the electronic file of this document can be neither
viewed on screen nor printed as true representations. Although the copies of this document
printed by ISO have been produced to correspond (with an acceptable tolerance as judged by
the naked eye) to the colour requirements, it is not intended that these printed copies be used
for colour matching. Instead, consult ISO 3864‑4, which provides colorimetric and photometric
properties together with, as a guideline, references from colour order systems. For the colour
orange, see Annex E.
1 Scope
This document establishes additional principles to ISO 3864-1 for the design of safety labels for
products, i.e. any items manufactured and offered for sale in the normal course of commerce, including
but not limited to consumer products and industrial equipment. The purpose of a product safety label is
to alert persons to a specific hazard and to identify how the hazard can be avoided.
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This document is applicable to all products in all industries where safety-related questions can be
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posed. However, it is not applicable to safety labels used
— for chemicals,
ISO 3864-2:2016
— for the transport of dangerous substances and preparations and
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— in those sectors subject to legal regulations which differ from certain provisions of this document.
The design principles incorporated in this document are intended to be used by all ISO Technical
Committees and anyone designing product safety labels in the development of product safety label
standards for their industries or services.
2 Normative references
The following documents are referred to in the text in such a way that some or all of their content
constitutes requirements of this document. For dated references, only the edition cited applies. For
undated references, the latest edition of the referenced document (including any amendments) applies.
ISO 3864-1, Graphical symbols — Safety colours and safety signs — Part 1: Design principles for safety
signs and safety markings
ISO 3864-4, Graphical symbols — Safety colours and safety signs — Part 4: Colorimetric and photometric
properties of safety sign materials
3 Terms and definitions
For the purposes of this document, the following terms and definitions apply.
ISO and IEC maintain terminological databases for use in standardization at the following addresses:
— IEC Electropedia: available at http://www.electropedia.org/
— ISO Online browsing platform: available at http://www.iso.org/obp
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3.1
CAUTION
signal word used to indicate a potentially hazardous situation which, if not avoided, could result in
minor or moderate injury
3.2
combination product safety label
combination of product safety sign and/or supplementary safety information and/or hazard severity
panel on one rectangular label
Note 1 to entry: A combination product safety label conveys one safety message.
3.3
DANGER
signal word used to indicate an imminently hazardous situation which, if not avoided, will result in
death or serious injury
3.4
general warning sign
safety sign used to signify a general hazard
Note 1 to entry: The general warning sign is standardized/registered as ISO 7010‑W001.
Note 2 to entry: This safety sign can be used to draw attention to a product safety label (see Figure A.5).
3.5
harm iTeh STANDARD PREVIEW
physical injury and/or damage to health or property
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[SOURCE: ISO/IEC Guide 51:2014, 3.1, modified]
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source of potential harm
[SOURCE: ISO/IEC Guide 51:2014, 3.2, modified]
Note 1 to entry: The term hazard is generally qualified in order to define its origin or the nature of the expected
harm (e.g. electric shock hazard, crushing hazard, cutting hazard, toxic hazard, fire hazard, drowning hazard).
3.7
hazard severity panel
area of a combination or multiple product safety label that communicates the category of risk associated
with a hazard
Note 1 to entry: This panel contains the general warning sign, the corresponding colour and an optional signal
word (see Table 2).
3.8
multiple product safety label
product safety label that contains two or more safety signs on the same rectangular label and, if used,
the supplementary safety information and/or the hazard severity panel
3.9
product safety label
label on a product that informs the observer of one or more potential hazards and describes the safety
precautions and/or actions required to avoid the hazard(s)
Note 1 to entry: It communicates a hazard, a hazardous situation, a precaution to avoid a hazard and/or a result
of not avoiding a hazard.
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ISO 3864-2:2016(E)
3.10
residual risk
risk remaining after risk reduction measures have been implemented
[SOURCE: ISO/IEC Guide 51:2014, 3.8]
3.11
risk
combination of the probability of occurrence of harm and the severity of that harm
[SOURCE: ISO/IEC Guide 51:2014, 3.9, modified]
3.12
safety colour
colour with special properties to which a safety meaning is attributed
3.13
safe viewing distance
distance a person can be from the product safety label while still able to read the label accurately and
have the opportunity to follow the product safety label’s message
3.14
signal word
word that calls attention to a product safety label and designates a category of risk
3.15
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supplementary safety information panel
safety information symbol or safety information text whose main purpose is to provide additional
clarification (standards.iteh.ai)
Note 1 to entry: A supplementary safety information panel typically communicates hazard consequence or
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hazard avoidance information.
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3.16
target audience
person(s) to whom the product safety label is intended to convey its safety information
3.17
tolerable risk
level of risk that is accepted in a given context based on the current values of society
[SOURCE: ISO/IEC Guide 51:2014, 3.15, modified — Note 1 to entry deleted.]
3.18
WARNING
signal word used to indicate a potentially hazardous situation which, if not avoided, could result in
death or serious injury
4 Purpose of safety colours
4.1 General
There are two basic purposes for using a specific safety colour on a product safety label:
a) the use of colour rapidly draws attention to the product safety label so that it is easily noticed;
b) the safety colour coding serves to identify and give meaning (through training and/or repeated
exposure) to the product safety label as a whole and to its component parts.
Only safety colours in accordance with ISO 3864-4 colorimetric and photometric specifications shall be
used, in addition to the colour orange which shall only be used on a WARNING hazard severity panel.
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Table 1 specifies the colorimetric and photometric properties of the colour orange. Annex E provides
references from colour order systems for the colour orange.
Table 1 — Chromaticity coordinates and luminance factor for the colour orange for ordinary
materials
Chromaticity coordinates of corner points determining the permitted Luminance
Coordinate colour area: Standard illuminant D65 CIE 2° Standard observer factor
1 2 3 4 β
x 0,603 0,538 0,508 0,563
≥ 0,21
y 0,397 0,382 0,412 0,436
4.2 Contrast colours
Contrast colours shall be in accordance with ISO 3864-1. The contrast colour for orange is black.
4.3 Use of colour
When a geometric shape is used around a graphical symbol, the shape’s corresponding safety colour
shall identify the type of safety information to be conveyed by the graphical symbol (e.g. warning,
prohibition or mandatory action, see ISO 3864-1).
When a hazard severity panel is used, colour shall be used to identify the hazard severity panel’s
corresponding level of risk (see Table 2).
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Table 2 — General meaning and use of colours in hazard severity panels
Background Contrast Hazard severity panel illustration
Meaning/Use
colour of panel colour with or without signal word
Red White High level of risk
Orange Black Medium level of risk
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Yellow Black Low level of risk
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NOTE 1 The safety sign incorporated in these hazard severity panels is the general warning sign W001 specified in
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ISO 7010.
NOTE 2 An outer yellow border to the general warning sign may be added.
5 Hazard severity panels
5.1 General
If the level of hazard severity is to be indicated, a hazard severity panel shall be added to the top of
the combination or multiple product safety label. When hazard severity panels are used, they shall be
rectangular in shape and, as given in Table 2, shall contain the following elements:
a) the general warning sign;
b) the hazard severity panel colour;
c) the signal word, which is optional.
5.2 Layout of hazard severity panels
The hazard severity panel shall contain the general warning sign. When a signal word is used, it is
placed to the right of the general warning sign and, together, centred in the hazard severity panel. When
a signal word is not used, the general warning sign is centred in the hazard severity panel (see Table 2).
Signal words shall appear in upper case and bold fonts.
See Annex B for standardized signal words in other languages.
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