Industry and Chemicals are sectors that form the basis of all kinds of products that our society needs. There is a high degree of productivity, many different processes, movement of people and equipment; there is enormous activity.
Safety, quality and environmental care are critical factors in every process in this sector. A safe working environment is a prerequisite for continuity and growth; incidents and calamities must be prevented at all times. Our experience in industry and chemistry is reflected in the dedication, expertise and care of our team. In our ISO certification for quality and environmental care and our SCC certification for safety.
Blomsma Signs & Safety’s products and services are aimed at reducing risks by applying visual communication such as safety signs, process identification, object markings and wayfinding. We apply the motto ‘Fit for Purpose’: qualitatively and intrinsically appropriate signage and identification for the intended purpose. We give shape to your safety philosophy by means of images and thus make the visual translation from theory to practice.
On this page you will find the following topics:
In our Industry & Chemicals brochure you can read more about our products and services in the field of safety signs in the industry.
Download the 'Industrie & Chemie' brochureThe industrial and chemical sectors have to deal with many requirements and regulations. On our Standards and Laws page you can see a pre-selection of standards and laws that are related to safety signs and identification.
The legal framework prescribes signage to prevent incidents, the European Directive 92/58/EEC is the basis for European member states and has its translations into national legislation. Different laws and standards apply to industrial sites and chemical plants and sites.
Employers shall provide safety and/or health signs as laid down in this Directive where hazards cannot be avoided or adequately reduced by techniques for collective protection or measures, methods or procedures used in the organization of work, or ensure that such signs are in place - Council Directive 92/58/EEC
More about Council Directive 92/58/EECThe visual communication process starts when you reach and enter your site. A good mix between appearance of the (brand) identity, guiding traffic flows and conveying safety-related instructions and warnings is best practice here.
Immediately after entering the site, the desired route to the destinations must be made clear. The ideal mix consists of applying the ISO/TS 20559 for the design of a signage system in combination with the standard for signage ISO 28564 and national traffic laws.
Signage and building codes are means of guiding traffic flows across the site. Lines and road markings also play a prominent role in safely directing the movements of people and equipment. Practical examples are (safe) walking routes across a site or through a building where logistical movements also take place.
Where physical separation and avoidance of traffic is desirable, barriers and obstructions are used, if necessary supplemented by clearance markings. These serve to prevent damage to your building or installation and indicate the maximum clearance height.
Displaying safety rules and warnings starts at the gate. Linde Gas Benelux has provided all production sites in a contiguous project with entrance signs with a corporate identity appearance. You can read more about this project in the project case.
To the Linde Gas Benelux project caseIn the event of fire, emissions or other calamities, personnel will have to evacuate, either from buildings and installations or from a site. In these situations it is essential to manage behavior, signage can be used preventively as an active means to achieve the best possible evacuation. Preventive means are safety instructions and evacuation plans, active means are escape route marking and escape route guidance systems.
International standards provide guidance for understandable and uniform implementation. The standards provide a practical translation of legislation. For escape route marking, symbols are used according to ISO 7010 and an escape route guidance system is installed according to ISO 16069. Evacuation plans are produced according to ISO 23601.
These standards help to set up safety signage as a conclusive, consistent and harmonious working visual system. Combining signage according to these standards provides all the visual information needed for a quick and safe evacuation.
Areas, installations and buildings with risks to the safety of your employees, suppliers and visitors, where the sources of potential danger cannot be eliminated, are marked with safety signage. This is a combination of displaying the hazards, prohibitions and commandments.
These areas, safety zones, can be marked with composite signs. To begin, at the points of entry to the area. Safety zone and composite signs are most effective when they contain as little information and instructions as possible and are constructed with understandable imagery. Applying a “peeling” principle in analysis and planning may result in certain requirements being displayed at an earlier point, such as on access signs. This principle is a strategy for using safety signage more efficiently and decisively.
A common risk area included in specific regulations concerns areas with an increased risk of explosion, so-called explosion hazard zones: Ex-zones, ATEX zones. In addition to mandatory requirements and warnings, line markings and barriers are used for these EX zones to minimize movements in these areas. A specific information tool is our EX zone impression boards. These signs use graphics in 2D or 3D to show the location, size and type of hazardous areas.
Different industries, different applications but many similarities. For example, Trias' Geothermal site in Naaldwijk is a telling example of the facets of safety signage from A-Z, with practical solutions for marking safety zones and EX zones.
To the Trias Naaldwijk project caseHazardous substances are used or produced in production processes. Working with these substances requires conscious handling; proper transport, production, storage and processing to prevent incidents.
Practical examples of safety signs for working with hazardous substances include composite signs for loading bays (loading and unloading bay signs), marking of sample points, chemical storage signs, signaling for gas cylinder storage facilities and tank markings for storage tanks and tank pits. Site signage can also play a functional role in directing traffic flows to (chemical) loading areas and storage sites. Safety plans are used for permit procedures and for managing calamities. These plans provide an image of the location and an insight into the quantity, types and location of hazardous substances present.
Direct insight into (the content, characteristics and risks of) pipelines, pipe systems and processes contributes to the efficient and safe operation and maintenance of installations. Understandable and clearly recognizable markings and signs can prevent mistakes during maintenance activities. Operators, inspection and testing services can also save time when an installation is provided with pipe markings. It reduces, for example, the need to search for fittings and pipes. Legislation even requires the marking of pipes with hazardous properties.
The fact that “quality” in pipe marking is not standard practice in the market has been the reason for us to write the White Paper “Quality aspects of pipe marking”.
In our White Paper “Pipe marking for pipes with various contents” we discuss the problems surrounding the marking of pipes with constantly changing contents. And of course you can read about our solution.
Parts of a process are represented by equipment numbers and codes, or process identification. Stainless steel tag plates, intelligent RFID tags or QR codes are used for clear identification.
Containers used at work for dangerous substances or preparations defined in Directives 67/548 /EEC (1) and 88/379/EEC (2) and containers used for the storage of such dangerous substances or preparations, together with the visible pipes containing or transporting dangerous substances and preparations, must be labelled (pictogram or symbol against a colored background) in accordance with those Directives.
More on Industry & Chemicals standards and legislationWant to know more?
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