Workplace safety signs - which one goes where?
Safety and health signs guide behaviour where words fall short. This guide explains the sign categories under ASR A1.3 and EN ISO 7010, their colours and shapes, and where each type belongs in the workplace.
View safety signsWhat do ASR A1.3 and EN ISO 7010 govern?
The German technical rule ASR A1.3 puts the Workplace Ordinance into practice and defines which safety and health signs an employer must display. It references the pictograms of EN ISO 7010, which are designed identically across Europe.
Each category has a fixed combination of colour and geometric shape, so a sign is understood at a glance without text and regardless of the workforce's languages. Signage does not replace technical or organisational protection - it supplements it.
What sign categories exist?
ASR A1.3 distinguishes five groups: prohibition, warning, mandatory and emergency (escape and first-aid) signs plus fire safety signs. Colour and shape are unambiguous per group and must never be mixed.
- Red means prohibition and fire safety - danger and stop.
- Yellow warns of a hazard source and calls for caution.
- Blue makes a specific behaviour or PPE compulsory.
- Green signals safety, escape routes and first aid.
- Photoluminescent versions stay visible during a power failure.
Where are the signs mounted?
The location follows the hazard. Warning signs belong right at the danger point, mandatory signs at the entrance to the area with the protection duty, and escape signs along the escape routes facing the people evacuating.
Sign size must match the viewing distance. A useful rule of thumb is a recognition distance of about 2000 times the sign height: a sign 200 mm tall is reliably readable at roughly 40 m. Escape route signs should always be photoluminescent.
Frequently asked questions
Are ASR A1.3 and EN ISO 7010 mandatory?
ASR A1.3 puts the Workplace Ordinance into practice; applying it gives a presumption of having met the duties. It references the EN ISO 7010 pictograms, which are therefore effectively binding.
How big must a safety sign be?
Size depends on the viewing distance. As a guide, recognition distance is about 2000 times the sign height - roughly 40 m for a 200 mm sign.
Where must escape route signs be placed?
Emergency escape signs are mounted along escape routes and above emergency exits so they are visible from the direction people evacuate. They should be photoluminescent to stay visible during a power failure.
Does signage replace technical protection?
No. Signage sits at the end of the hierarchy of controls and is used only where residual risks cannot be removed by technical or organisational measures.
Sign your workplace to standard?
We supply prohibition, warning, mandatory, escape and fire safety signs per ASR A1.3 and EN ISO 7010 - in film, rigid plastic and photoluminescent.
Standard-compliant
Pictograms per ASR A1.3 and EN ISO 7010.
Photoluminescent
Escape signs stay visible in a power failure.
Right sizes
Sign sizes graded by recognition distance.
Expert advice
Support with signage plan and selection.