Quest for Zero: Pay attention to safety signs in the workplace Published April 11, 2016 By Steve Serrette 72nd Air Base Wing Base Safety Office TINKER AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. -- Safety signs in the workplace are an indispensable way of protecting employees from accidents. Their purpose is to convey information in a comprehensible way about objects and situations that can be dangerous to personnel. If you see a safety sign, like the ones on heavy equipment, machine guards, electrical control panels and boxes, and combustible/flammable liquid storage rooms that say "DANGER, WEAR GOGGLES WHILE OPERATING," "NO SMOKING" or "FIRE DOOR, DO NOT BLOCK," what is your reaction? Most people react in one of two ways. A few get angry and feel like doing the opposite. They don't like to be told what to do or what not to do -- they're "grown," remember? The majority know that safety signs make good sense and that there is a reason for each sign's location. They take the sign's message as a visual warning and are glad it's there as a reminder. The second reaction is the right one, of course. The NO RIDERS signs on the forklift are not there just to make you walk when you could ride. They are there to remind you that hitching rides on forklifts is risky, and someone is going to get injured. A NO SMOKING sign is posted to keep you from lighting up and prevent you from starting an uncontrollable fire. Some people don't believe a serious fire can start from a lit cigarette. Consider the fact that the National Safety Council reported that in one recent year alone, 95,000 fires were started carelessly by smoking and matches. These fires caused property damage in the tens of millions of dollars, not to mention the people killed and injured. The purpose of workplace safety signs is to visually remind you to stay safe, however, the big problem is that we all get so used to these signs that we don't notice them anymore. For example, can you remember what pictures are on the walls of your living room? It's kind of difficult to do because you're so used to those pictures, just like the safety signs here on the job, you don't notice them anymore. And not seeing safety signs is dangerous business! If a sign states DO NOT OPERATE WITHOUT GUARDS, or USE PERSONAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT, that sign means what it says. If you don't pay attention to the sign because it's been there a long time, you are leaving yourself wide open to an accident. Disregarding a safety sign for any reason means that you are taking a big chance of getting injured and/or hurting someone else. Being responsible for putting a co-worker in the hospital should lay heavy on anyone's conscience. Keep in mind that each and every safety sign is posted for a good reason, to keep you from getting hurt! Remember, safety signs are very valuable tools in warning of workplace hazards; however, they are not substitutes for eliminating or reducing these workplace hazards. Let's all continue to stay safe on the job, think before you act, and stay on track with your "Quest-For-Zero" goals.