Imperial Dade Insights

When you have a wet floor, floor signs are a great way to indicate the presence of slip and fall hazards in your facility. They can also be used to indicate a general risk to your building’s guests.

Floor signs can drastically reduce the risk of injuries because when the people in your building are aware of a hazard, they can avoid it. Floor signs tell your guests exactly what risks are around.

If your guests or employees experience a slip and fall incident, you could be risking up to $45,000 in settlement fees. Your business could avoid these legal fees by purchasing floor signs to use in your facility.

Using the right floor sign can communicate the proper precautions your visitors and employees should take to remain safe, lowering the chances of someone injuring themselves. Fewer injuries means that your business will experience cost savings on insurance and worker’s compensation.

In this article, we’ll review the different types of floor signs and the benefits of using floor signs in your facility.

Floor Signs 101: Types, Costs, and Benefits [VIDEO]

What Are Floor Signs?

Floor signs are visual warnings that indicate a hazard that could cause injuries.

Using floor signs in your facility indicate to the people in your building that they need to be careful as they’re walking through a particular area.

The most common type of floor sign that is used in facilities is caution floor signs, but there are many different types.

What Do Floor Signs Look Like?

OSHA and ANSI have created rules and regulations for the use of commercial floor signs. These regulations include how they look and where to use them.

Color Combinations 

Caution signs usually have a yellow background with black writing. Some of these signs have a black header and border with yellow writing.

Caution signs can also be a white sign with a yellow header section and black writing. This sign design may have a warning symbol in the header.

These color combinations make it easy to read the warning written on the signs. The size of the writing on the caution signs should be able to be seen by anyone approaching the area.

Some signs also have universally recognizable symbols that communicate the hazard that’s present. The symbols help combat language barriers that could make it harder for them to understand the message of the hazard.

Where Should I Use Floor Signs?

Signs should be used when hazards can’t immediately be eliminated. If there is a hazard that will be in an area for a while, a floor sign is needed to let people passing through know what and where they should take caution.

Because floor signs need to be able to bring attention to a hazardous situation, signs should be placed far enough in advance that the sign is seen before the hazard.

A sign shouldn’t be placed too far from the hazard either. If a sign is placed too far, it could be misunderstood as not being connected to the safety risk.

As soon as the hazard in the area is resolved, whether it be a working hazard or a slip risk, the floor sign should be removed as well.

Types of Caution Floor Signs

Caution signs are indicators that alert others that there is a chance of minor to moderate injury as a result of potential hazards or unsafe practices in the area.

There are 4 main types of caution floor signs:

• Floor Decals
• Stand Up Floor Signs
• Cone Signs
• Hanging Barriers

Floor Decals 

Floor decals are signs that are affixed to the floor to convey a caution message. These signs usually are attached using some kind of adhesive to make sure they aren’t lifting or raised to cause a slip or trip hazard.

Some floor decals also have a slip-resistant coating that reduces the risk of your guests walking on a slippery decal.

Stand Up Floor Signs 

A stand-up floor sign is most useful for temporary situations like slip and fall hazards or wet floors. These signs usually have 2 sides to display the caution warning so it’s visible from at least two different directions.

Cone Signs 

Cone signs, much like stand-up floor signs, are useful for short-term hazards. The difference between cone signs and stand-up floor signs, though, is that the warning is on all four sides of the cone.

Hanging Barriers

Hanging barriers are signs that block off an area so that your guests don’t come into contact with hazardous conditions.

How To Select The Best One For The Hazard Present

The type of floor sign you’ll use to alert the people in your building of a hazard depends on the size of the hazard and how long it will be present.

For smaller temporary hazards, you can use either a stand-up floor sign or a cone sign. They can be placed and removed easily which makes them useful for short-term situations, like small spills and wet floors.

For larger temporary hazards, you may find that a hanging barrier is more efficient. These signs can block off large areas and can be hung through tension on the wall or using cones. This type of sign is easy to place and remove so it can be used for larger wet floors or forklift use.

For hazards that are present for a long time, a floor decal is the best option. These signs are attached to the floor, so they will remain on the floor without movement. Since floor decals aren’t as easy to remove as the other sign types, they’re best for long-standing hazards, like temperature warnings and required protection reminders.

What Are Examples Of Common Warning Signs?

Warning signs can alert the people in your building to different types of hazards in your building.

You can use floor signs in your facility to warn of different hazards, including:

• Wet Floor Signs
• Watch for Forklift Signs
• Trip/Slip/Fall Hazard Signs
• Open Slowly Signs
• Proceed With Caution Signs
• Mask/Eye/Ear/Hand Protection Required Signs
• Temperature Warning Signs
• Use Handrail Signs
• Watch Your Step Signs

Benefits of Floor Signs

Using caution floor signs correctly in your facility can have many benefits for your business. Some of these benefits include:

• Reduced Risk of Slips and Falls
• Lower Insurance Costs (Guests)
• Lower Workman’s Compensation Costs (Employees)
• Reduced Reworks

Reduced Risks of Slips and Falls

Floor signs, as we’ve mentioned before, alert the people in your building to hazards that could cause them injury. By using them, your guests are aware of how they can reduce their chances of being hurt.

Without a sign present and in the correct place, the people in your building may unknowingly walk onto wet or slippery floors and injure themselves.

If you use floor signs properly in your building, the chances of a slip and fall incident are lowered because the sign lets people know where the floor is wet so they can avoid it.

Lower Insurance Costs (Guests)

One of the major benefits of implementing floor signs in your building is lowered costs associated with lawsuits and insurance.

When guests are injured in your facility due to hazards not being labeled correctly, you can have higher lawsuit and insurance costs.

Floor signs are critical to communicating that you are aware of a hazardous situation in your facility. If a guest happens to slip on your floor with a floor sign present, you have a lower chance of being considered negligent.

Lower Workman’s Compensation Costs (Employees)

Worker injuries can cost your business in workman’s compensation, lost workdays, and staff productivity.

If your facility uses floor signs to communicate hazards associated with work tasks, you can stop most preventable accidents. Your staff will be aware of any long or short term hazards that exist in the area they work in.

Fewer workplace injuries mean your staff will have a reduced number of workman’s compensation claims, which saves your business money.

Reduced Reworks

An important part of floor maintenance is making sure that floors are properly dried before they are walked on.

If your floors are walked on before they are allowed to dry, your janitorial staff may need to perform floor cleaning processes again due to damage.

Floor signs can let your guests and employees know where floor cleaning has recently been completed.

You can keep people from walking on your newly applied floor finish and causing smudgess. Floor finish that hasn’t dried can cause your floors to be slippery and increase the risk of injury.

You can also avoid having freshly cleaned carpets stepped on, which can cause increased dirt. Walking on a wet carpet can attract more dirt, which could lead to your floors needing reworks.

How Much Do Floor Signs Cost

The cost of floor signs depends on both the type of floor sign you’re looking to purchase and the size of the sign.

In general, larger signs are more expensive, but they cover larger hazards and offer more protection from injury.

Safety Floor Decal Cost

Floor decals can be the most expensive type of floor sign because they come in a variety of signs. You can purchase a small circular floor decal or a decal that covers the floor space that  door covers when it opens.

These signs start at $15 depending on the size of the sign you’re purchasing.

Stand-up Safety Floor Signs Cost

Stand-up floor signs start at $10. Larger signs are on the higher end of the pricing spectrum along with signs that have bilingual messaging on them.

Floor Cone Safety Signs Cost

Cone signs start at around $15. Since cones are visible from all sides, they are more expensive than regular 2-sided standing signs.

Hanging Safety Barrier Signs Cost

Hanging barriers start at around $20. The price of hanging signs varies based on size.

Final Thoughts

If you’ve been looking into ways to increase the safety in your facility while also lowering liability costs, floor signs could be a beneficial addition.

Caution floor signs make people aware of potential hazards and give them an idea of how they can avoid them. They can be placed near a temporary or longer-term hazard.

According to the regulations of OSHA and ANSI, caution floor signs should be yellow with black text. These signs could have a black header and border, as well. If you are concerned about language differences, signs can also have universal safety symbols to convey the hazard.

To ensure that the people in your building are safe, caution floor signs should be placed in areas where they are visible. They should also be placed in a location that is close enough to make sure they’re able to be associated with the hazard they’re alerting to.

Depending on how long a hazard will be present, you can use different types of floor signs. Cone and stand-up floor signs are best for temporary hazards while floor decals are better for ongoing hazards.

By alerting the people in your building to safety risks, they can avoid injuries and reduce the amount of money you spend on insurance, lawsuits, and workers’ comp claims.

If you’re interested in looking for ways to increase the safety in your facility to lower overall costs, Imperial Dade locations have a broad selection of caution floor signs to fit the needs, budget, and demands of your business. We would love to help you whether you’re located in the United States, Puerto Rico, or the Caribbean.

Contact a specialist for a review of the safety equipment in your facility.