FLOOR MARKING GUIDE A GUIDE TO MARKING YOUR FACILITY’S FLOORS IN ACCORDANCE WITH OSHA REGULATIONS
OSHA regulations require that permanent aisles and passageways must be marked appropriately and in a consistent manner
plant-wide. (OSHA Standard 1910.22)
REGULATIONS AND STANDARDS
One of the top OSHA violations is “Walking/Work Surface Violations” with an average
fine of $1,632 per individual violation. These violations are issued when areas where
employees’ walk/work areas are not clearly marked to identify safe pathways or
highlight dangerous areas. OSHA Standard 1910.22 dictates that all companies must
mark these areas to prevent accidents or injuries.
Beyond avoiding OSHA fines and protecting your employees, many companies mark
their floors to enhance their visual organization in the workplace, marking locations in
a uniform manner and color scheme that allows employees to quickly identify areas
and potential hazards based on color. This can greatly enhance workflow in addition to the provided safety benefits.
COLORS
Although OSHA has clear guidelines that require marking of permanent aisles and passageways, they are non-specific as to what colors should
be used. There are actually no current government-mandated standards defining the colors for marking floors.
Earlier versions of ANSI Z535.1 Safety Color Code were referenced by some safety professionals to dictate floor marking colors for specific
hazards, but in fact this section was intended for safety signage- and furthermore, the section was removed entirely in the 2002 edition.
With that being said, there is a basic color code recommendation (below) that is widely accepted which complies with any interpretation of OSHA
or ANSI codes. As previously mentioned, this scheme isn’t set by law, so it can be modified to fit the needs of specific facilities, and stands as a
useful starting point for most applications.
YELLOW – Aisleways & Traffic Lanes; ‘Paths of Egress’; Work Cells
WHITE – Production -OR- Racks, Machines, Carts, Benches, and other equipment that doesn’t fall under any other guidelines
RED – Defect/Scrap Area; Red Tag Area
ORANGE – Materials or Product Inspection -OR- Energized Equipment
GREEN – Raw Materials -OR- First Aid-Related Locations
BLUE – Works-In-Progress
BLACK – Finished Goods
BLACK/YELLOW – Areas which present physical or health risks to employees. Indicates that extra caution is to be exercised.
RED/WHITE – Areas to be kept clear for safety reasons (around emergency access points, electrical panels, firefighting equipment, etc.)
BLACK/WHITE – Areas to be kept clear for operational purposes (non-safety related)
PHYSICAL LINE WIDTH
To ensure maximum visibility and awareness, the required minimum width
required for facility aisle and floor marking lines is 2” wide- therefore, any width
above that is considered acceptable by OSHA and ANSI. Most typical applications use tape or painted lines with 2” – 6” widths.
Widths above 6” tend to be much more cost-prohibitive and impractical to apply.
AISLE WIDTHS
OSHA’s general requirement for aisles and passagewaysis that “sufficient safe clearances”
must be provided where mechanical equipment is used. The width required will vary
depending upon how the aisle is utilized in the workplace – as aisles that utilize forklift and
truck traffic will need to be wider than aisles for pedestrian traffic. A good average aisle
width is 36 inches.
OSHA regulations are more specific about aisle widths inside storage rooms containing
flammable and combustible liquids- in these cases, aisles must be at least three feet
wide.
Additionally, for emergency exit access points, 28 inches is the minimum allowed width
FLOOR SIGNAGE
One of the best ways to visually communicate safety and informational messages is
through the use of floor signage. Typically made from an industrial PVC or vinyl,
these signs can use graphics and written text to relay information that is not
obvious from floor lines and markings alone. These signs are often used for
safety alerts, directional information, and marking resting locations for items
such as trash cans, rolling toolboxes, and pallet jacks.
The use of multiple high-impact floor signs throughout a facility or work area can
greatly increase awareness to your message.
BOWLES ELECTROSTATIC PAINTING CAN HELP
Bowles Electrostatic Painting lines and striping are all done with paint. Therefore there is no pealing or tearing like there is when using tape lines. Our lines are permanent as we prep all area by blastracing first. then paint the line. The line is recessed into the floor everso slightly as not to have any edges that can be pulled or torn by forklift traffic.
If you have any questions regarding floor marking regulations or products, please give us a call or send us an email- we’d be glad to assist you!
We can be reached at 502-933-2768 Monday -Friday, 8:00am-4:00pm, or via email: Bowlespainting1@aol.com
