3 ms·

Some of these pictograms remind me of the old 2003 (?) era ready.gov terrorism awareness pictograms[1]. M055—To induce a temper-tantrum in the kid, take away t

by dhx 4y ago

Some of these pictograms remind me of the old 2003 (?) era ready.gov terrorism awareness pictograms[1]. M055—To induce a temper-tantrum in the kid, take away the box of cookies they've half eaten. W041—Shower every day or you'll be a loner surrounded by a swarm of flies.[2] [1] https://web.archive.org/web/20040902165319/https://smithplanet.com/stuff/warnings.htm https://web.archive.org/web/20040902165319/https://smithplan... (note: not the original site and I'm not sure where the meme originated from, but this site appears to have the largest collection of examples from a quick search) [2] Yes I know it's probably for a lighter-than-air gas hazard in confined space hazard, but in reality why would this pictogram be chosen instead of a textual sign like https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7e/Confined_space_warning_01.jpg https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7e/Confined... and possibly also use of M047 Use breathing equipment (SCBA) and if you really want to get a message across, also W016 Toxic material (even if its not toxic this sign says "keep the hell out" like no other sign does).

MichaelCollins 4y ago
I think the pinnacle of keep the hell out signs is this custom sign warning against cave diving: https://c1.staticflickr.com/7/6120/6340400769_0be3304d64_b.jpg https://c1.staticflickr.com/7/6120/6340400769_0be3304d64_b.j... 1) Skeletons of divers and a personification of death. The skeleton with a sickle thing might not be culturally universal, but the message is probably clear enough. 2) It gives clear rational justifications for itself, for the rebellious who might otherwise question a command given without justification. 3) It's a custom sign. Sometimes it seems warning signs are slapped on things out of an overabundance of caution because somebody has a stack of signs and nowhere else to put them. Not this sign. Somebody went out of their way to have this sign custom made, so it must be serious.
- dhx 4y ago
  I too think it is good sign for the reasons you describe. However at least with cave diving the hazards only present themselves after someone has undergone training and gained experience which would make abundantly clear what type of hazards exist. I think one of the worst types of hazards and one of the hardest to signpost is presented by low head dams. Signs are absolutely needed to make it abundantly clear it is not a half baked risk of serious injury or possible death. It's certain death. Signs need to describe and illustrate why it's a certain death because people coming across the hazard will typically have no idea what hazard lies in front of them. Signs need to describe why you can't save someone trapped in a recirculating current or you too will have a certain death. Use of generic signs would likely be downplayed because there there is a saturation of other swift water related (don't swim here/strong undercurrent/risk of flash flooding/etc) signs all over the place that mean people may be complacent. For occupational hazards, I would suspect that crush hazards and asphyxiation hazards (confined spaces such as tanks and silos etc) are amongst the worst types of hazards. They're typically very hard hazards to control for (can't just screen/shield the hazard away from operators), it's easy for even well trained people to make mistakes, and hazards can frequently be hard to determine by operators.

by dhx 4y ago

MichaelCollins 4y ago

I think the pinnacle of keep the hell out signs is this custom sign warning against cave diving: https://c1.staticflickr.com/7/6120/6340400769_0be3304d64_b.jpg https://c1.staticflickr.com/7/6120/6340400769_0be3304d64_b.j... 1) Skeletons of divers and a personification of death. The skeleton with a sickle thing might not be culturally universal, but the message is probably clear enough. 2) It gives clear rational justifications for itself, for the rebellious who might otherwise question a command given without justification. 3) It's a custom sign. Sometimes it seems warning signs are slapped on things out of an overabundance of caution because somebody has a stack of signs and nowhere else to put them. Not this sign. Somebody went out of their way to have this sign custom made, so it must be serious.

dhx 4y ago
I too think it is good sign for the reasons you describe. However at least with cave diving the hazards only present themselves after someone has undergone training and gained experience which would make abundantly clear what type of hazards exist. I think one of the worst types of hazards and one of the hardest to signpost is presented by low head dams. Signs are absolutely needed to make it abundantly clear it is not a half baked risk of serious injury or possible death. It's certain death. Signs need to describe and illustrate why it's a certain death because people coming across the hazard will typically have no idea what hazard lies in front of them. Signs need to describe why you can't save someone trapped in a recirculating current or you too will have a certain death. Use of generic signs would likely be downplayed because there there is a saturation of other swift water related (don't swim here/strong undercurrent/risk of flash flooding/etc) signs all over the place that mean people may be complacent. For occupational hazards, I would suspect that crush hazards and asphyxiation hazards (confined spaces such as tanks and silos etc) are amongst the worst types of hazards. They're typically very hard hazards to control for (can't just screen/shield the hazard away from operators), it's easy for even well trained people to make mistakes, and hazards can frequently be hard to determine by operators.