​Do Caution and Hazard Stickers Really Work?

Sometimes we hear people saying stuff like “Do caution labels really work? Are people really paying any attention to hazard stickers?” To put it bluntly, yes. And even if they’re not consciously paying attention to them, it’s still vitally important that you keep them up-to-date and in plain view? Why? Let’s check out this scenario:

Let’s say that you have a compactor in your warehouse and have the appropriate danger decals on it. Over the years it’s been banged into so many times by carts, belt buckles, and the stuff being tossed in that it’s become completely unreadable.

Here are the reasons that you should replace it with a fresh caution label as soon as possible.

Protect the New People

If you have an industrial compactor, it’s unlikely that you’re the only one who uses it. You might have five, 10, or 50 employees who are working around and with it. The chances that every person you hire is going to work out and be with the company for 30 years are slim-to-none, and that means that there will occasionally (or perpetually) be new employees.

With worn-off stickers, new employees didn’t know that sticker used to be there, so they might not be aware of the danger associated with the compactor. Do they know that it starts automatically? They will with this sticker. Do they know that everything should be in the compactor before it starts, and that they shouldn’t feed it while it’s on? This sticker can tell them.

We’re dealing with something called a compactor, which could obviously hurt someone. And any piece of equipment that could possibly cause injury should have the proper safety decals. We know that you care about the safety of your employees. Of course, you also have to worry about your...

Legal Requirements

Do hazard stickers really work? They can certainly work by helping you conform to legal standards. OSHA requires that dangerous equipment not only be in proper working order but also be labeled in order to warn employees about the dangers at hand. Leaving a sticker off, even if it’s because it has worn off, could put you in violation and incur fines. (OSHA fines can be as high as $126,000 for repeat violations.) It certainly makes that $0.47 caution sticker quite the bargain!

Of course, it’s not just the violation of OSHA requirements that could get you into legal trouble. If something tragic happens and a worker is injured or killed, there’s going to be legal trouble for your company no matter what you do. But if you can prove that you’ve done everything possible to prevent the accident from happening — such as proper training and clearly-visible caution stickers — then any lawsuits you incur could be considerably less.

It’s a Constant Reminder

It’s true, workers aren’t going to read the safety decals every single time. But the size and shape of it reminds them of the time that they did read it. This means that the danger of the machinery at hand will be treated with more respect. (As a simple example, you’d stop at a stop sign even if it said “SKOP,” wouldn’t you?)

Do caution labels and danger stickers work? Yes. And we have what you need. Check them all out here and keep your employees safe!