Category Archive: Omega Industrial Products

The Psychology of Safety Colors

What do you think of when you see the color yellow(Safety Color)?

For most people, it radiates feelings of warmth, joy, optimism, confidence, inspiration, and positive energy. As a long-wavelength color — the brightest on the visible spectrum — yellow is also the most noticeable shade to the human eye, known to stimulate mental activity and awareness.

osha safety colors

The psychology of color:

The psychology of color is a fascinating field, deeply rooted in brain activity and inherent human nature. Yellow, for example, has been shown to activate certain mental processes, stimulate the nervous system, and even trigger memories. It also encourages communication and analytical thinking.

Because it is the brightest color to the human eye, yellow is frequently used for warning signs or to designate areas in which caution should be taken. As a manufacturer of industrial safety products for 30 years, OMEGA Industrial Products took a look at some of the major colors involved in the making of our products.

The colors can vary as much as the spectrum and different federal agencies prescribe different colors for different safety designations.

Yellow:

Purpose: Yellow should be the basic color for designating caution and marking physical hazards. (OHSA)

Yellow is the most easily noticeable color and is used to mark attention-grabbing safety precautions such as pedestrian crossings, yield signs, and the “slow” signal at three-color traffic lights.

Yellow is also used within the industrial space; construction vehicles, hard hats, caution tape, safety vests, and cones are often manufactured in shades of bright yellow to quickly catch passersby or workers’ attention and heighten safety awareness.

Yellow is meant to highlight instruction and warnings. While OSHA does not designate a color for handrails or guard rails, it is a general industrial practice to paint them yellow — a color that stands out within facilities and outdoor areas.

Green:

Purpose: Green should indicate safety-related instructions, procedures or the locations of safety equipment. (ANSI)

In the early days of railroads in the nineteenth century, white light was used as the indicator for “go,” green was for “caution,” and red was for “stop.” However, after a missing red lens caused an accident after a train failed to halt, green became the signal for “go” and yellow was selected as the new “caution” color, as it was distinct from the other two hues.

Today, the color green is often associated with safety and is used to direct people. Because it is not as “intrusive” as the color red or yellow, it has the ability to blend in while still being recognizable. In industrial facilities, green is often used to designate safe areas and first-aid equipment.

Red:

Purpose: Red should identify fire protection equipment, danger signs, containers of flammable liquids, and “STOP” buttons or switches. (OSHA)

Red attracts attention because of its urgency; it usually signifies danger or “stop.” OSHA recommends using red to identify fire protection equipment, fire alarms, exits, stop signals, machinery stop switches and sprinkler pipes. The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) designates red as the color to be used for sprinkler systems and fire protection materials.

Available Paint Colors at OMEGA:

As a leading supplier of safety products and barriers, OMEGA uses “Traffic Safety Yellow” in each of our products to ensure that all of your industrial workplace safety standards are met and workers are kept safe. Custom Colors are available for an additional fee. From rack and pipe guards, rails, and cable shields to stairways, pipe bollards, and floor angles, we offer a variety of products that can be easily customized to meet your specific needs.

We offer a convenient Paint Color Data Sheet that distinguishes between the colors we offer for our products. Download the datasheet as a reference for selecting the right color for your safety product.

paint-color-options-data-sheet
Download the Data Sheet

Add Flexibility and Easy Access with Quick-Step Systems

Whether you need exterior access stairs, interior risers or steps leading to a crossover platform, Omega Industrial Products offers Quick-Step stairs that are up to the task.

Omega’s Quick-Step systems are prebuilt to install in any location you need quickly. Using our years of experience, we’ve engineered these durable and reliable stairs that can be used in nearly any industrial or business application. Whether for use in a loading dock, access to construction trailers, or as egress as a fire exit, these stairs are designed to handle heavy traffic, constructed to withstand the elements, and built to comply with all OSHA requirements.

 

 

Another way that the Quick-Step system stands above the rest is our adaptable design that allows you to account for changes that may happen during site construction. If your measurements are slightly off or you’re anchoring to uneven floors, it’s no problem thanks to the exclusive design of the Quick-Step system. Once the top and bottom treads are set, all the remaining steps fall into place, creating a uniform rise that adjusts to the anchor step placements – an adaptable feature that simply isn’t possible with welded stairs.

All of Omega’s Quick-Step stairways are built using the highest quality heavy-gauge structural steel and offer a variety of step tread designs, including bar grating, concrete coated and grip strut steps, to provide additional stability and traction in any application. With Quick-Step stairs, you can save time without sacrificing safety by having a customizable stairway solution pre-manufactured and shipped to your job site without having to wait for a full custom-welded stairway to be designed, measured and installed. All stairways are also available in custom lengths and rises to meet your specific needs, plus with our safety handrails you can install a completely compliant solution that meets all safety requirements in no time at all!

Find out more about our full range of pre-manufactured Quick-Step stairway solutions today. Complete our online quote form or contact us today to discuss your specific project’s needs.

Keep ‘Em Out, Keep ‘Em Safe

Recently, Omega Industrial Products introduced a new product to its lineup of great safety products: The Roll-Up-Fence. The R-U-F offers an entirely new way to protect job sites, prevent accidents and so much more.

The R-U-F is comprised of highly durable and flexible materials that make it incredibly versatile for a wide range of uses. This lightweight barrier is made of high-strength aluminum, making it exceptionally light and easy to move and install. With a small footprint when retracted, the R-U-F can be easily managed, moved and installed by a single person in a matter of seconds, making it the perfect choice for quick-moving situations, like allowing through emergency responders or rapidly changing crowd flow.

With both horizontal coverage and vertical blockage, the R-U-F is much more effective at directing pedestrian traffic than yellow safety tape, which can easily be avoided or blown away. The R-U-F is also much more adaptable and portable than barricade sawhorses and bike rack-style barriers commonly used methods by municipalities, police or public works departments. In just its first year in production, the R-U-F has already found a wide variety of uses, ranging from cordoning off crowds and managing the flow of pedestrians at public events, sports venues, community festivals and concerts to establishing exclusion zones on construction and public works projects that cross into pedestrian rights of way and sidewalks.

Take a look at this great video that shows how quickly and effectively the R-U-F can be unrolled, installed and removed, you’re sure to see exactly how this fantastic product can work for you and your organization.

For more information on the Roll-Up-Fence or any of Omega Industrial Products’ other great safety devices, contact us today.