Document ID: 31992L0058

COUNCIL DIRECTIVE 92/58/EEC
of 24 June 1992
on the minimum requirements for the provision of safety and /or health signs at work (ninth individual Directive within the meaning of Article 16 (1) of Directive 89/391/EEC)
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community, and in particular Article 118 a thereof,
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission (1), submitted following consultation of the Advisory Committee on Safety, Hygiene and Health Protection at Work,
In cooperation with the European Parliament (2),
Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social Committee (3),
Whereas Article 118 a of the Treaty provides that the Council must adopt, by means of directives, minimum requirements to encourage improvements, especially in the working environment, as regards the health and safety of workers;
Whereas, under that Article, such directives must avoid imposing administrative, financial and legal constraints in a way which would hold back the creation and development of small and medium-sized undertakings;
Whereas the Commission communication on its programme concerning safety, hygiene and health at work (4) provides for a revision and extension of the scope of Council Directive. 77/576/EEC of 25 July 1977 on the approximation of the laws, regulations and administrative provisions of the Member States relating to the provision of safety signs at places at work (5);
Whereas, in its Resolution of 21 December 1987 on safety, hygiene, and health at work (6), the Council took note of the Commission's intention of submitting to it within a short period of time a proposal for revising and extending the abovementioned Directive;
Whereas Directive 77/576/EEC should be replaced by this Directive for the sake of consistency and clarity;
Whereas this Directive is an individual Directive within the meaning of Article 16 (l)of Council Directive 89/391/EEC of 12 June 1989 on the introduction of measures to encourage improvements in the safety and health of workers at work (7); wheres the provisions of Directive 89/391/EEC therefore apply in full to the provision of safety and health signs at work, without prejudice to more stringent and/or specific provisions contained in this Directive;
Whereas existing Community rules relate mainly to safety signs and the marking of dangerous obstacles and locations, and are therefore restricted to a limited number of types of signs;
Whereas the effect of this restriction is that some hazards are not appropriately marked; whereas new types of signs should therefore be introduced in order to enable employers and workers to identify and avoid risks to safety and/or health at work;
Whereas safety and/or health signs must be provided where hazards cannot be adequately reduced by techniques for collective protection or by measures, methods or procedures used in the organization of work;
Whereas the many differences between the safety and/or health signs currently in use in the Member States lead to uncertainty, and this may become more widespread with the free movement of workers within the internal market;
Whereas the use of standardized signs at work is, in general, likely to reduce the hazards which may arise from linguistic and cultural differences between workers;
Whereas this Directive constitutes a tangible step towards developing the social dimension of the internal market;
Whereas, pursuant to Decision 74/325/EEC (8), as last amended by the Act of Accession of Spain and Portugal, the Advisory Committee on Safety, Hygiene and Health Protection at Work is to be consulted by the Commission on the drafting of proposals in this field,
HAS ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE:
SECTION I
GENERAL PROVISIONS
Article 1
Object
1. This Directive, which is the ninth individual Directive within the meaning of Article 16 (1) of Directive 89/391/EEC, lays down minimum requirements for the provision of safety and /or health signs at work.
2. This Directive shall not apply to signs for the placing on the market of dangerous substances and preparations, products and /or equipment, unless other Community provisions make specific reference thereto.
3. This Directive shall not apply to signs used for regulating road, rail, inland waterway, sea or air transport.
4. The provisions of Directive 89/391/EEC shall apply in full to the whole area referred to in paragraph 1, without prejudice to more stringent and /or specific provisions in this Directive.
Article 2
Definitions
For the purposes of this Directive:
(a)
safety and/or health signs means signs referring to a specific object, activity or situation and providing information or instructions about safety and/or health at work by means of a signboard, a colour, an illuminated sign or acoustic signal, a verbal communication or a hand signal, as the case may be;
(b)
prohibition sign means a sign prohibiting behaviour likely to incur or cause danger;
(c)
warning sign means a sign giving warning of a hazard or danger;
(d)
mandatory sign means a sign prescribing specific behaviour;
(e)
emergency escape or first-aid sign means a sign giving information on emergency exits or first-aid or rescue facilities;
(f)
information sign means a sign providing information other than that referred to in (b) to (e);
(g)
signboard means a sign which provides specific information by a combination of a geometric shape, colours and a symbol or pictogram and which is rendered visible by lighting of sufficient intensity;
(h)
supplementary signboard means a signboard used together with one of the signs described under (g), which provides supplementary information;
(i)
safety colour means a colour to which a specific meaning is assigned;
(j)
Symbol or pictogram means a figure which describes a situation or prescribes specific behaviour and which is used on a signboard or illuminated surface;
(k)
illuminated sign means a sign produced by a device made of transparent or translucent materials which are illuminated from the inside or the rear in such a way as to give the appearance of a luminous surface;
(l)
acoustic signal means a coded sound signal which is released and transmitted by a device designed for that purpose, without the use of a human or artificial voice;
(m)
verbal communication means a predetermined spoken message communicated by a human or artificial voice;
(n)
hand signal a movement and/or position of the arms and /or hands, in coded form, for guiding persons who are carrying out manoeuvres which constitute a hazard or danger for workers.
SECTION II
EMPLOYERS' OBLIGATIONS
Article 3
General rules
1. Employers shall provide safety and/or health signs as laid down in this Directive where hazards cannot be avoided or adequately reduced by techniques for collective protection or measures, methods or procedures used in the organization of work, or ensure that such signs are in place.
Employers shall take into account any risk evaluation made in accordance with Article 6 (3) (a) of Directive 89/391/EEC.
2. Without prejudice to the provisions of Annex V, the signs used for road, rail, inland waterway, sea and air transport shall be installed, wherever appropriate for such forms of transport, inside undertakings and/or firms.
Article 4
Safety and/or health signs used for the first time
Without prejudice to Article 6, a safety and /or health sign used at work for the first time on or after the date referred to in Article 11 (1) first subparagraph must fulfil the minimum requirements set out in Annexes I to IX.
Article 5
Safety and/or health signs already in use
Without prejudice to Article 6, a safety and/or health sign which was already in use at work before the date referred to in Article 11 (1) first subparagraph must fulfil the minimum requirements set out in Annexes I to IX by no later than eighteen months after that date.
Article 6
Exemptions
1. Taking account of the types of activity and/or size of the undertakings concerned, Member States may specify categories of undertakings allowed to replace totally, partially or temporarily the illuminated signs, and /or acoustic signals provided for in this Directive by alternative measures which afford the same level of protection.
2. Member States may derogate, after consulting both sides of industry, from the application of Annex VIII, section 2 and/or Annex IX, section 3, whilst laying down alternative measures guaranteeing the same level of protection.
3. Member States shall consult, in accordance with national laws and/or practice, employers' and workers' organizations when implementing paragraph 1.
Article 7
Information and instruction for workers
1. Without prejudice to Article 10 of Directive 89/391/EEC, workers and/or their representatives shall be informed of all the measures to be taken concerning the safety and /or health signs used at work.
2. Without prejudice to Article 12 of Directive 89/391 /EEC, workers must be given suitable instruction, in particular in the form of specific directions concerning the safety and /or health signs used at work.
In particular, the instruction referred to in the first subparagraph shall cover the meaning of the signs, especially signs incorporating words, and the general and specific behaviour to be adopted.
Article 8
Consultation of workers and workers' participation
Consultation and participation of workers and/or their representatives shall take place in accordance with Article 11 of Directive 89/391/EEC on the matters covered by this Directive, including Annexes I to IX.
SECTION III
MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS
Article 9
Adaptation of the Annexes
Adaptations of a technical nature to Annexes I to IX shall be adopted, in accordance with the procedure provided for in Article 17 of Directive 89/391/EEC, in the light of:
-
the adoption of directives on technical harmonization and standadization concerning the design and manufacture of safety and/or health signs or devices at work,
-
technical progress, changes in international rules or specifications and advances in knowledge in the field of safety and/or health signs at work.
Article 10
1. Directive 77/576/EEC shall be repealed on the date referred to in Article 11 (1), first subparagraph.
However, in the cases referred to in Article 5, that Directive shall continue to apply for a maximum period of eighteen months following that date.
2. Any reference to the repealed Directive shall be taken to refer to the corresponding provisions of this Directive.
Article 11
Final provisions
1. Member States shall bring into force the laws, regulations and administrative provisions required to comply with this Directive no later than 24 June 1994.
They shall immediately inform the Commission thereof.
2. When Member States adopt these measures they shall contain a reference to this Directive or shall be accompanied by such reference on the occasion of their official publication. The methods of making such a reference shall be laid down by the Member States.
3. Member States shall communicate to the Commission the text of the provisions of domestic law which they have already adopted or adopt in the field covered by this Directive.
4. Member States shall report to the Commission every five years on the practical implementation of the provisions of this Directive, indicating the views of employers and workers.
The Commission shall inform the European Parliament, the Council, the Economic and Social Committee and the Advisory Committee on Safety, Hygiene and Health at Work thereof.
5. The Commission shall forward periodically to the European Parliament, the Council and the Economic and Social Committee a report on the implementation of this Directive, taking into account paragraphs 1 to 4.
Article 12
This Directive is addressed to the Member States.
Done at Luxembourg, 24 June 1992.

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