Overview
ISO 13200:1995 - "Cranes - Safety signs and hazard pictorials - General principles" defines international principles for designing and applying permanently affixed safety signs and hazard pictorials on cranes (as defined in ISO 4306-1). The standard was developed for mobile cranes and covers sign formats, panel composition, colours, pictorial types, wording and placement guidance to ensure consistent, effective crane safety signage across regions.
Key topics and requirements
- Objectives: Alert users to hazards, identify the hazard, explain consequences, and instruct how to avoid the hazard.
- Sign formats: Four standard formats - (1) Signal Panel + Message Panel, (2) Signal + Pictorial + Message, (3) Pictorial + Message, (4) Two pictorial panels (hazard + avoidance). Vertical layout preferred but horizontal allowed.
- Signal words & safety alert symbol: Three signal words for personal-injury hazards - DANGER, WARNING, CAUTION - used according to severity. A standardized safety alert symbol (exclamation mark in triangle or a variant) accompanies signal words.
- Pictorials: Two types - hazard description (shows the hazard/consequence) and hazard avoidance (shows required safe actions). Pictorials may be combined but typically address one hazard per pictorial.
- Colours and graphics: Explicit colour rules:
- DANGER: white word on red Signal Panel; red exclamation on white triangle.
- WARNING: black word on orange Signal Panel; orange exclamation on black triangle.
- CAUTION: black word on yellow Signal Panel; yellow exclamation on black triangle.
- Pictorials: black pictorial on white background when a Signal word is present; black pictorial on yellow when using the safety alert triangle/outline.
- Prohibition indicators (e.g., forbidden actions) shall be red.
- Borders, panel separation lines and other colour relationships are specified; recommended dimensions are provided (flexible by application).
- Placement & usage: Signs should be visible, located near the hazard or control, durable, and protected from damage. Avoid overuse - effectiveness degrades when excessive signs are used (experience suggests effectiveness drops beyond about seven signs).
- Languages & no-text signs: Text signs should use languages of the product’s country of use. No-text pictorial signs must be accompanied by an operator-manual reference and corresponding manual translations.
Applications
ISO 13200 is applied to:
- Safety labeling on mobile cranes and lifting equipment.
- Equipment design and manufacturing specifications for crane controls, booms, cab, and service points.
- Operator and maintenance manuals (to explain pictorials and no-text signs).
- Site safety implementation where crane signage must meet international colour/format conventions.
Who uses this standard
- Crane manufacturers and OEMs
- Safety engineers and product designers
- Technical writers preparing operator/service manuals
- Site safety managers, inspectors and regulators
- Purchasing and compliance teams specifying safety markings
Related standards
- ISO 4306-1 (crane vocabulary)
- References harmonised in the document: prEN 5099-1, EC Directive 89/392/EEC, and national safety sign standards (US national standard referenced in the original text)
Keywords: ISO 13200, crane safety signs, hazard pictorials, safety alert symbol, signal words, pictorial panel, message panel, colour coding, mobile crane safety.