Usually when people think of the safety of
a workplace or a factory, they tend to think of fall protection, defense
against hazardous materials and the safety of machines and the like. However,
few people realize how important pipe marking can be for the safety of the people working in a particular
environment. They forget that it is very important to know what particular
pipes are carrying in them. They need to know if the contents
are hazardous and if they are, how their spillage needs to be dealt with. Publishing
that information on a pipe greatly helps the workers to understand this.
The ANSI
The American government was quick to
realize the importance of pipe-marking and the importance it carried for
workplace safety. IT realized that one needed to be able to tell the contents
of one pipe from the other and thus, it set up a few rules and regulations that
all workplaces, especially all factory environments have to follow in order to
run smoothly and get a license to do so as well. They have set up some rules as
to how pipe-marking is to be carried out. These requirements are not enforced
by the OHSA but are certainly recommended by them since they have proven to be
helpful. They contain information about how a pipe should be marked, the color
to be used in order to mark it up and the like. This makes it easier for
workers to look for a specific marker when they need to read instructions.
Regulations
The regulations set up by the ANSI for pipe markingrequire the workers to
consider a few elements before going into details. Firstly, one has to consider
the color of the marker. For many workplace conditions, these markers are
supposed to be either red, orange or yellow. The colors used are supposed to be
bright and attention grabbing so that people know their importance and their
location. Next, the size of both the marker and the text needs to be
determined. Again, this should be huge and attention gaining to really have any
importance. Lastly, the location of the markers needs to be decided and one
must ensure they are all marked in the same place so that the workers do not
have to spend an eternity looking for them.
The Color
Many different colored markers usually have
a different meaning for the pipe and depending on the type of material inside,
the color varies greatly. For quick and easy identification, one needs to make
sure that the marker has a distinct color for each material. A red marker with
white test is supposed to be used for a fluid that helps to put out fires. An
orange marker that has black text is supposed to convey that the content
contains toxic and corrosive materials. For flammable fluids, one is supposed
to use a yellow marker with black text. When a brown marker with white text is
used, one is supposed to be prepared for combustible material. A green marker
with white text is supposed to signify water and other cooling materials.
Lastly, blue marker with white text is supposed to carry compressed air.
Locations
The locations for pipe marking are very important to get right since when people are
looking to check instructions, they will have to look at this specific place.
The location needs to be adjacent to any changes in direction, along with being
adjacent to calves. They must also be there on wall penetrations and lastly,
they need to be placed on the pipe after every twenty-five to fifty-feet
intervals so that one does not have to travel a long distance in order to read
what the marker says.
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