How to Label Control Panels
- 1). Label all of your controls for safety first. If you have an emergency shut-off button, it should be big and obviously visible. Marking it with red and white hash marks makes it universally recognized as a stop process. Yellow and black hash marks are also used in military installations and overseas to represent caution. Make sure that labels are short and succinct to clearly identify what each button does.
- 2). Identify common processes and associate them with easily recognized colors. Stop buttons should be red and start buttons should be green. Neutral colors ranging from yellows to blues are a good choice for warning lights. The more critical a warning light, the brighter and more vibrant its color should be. Be wary of using too many lights because this can distract the worker from important safety lights.
- 3). Add connection diagrams where appropriate to enable the worker to identify what systems connect to others and assist in troubleshooting devices. These can be positioned slightly out of the way, such as behind panels and on the sides of devices. Make sure these diagrams still have good access to light without having to resort to a flashlight.
- 4). Consider grouping areas with common functions or processes together. This means all the buttons used in a start-up or manufacturing sequence should all be on the same side of the board and logically numbered in order. Place a border around this group of buttons to signify that they are used together. You can run dotted lines from a single switch or light to a different board section if it is used in multiple processes.