Signs, markers, labels, tags - "Who really cares?" "They are so trivial." "Nobody reads them anyway." "I have more important things to think about." These are typical comments from people when asked about the value of "visual information". But are these comments valid? Should we start to care? Many companies have already started to take marking seriously and are implementing a new program called the "Visually Instructive Plant". This program promotes an organized and consistent approach for facility identification at all industrial plants. The Visually Instructive Plant concept is a direct result of combining a variety of "best practices" for marking and labeling from several quality industrial organizations.
The remainder of this paper will be devoted to finding out if an organized facility identification program can reduce errors and accidents and at the same time increase productivity, training effectiveness, and employee morale. The majority of the ideas and information in this paper have been gathered from talking with hundreds of companies over the last several years. (1) We will conclude with a look at the results of 5 companies which have undergone major labeling projects.
In the past, companies marked things for any number of reasons. Some marked things because regulations required them to. Others marked things for convenience. Some marked nothing at all. Because of this haphazard approach to labeling, most companies have a wide variety of markings in their plants. In most instances, there is no consistency. Without consistency, how much value can you really gain from marking things? Do you even know if all of the markings are correct?
Consider our street and roadway system. Imagine what it would be like if there were no street signs. How would you find your way around a new city? Imagine how inefficient traveling would be. It could take years to learn every street. What if there was no consistency in traffic signs. Some towns would have stop signs, others wouldn't. Some areas would have stop signs in the shape of an octagon, others would have triangular stop signs. Can you imagine how confusing this would be? How dangerous? Luckily we do not have to worry about haphazard street and roadway marking. Years ago the Department of Transportation realized that they would need to have an organized marking program with written procedures to ensure the safety and efficiency of travel. We can all benefit by borrowing this idea of an "organized marking program."
