Fire Exit Signs

[tonenee50]

Can Anyone Tell Me The Correct Way The Arrow Should Point Above A Fire Exit.  From What I Can See It Should Point Up So You Proceed Through The Door And Then There Should Be Another Sign Again At Change Of Direction On The Other Side Of The Door.  I See A Lot Of Arrows Pointing Down But Does That Not Mean Proceed Down Bs5499 Part 4???

Thanks Tonenee50.

[CivvyFSO]

Yes. It's a common mistake.

[BHCC]

Does it need an arrow at the door?? Probably not

[Dragonmaster]

I find that irrespective of up or down, it is generally taken as indicating that your should go through that door.

BHCC: I think arrows should be provided where the escape route extends beyond that door, but I agree that final exits do not need the arrow.

Blimey - where did allm the injuns come from?

[Allen Higginson]

Can Anyone Tell Me The Correct Way The Arrow Should Point Above A Fire Exit.  From What I Can See It Should Point Up So You Proceed Through The Door And Then There Should Be Another Sign Again At Change Of Direction On The Other Side Of The Door.  I See A Lot Of Arrows Pointing Down But Does That Not Mean Proceed Down Bs5499 Part 4???

Thanks Tonenee50.

Interesting point right enough but one thing intrigues me more - why do you have a capital letter at the start of every word??

[nearlythere]

Can Anyone Tell Me The Correct Way The Arrow Should Point Above A Fire Exit.  From What I Can See It Should Point Up So You Proceed Through The Door And Then There Should Be Another Sign Again At Change Of Direction On The Other Side Of The Door.  I See A Lot Of Arrows Pointing Down But Does That Not Mean Proceed Down Bs5499 Part 4???

Thanks Tonenee50.

Interesting point right enough but one thing intrigues me more - why do you have a capital letter at the start of every word??

What Capital Letters?

[tonenee50]

Dont know why mate.  Could be because typed in capital letters???

[kurnal]

One concise explanation can be found here:

http://www.jaliteaaa.co.uk/Guidance2.htm

more here:

http://www.safetysignsatwork.co.uk/legislation.asp

But there has been a very informative previous thread here:

http://www.fire.org.uk/punbb/upload/viewtopic.php?id=2055

[jokar]

Up and down arrows mean the same in most cases, the explanations can all be found in BS5499 part 4.  However, just as this debate has been done previously the BS is only a set of recommendations which you could use, the legislation is a must and is the Signs and Signals regulations  1996 and the signs in there are not the same and have no explanations for them.  Your choice then is to comply with the law or use the guidance.

[Graeme]

Can Anyone Tell Me The Correct Way The Arrow Should Point Above A Fire Exit.  From What I Can See It Should Point Up So You Proceed Through The Door And Then There Should Be Another Sign Again At Change Of Direction On The Other Side Of The Door.  I See A Lot Of Arrows Pointing Down But Does That Not Mean Proceed Down Bs5499 Part 4???

Thanks Tonenee50.

Interesting point right enough but one thing intrigues me more - why do you have a capital letter at the start of every word??

someone has started on the Eggnog early

[slubberdegullion]

This is how I understand it.

When they were researching into the pictograms to use in place of words on future signs they tried out lots of different pictures.  

The ones we ended up with were more readily identified with their purpose than any of the alternatives put forward.  That does not mean to say that they unambiguously put their message across.  Far from it.  Typically somewhere around a half to two thirds of the people shown the signs (the ones we have now) recognised what their intent was.  The alternatives faired even worse.  

So the designated purpose of each sign has always been somewhat out of sync with the way it is interpreted in practice.

Coming on to specifics, the "briskly perambulating person" (running man) symbol with the downward pointing arrow was designated as meaning that there was a downward change of level on the escape route from that point.

But...

Ever since the introduction of the pictogram signs people have interpreted this sign as being the one to put above a fire exit (whether it be final or otherwise) to indicate that this is the door to go through.

Now, as I said, it wasn't designated as this, but that is how most people have interpreted it when they have installed the signs.

It is therefore wholly reasonable to suppose that the majority of people, when looking for an exit, will interpret the sign in the same way as those who installed it (irrespective of the designated intentions).

At the end of the day, it doesn't matter that much.  Everyone goes out the way they came in anyway.  But if they are desperate enough to seek an alternative, they will just look for a green sign with anything on it.  It could say "M & S Foodhall" and they would still follow it!  I know I would.

Stu

[John Webb]

There is an interesting little tale about these signs - when the UK representatives were at the international committee that worked on these signs they objected to the 'running man' pictogram. This was on the grounds that in the UK at least stress was laid on 'walking briskly' rather than running to exit a building. But they lost out when it came to a vote.

Seems to me sometimes that 'EXIT' was as clear as anything we've had since.

[Jim Creak]

It is unfortunate that some people object to the principle of Standardisation, they believe for reasons only known to themselves that the process of Standardisation is flawed and that their singular opinion is correct rather than a consensus majority of experts. This is a shame in regard to communication because it creates a system that cannot work.

Taking a known convention for indicating direction seemed to the panel of International experts as the correct way to go. (Forgive the Pun) but there are some amongst us that prefer to chose arrows pointing to the floor or other objects as a way to direct us. The panel of experts still agree that arrows point only to direction of egress and not to things..especially when we want people to understand intuitively the meaning.

It matters only if you want to do the job in accordance with Standardised Best Practice, if your prime objective is to confuse you are free to communicate using your own convention which could mean you may wish to consider speaking in Esperanto.

I prefer BS 5499 Part 4, ISO 16069 ISO 7010 as my bench mark for judgement.