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Pipe markers, Safety & IMO Signs, Low Location Lighting, Tags and Labels
Marine & Offshore
Marine & Offshore environments have very stringent and specific requirements.
Installations there operate in mostly hostile environments, constantly exposed to sea water and storms while processing flammable fluid and gases; are often isolated far away from land and infrastructure; and their personnel, often of multi-national origins, is exposed to such.
In addition, space is highly constrained, leading to confined areas and pipe networks optimized to the max to optimize space occupation. Whether it’s a jack-up rig, a F.P.S.O. or a F.L.N.G, these offshore and marine installations typically have kilometers of pipes and hundreds of valves carrying dozens of different fluids!
In these conditions, ensuring operations safety & emergency situations handling are critical, thus key safety pillars are key equipments & fluids identification and evacuation procedures, which are typically standardized by international organizations, as detailed below.
Standards & Regulations Overview
The International Maritime Organization (IMO in short) is the central organisation that regulates and defines best practices for the Marine industry as whole by maintaining treaties and issuing resolutions, that are themselves complemented by / refer to various standards such as ISO 7010,ISO 14726, etc.
The International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea, SOLAS, is IMO main treaty, and is generally regarded as the most important of all international treaties concerning the safety of merchant ships.
Escape Routes Regulations
One of IMO/SOLAS key resolutions is Resolution A.116(30) which provide guidelines for escape route signs and equipment location markings.
IDIGO pipe marking tapes are fully compliant with ISO 14726:2008 and are available in various materials and mounting mode for pipe of any diameter.
If your project need other standard compliance, we also support ANSI / ASME A13.1 (see Oil & Gas application), NBR6493, NORSOK Z-DP-002 and more. Consult us directly for such projects.
Following paragraphs will introduce key aspects of some of these Marine & Offshore standards and regulations.
IMO Resolution A.116(30) & ISO 7010
Escape route Signs and Equipment Location Markings
Definition
A Safety Sign is defined as, according to this resolution: "Sign giving a general safety message, obtained by a combination of a colour and geometric shape and which, by the addition of a graphical symbol, gives a particular safety message."
Signs Categories
Signs are classified based on on their function as follows, with sign shape and color guidelines:
IMO Resolution A.116 Signs Categories
Code
Meaning
Usage Description
Shape/Color
MES
Means of Escape Signs
Escape route identification.
EES
Emergency Equipment Signs
Use and location of first aid facilities and portable safety equipment.
LSS
Life-saving Systems Signs
Use and location of life-saving systems and appliances.
FES
Fire-fighting Equipment Signs
Use and location of fire-fighting systems and appliances.
WSS
Hazard Warning Safety Signs
Identify Hazards to avoid.
MSS
Mandatory Safety Signs
Mandatory Notices and Instructions.
Individual Sign Definition
A specific sign is defined by its code, description and graphic representation that is used in the sign itself.
Note: where needed, the graphical representation can be complemented by a text + colors expliciting a variant of it. In some projects these "extended signs instead (or in addition) of the text/color use a slightly, tolerated but non-standard, modified graphic representation.
Find below examples of these 3 types of representation.
IMO Resolution A.116 Sign Definition Examples
codebuilt using its category + an index
name/description
graphic symboldefined in details in ISO 7010 with a specific, different code
ISO 14726:2008: Ships and marine technology — Identification colours for the content of piping systems
Color Coding principles ISO 14726
ISO 14726 defines color coding based on pipe fluid classes.
Initially, aka in ISO 14726-1:1999, only one color, later called main color, was used to represent the generic class of the fluid, out of 12 defined classes.
ISO 14726-2:2002 added a secondary color to be used in complement of the main color to identify subclasses.
ISO 14726 also roughtly defines how these colors should be used, with the main color being on the "outside" and occupying at least 50% of the total marker surface.
Fluid Classes: Main Colors ISO 14726:1999
Main classes and associated colors, "coded" in the ISO documentation using a short code, with their colorimetry defined, are as follows:
ISO 14726 Main Fluid Classes & Colors
Fluid Class
Color
Sample
Code
Waste Media
Black
Waste Media
BK
Fresh Water
Blue
Fresh Water
BU
Fuel
Brown
Fuel
BN
Sea Water
Green
Sea Water
GN
Non-flammable Gases
Grey
Non-flammable Gases
GY
Air and Sounding Pipes
Maroon
Air and Sounding Pipes
MN
Oil other than Fuel
Orange
Oil other than Fuel
OG
Steam
Silver
Steam
SR
Fire Fighting
Red
Fire Fighting
RD
Acids, Alkalis
Violet
Acids, Alkalis
VT
Air in Ventilation Systems
White
Air in Ventilation
WH
Flammable Gases
Yellow
Flammable Gases
YE
Full List of Fluid classes and subclasses with their color combinationsISO 14726:2008
Below you will find fluid class "tabs", one per main ISO fluid class, displaying all defined subclasses, related colors* combination and sample using:
right & left bands in primary color with directional arrow,
center band with secondary color and single legend.
Also of notes:
missing combinations can be used for user-defined fluid subclasses, as long as main color is correctly assigned,
legends are also often project specifics, in multiple langages etc.
ISO 14726 Dual-Color Fluid Classes
Waste Media
Fresh Water
Fuel
Sea Water
Non-flammable Gases
Air and Sounding Pipes
Oils other than fuels
Steam
Fire fighting
Acids, alkalis
Air in ventilation systems
Flammable gases
Click on a specific fluid class above to display its detailed subclasses below.
Waste Media
Media Description
Color Combination
Sample
Black water
BK - BU - BK
Black Water
Waste oil/Used oil
BK - BN - BK
Waste oil
Bilge water
BK - GN - BK
Bilge water
Exhaust gas
BK - GY - BK
Exhaust gas
Grey water
BK - WH - BK
Grey water
Sewage, Contaminated
BK - YE - BK
Sewage
Fresh Water
Media Description
Color Combination
Sample
Fresh water, sanitary
BU - BN - BU
Sanitary Fresh water
Potable water
BU - GN - BU
Potable water
Distillate
BU - GY - BU
Distillate
Gas-turbine wash water
BU - OG - BU
Gas-turbine water
Feed water
BU - SR - BU
Feed water
Cooling fresh water
BU - VT - BU
Cooling fresh water
Chilled water
BU - WH - BU
Chilled water
Condensate
BU - YE - BU
Condensate
Fuel
Media Description
Color Combination
Sample
Heavy fuel oil (HFO)
BN - BK - BN
Heavy fuel oil
Aviation fuel
BN - BU - BN
Aviation fuel
Biological fuel
BN - VT - BN
Biological fuel
Gas turbine fuel
BN - WH - BN
Gas turbine fuel
Marine diesel fuel (MDO)
BN - YE - BN
Marine diesel fuel
Sea Water
Media Description
Color Combination
Sample
Decontamination water
GN - BU - GN
Decontamination water
Sea water, sanitary
GN - BN - GN
Sanitary sea water
Ballast water
GN - VT - GN
Ballast water
Cooling sea water
GN - YE - GN
Cooling sea water
Non Flammable Gases
Media Description
Color Combination
Sample
Oxygen
GY - BU - GY
Oxygen
Inert gas
GY - BN - GY
Argon
Nitrogen
GY - GN - GY
Nitrogen
Refrigerant
GY - MN - GY
Refrigerant
Compressed Air, Low pressure (LP)
GY - OG - GY
LP Compressed Air
Compressed Air, High pressure (HP)
GY - RD - GY
HP Compressed Air
Control Air/Regulating Air
GY - VT - GY
Control Air
Breathing Air
GY - WH - GY
Breathing Air
Breathing Gas
GY - YE - GY
Breathing Gas
Air and Sounding Pipes
Media Description
Color Combination
Sample
Air, Waste Media
MN - BK - MN
Waste Media Vent
Air, Fresh Water
MN - BU - MN
Fresh Water Sounding
Air, Fuel
MN - BN - MN
Fuel Sounding
Air, Sea Water
MN - GN - MN
Sea Water Sounding
Air, Non-Flammable Gases
MN - GY - MN
Non-Flammable Vent
Air, Oil other than fuels
MN - OG - MN
Oil Vent
Air, Steam
MN - SR - MN
Steam Vent
Air, Fire Fighting
MN - SR - MN
Fire Fighting Vent
Air, Acids/Alkalis
MN - VT - MN
Acid Vent
Air, Ventilation system
MN - WH - MN
Vent
Air, Flammable gases
MN - YE - MN
Flammable Vent
Oils other than fuels
Media Description
Color Combination
Sample
Thermal Fluid
OG - BU - OG
Thermal Fluid
Lubrification Oil for Gas Turbines
OG - GN - OG
Lube Oil, Gas Turbine
Hydraulic Fluid
OG - GY - OG
Hydraulic Fluid
Lubrification Oil for Steam Turbines
OG - SR - OG
Lube Oil, Steam Turbine
Lubrification Oil for Gears
OG - VT - OG
Lube Oil, Gears
Lubrification Oil for Internal Combustion Engines
OG - YE - OG
Lube Oil, Engines
Steam
Media Description
Color Combination
Sample
Steam for heating purposes
SR - BK - SR
Heating Steam
Driving Steam
SR - GN - SR
Driving Steam
Exhaust Steam
SR - WH - SR
Exhaust Steam
Supply Steam
SR - YE - SR
Supply Steam
Fire Fighting
Media Description
Color Combination
Sample
Fire-Fighting Water
RD - GN - RD
Fire-Fighting Water
Fire-Fighting Gas
RD - GY - RD
Fire-Fighting Gas
Sprinkler Water
RD - OG - RD
Sprinkler Water
Spray Water
RD - VT - RD
Spray Water
Fire-Fighting Powder
RD - WH - RD
Fire-Fighting Powder
Fire-Fighting Foam
RD - YE - RD
Fire-Fighting Foam
Acids, Alkalis
Media Description
Color Combination
Sample
Hydrochloric acid*
VT - YE - VT
Hydrochloric acid
* All Acids/Alkalis color combinations are user defined, above is just an example.
Air in Ventilation Systems
Media Description
Color Combination
Sample
Discharge Air
WH - BK - WH
Discharge Air Water
Mechanical Supply Air, Cold
WH - BU - WH
Cold Mechanical Supply Air
Natural Exhaust Air
WH - BN - WH
Exhaust Air
Athmospheric Air
WH - GN - WH
Athmospheric Air
Mechanical Exhaust Air
WH - GY - WH
Mechanical Exhaust Air
Decontaminated Supply Air
WH - MN - WH
Clean Supply Air
Mechanical Recirculated Air
WH - OG - WH
Recirculated Mechanical Air
Mechanical Supply Air, Warm
WH - SR - WH
Warm Mechanical Supply Air
Smoke Clearance
WH - RD - WH
Smoke Clearance
Conditioned Supply Air
WH - VT - WH
Conditioned Supply Air
Natural Supply Air
WH - YE - WH
Natural Supply Air
Flammable Gases
Media Description
Color Combination
Sample
Hydrogen
YE - BU - YE
Hydrogen
Acetylene
YE - GY - YE
Acetylene
Liquid Gas
YE - VT - YE
LNG
* Colors above are indicative and do not reflect actual compliant colors used for markers.
IDIGO pipe marking tapes are fully compliant with ANSI / ASME 13.1* pipe labeling standards and are available as full wrap-up or as mounted plates for pipe of any diameter.
See Paragraph below dedicated to ASME 13.1 that reviews some of the key aspects of this standard, in particular its pipe marking color coding scheme and marker dimensions.
*If your project need other standard compliance, consult us directly.
ASME 13.1
Scheme for the Identification of Piping Systems
Originally an American standard, later adopted in many countries either as-is or with minor variations as ANSI standard, ASME 13.1 defines in very practical ways how pipes should be marked: legend and marker sizes, suggested font, color coding, and guidelines on where to install such markers.
ASME 13.1, Color Coding principles
ASME 13.1 defines color coding based on pipe fluid classes, with 4 reserved for user defined, as follows:
ASME 13.1 Primary Colors
Fluid Class
Color
Sample
Fire quenching
Red
FIRE FIGHTING White Text On Red
Toxic & Corrosive
Orange
NITRIC ACID Black Text On Orange
Flammable
Yellow
ACETONE Black Text On Yellow
Combustible
Brown
LUBRICATING OIL White Text On Brown
Water
Green
SEA WATER White Text On Green
Compressed Air
Blue
COMPRESSED AIR White Text On Green
User Defined
Violet
OTHER 1 White Text On Violet
White
OTHER 2 Black Text On White
Grey
OTHER 3 White Text On Grey
Black
OTHER 4 White Text On Black
ASME 13.1, Pipe labeling Sizes
ASME 13.1 defines minimal marker width and label text letter height based on a set of pipe diameter ranges:
ASME 13.1 Pipe Marker Sizes
Pipe OD (NPS)Outside diameter, including insulation
Most countries have adopted GHS Rev 5 as part of their standard framework for labelling of storage and transport of chemical and hazardous substances, with a new Rev. 6 published in 2015. See dedicated GHS Standard section below for more details.
GHS labels and pipe markers design specifications are based on a combination of pictograms, colours, signal words and rules on how to apply and combine these. With the advent of mixtures and requirements to support these, each situation and its related set of markers has become very specific and close to unique.
Idigo Products Compliance with GHS
IDIGO label generator software allow us to quickly generate your GHS specific labels. Combined with IDIGO On-Demand manufacturing, we can deliver in record time hundreds of different GHS compliant pipe markers and labels to fulfill your requirements.
GHS Rev 5 Specifications
Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals
GHS Objectives
The "GHS standard" refers to the Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals, often abbreviated as GHS. It is a standardized system for classifying and labeling chemicals to ensure the safe handling, transportation, and use of hazardous substances globally.
Key aspects of the GHS standard include:
Classification: GHS provides criteria for classifying chemicals into different hazard categories based on their physical, health, and environmental properties. It defines hazard classes such as flammable liquids, carcinogens, and corrosive substances.
Labeling: GHS standardizes the labeling of chemical containers with specific pictograms, signal words (e.g., "Danger" or "Warning"), hazard statements, and precautionary statements. These labels provide essential information about the hazards associated with the chemical product.
Safety Data Sheets (SDS): GHS requires the creation of Safety Data Sheets (SDS) for each hazardous chemical. SDSs contain detailed information about the chemical's properties, hazards, safe handling procedures, and emergency response measures.
Information Transfer: GHS aims to ensure that relevant information about chemical hazards is communicated consistently throughout the supply chain, from manufacturers and distributors to end-users.
Hazard Communication: GHS promotes clear and effective communication of chemical hazards to workers, emergency responders, and the general public, helping them make informed decisions about safe handling and use of chemicals.
International Adoption: The GHS has been adopted by many countries and regions worldwide, leading to a more consistent and standardized approach to chemical classification and labeling. However, the specific implementation and regulatory requirements may vary from one jurisdiction to another
GHS Rev 5 is the basis of Singapore SS586, part 1-3: 2008. The implementation of this standard is now completed, with the mandatory marking of all hazardous substances, including mixtures effective as of July 1st 2016.
GHS Hazards Pictograms
The Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals (GHS) uses standardized icons or pictograms to convey information about the hazards associated with chemicals. These pictograms are an essential part of GHS labeling and are used to provide quick visual cues to users about the potential risks of handling a particular chemical.
When handling chemicals, individuals should in addition refer to the labels and safety data sheets (SDS) to understand the specific hazards associated with a particular substance and take appropriate precautions to ensure safety.
Each pictogram represents a specific hazard category, as detailed below:
GHS Hazard Pictograms
Hazard
Pictogram
Description/Usage
GHS01 Explosive
This pictogram represents explosives and materials that can explode if exposed to heat, shock, friction, or other factors.
It is often associated with fireworks and other explosive materials, and includes:
Unstable explosives
Explosives divisions 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 1.4, 1.5, 1.6
Self-reactive substances and mixtures types A, B
Organic peroxides types A, B
GHS02 Flammable
This pictogram signifies flammable materials, including liquids, gases, and solids that can ignite easily when exposed to heat, flames, or sparks, generally most solvents.
It also covers materials that emit flammable gases upon contact with water, and includes:
Flammable gases category 1
Flammable aerosols categories 1, 2
Flammable liquids categories 1, 2, 3, 4
Flammable solids categories 1, 2
Pyrophoric liquids and solids category 1
Combustible solids and liquids category 3
Self-heating substances and mixtures categories 1, 2
Substances and mixtures which, in contact with water, emit flammable gases categories 1, 2, 3
Self-reactive substances, mixtures and organic peroxides types B, C, D, E, F
GHS03 Oxidizing
This pictogram represents oxidizing substances and materials that can increase the intensity of a fire or combustion when in contact with other flammable substances.
It includes:
Oxidizing gases category 1
Oxidizing liquids and solids categories 1, 2, 3
GHS04 Compressed Gas
This pictogram indicates gases stored under pressure. It is commonly seen on containers holding compressed gases such as oxygen, nitrogen, or propane.
It includes:
Compressed gases
Liquefied gases
Refrigerated liquefied gases
Dissolved gases
GHS05 Corrosive
This pictogram represents corrosive substances that can cause severe damage to skin, eyes, or metal surfaces upon contact.
It is often associated with strong acids and bases.
GHS06 Toxic
This classic skull and crossbones pictogram indicate acute toxicity, particularly substances that can be lethal or cause severe health effects even in small quantities.
It includes chemicals that cause harm to human health through inhalation, ingestion, or skin contact categories 1, 2, 3, both acute and chronic toxicity.
GHS07 Harmful
This pictogram indicates materials that may cause skin or eye irritation or have other harmful effects on health.
It covers skin sensitizers and non-severe irritants, and includes:
Specific target organ toxicity category 3 following single exposure:
Respiratory tract irritation
Narcotic effects
GHS08 Health hazard
This category includes various other healthhazards not covered by the specific pictograms above. It covers substances that are carcinogenic, mutagenic, or reproductive toxicants (CMRs) or substances that pose a physical hazard not covered by the other categories.
GHS not only cover labelling of storage tanks, bottles etc, but also transport of these via pipes etc.
More specifically for piping labeling, rule 1.4.10.5.5.1 “Workplace labelling” explicitly states that GHS labels should be applied to “piping systems including valves” and that such installations should ensure clear hazard communication through the “use of displays with GHS symbols, colour and signal words in piping systems and processing equipments”.
Risks at these facilities can be drastically reduced with a systemic approach that include high-visibility labelling of risks, indication of safe and dangerous areas, evacuation paths etc..