AEM Offers Pictorial Database

The Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM) has developed a pictorial database for voluntary use in the design of equipment safety signs, manuals and other training materials.

The AEM has developed this database to promote greater consistency and clarity among pictorial images so they are more recognizable by industry workers, thus enhancing safety. The pictorials are offered free of charge to anyone, according to a news release from the association.

The AEM’s Technical and Safety Council undertook development of the database at the request of association members. All manufacturers have a common interest in promoting safe operation of their equipment. But there was a growing consensus that there was an array of images now being used to convey similar safety hazard identification/avoidance messages. For instance, for a hand-crush hazard, one manufacturer might depict a whole hand being crushed, while another manufacturer might choose to show several fingers being crushed.