NEMA Standards Strategic Marketing Plan ANSI Z535.1

NEMA Standards Strategic Marketing Plan
ANSI Z535.1 - ANSI Z535.6
Prepared for the Z535 Committee
September 18, 2012
NEMA Standards Strategic Marketing Plan: Z535
Executive Summary
Z535.1 - Z535.6 were republished in 2011/12.
The proposed action of this plan is to continue to broaden the knowledge, accessibility,
and use of the new revision of Z535.
NEMA has outsourced the sales and marketing of the standard itself, and by doing so, has
gained the diversity that comes from multiple organizations with differing clientele. The
expertly driven efforts of these companies have assisted in the promotion of Z535.
NEMA has provided additional awareness and outreach. The next objectives for the next
year will focus more narrowly on targeted outreach.
2
Products

ANSI Z535 Set
o Contains all six of the Z535 Standards

ANSI Z535 Set (CD Version)
o Contains all six of the Z535 Standards

ANSI Z535 Set (Network – 1 User)
o Contains all six of the Z535 Standards

ANSI Z535 Set (Network – 2 - 5 Users)
o Contains all six of the Z535 Standards
o
ANSI Z535 Set (Network – 6 - 10 Users)
o Contains all six of the Z535 Standards


ANSI Z535 Set (Network – 11 - 20 Users)
o Contains all six of the Z535 Standards

ANSI Z535 Color Chart
o Color chart for use with Z535 safety standards

ANSI Z535.1-2011
o Sets forth the technical definitions, color standards, and color tolerances for safety colors.

ANSI Z535.2-2011
o Establishes requirements for the design, application, and use of safety signs in facilities
and in the environment.

ANSI Z535.3-2011
o Provides general criteria for the design, evaluation, and use of safety symbols to identify
and warn against specific hazards and to provide information to avoid personal injury.

ANSI Z535.4-2011
o Sets forth requirements for the design, application, use, and placement of safety signs
and labels on a wide variety of products.

ANSI Z535.5-2011
o Sets forth requirements for the design, application, and use of safety tags and barricade
tapes for temporary hazards.

ANSI Z535.6-2011
o Sets forth requirements for the design and location of product safety messages in
collateral materials for a wide variety of products.
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Yearly Report on Z535 2006-2012 (as of (partial) August for 2012)
Z535 Series
Color Chart
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
Part 6
2006
9
2
3
2
9
25
4
19
2007
187
85
259
129
189
695
88
410
2008
223
170
248
183
241
680
94
447
73
2042
2286
Total
% for 2008
9.76%
7.44%
10.85%
8.01%
10.54%
29.75%
4.11%
19.55%
2009
121
134
204
101
150
519
56
277
2010
163
159
175
100
121
408
51
285
2011
104
68
83
59
76
272
32
153
1592
1462
847
2012 % of 2011-2012
116
10.78%
78
7.16%
120
9.95%
82
6.91%
164
11.76%
280
27.06%
38
3.43%
315
22.94%
1193
2040
Percentage for 2011-2012 Year
Notable Points

For the new document release years of 2008 and 2012, the percentages of sales
for each standard are in line with eachother

The sales quantity for the new documents release in the 2011-2012 timeframe
tracks the 2008 number of documents sold.
4
Last Year Review
The approach taken last year was broad, reaching out to a large number of people.
NEMA
Digital
o EI extra – Feature Story, focusing on the images
o Press Release with a link to the landing page
o Banner Ad - Pre-sale ad “Coming Soon” before release
- Promotional ad after release
o Push out announcement through social media on the day of the release –
linking to the landing page
Print
o EI Magazine
 October article
Through our Sales Organizations

IHS, ANSI, Techstreet
o 10% Pre-release sale on all Z535 products.
o IHS Tops Docs (weekly email sent to 30,00 subscribing customers) with
the top selling documents.
 Email sent in August and promoted as “Coming Soon – ANSI
Z535.”
o First to Market campaign (email sent to 6,000-50,000) The email
announced new revisions of the Z535 standard and targeted to previous
buyers of Z535, as well as, previous buyers of related standards.
 First ‘warm-up’ email was sent in mid-August
 Second ‘follow-up’ email was sent just prior to the release
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ANSI Z535 Updates Standards for
Safety Colors and Signs
Greg Winchester, NEMA Program Manager
After four years of review by ANSI Z535 committees, the newest revisions of the safety standard have been
released. The reviews led to a reaffirmed safety color standard (ANSI Z535.1) and revisions of the standards
covering environmental and facility safety signs, signage symbols, product labels, safety tags, barricade tapes,
and product literature (Z535.2, Z535.3, Z535.4, Z535.5, and Z535.6). The Z535 Safety Color Chart now bears a 2011
designation with updated and corrected information concerning ink specifications.
ANSI Z535.1 Safety Colors has been released as a reaffirmation
of the 2006 edition. It features:
• updated contact information for obtaining color
tolerance charts
• corrections in the value/chroma specifications for
safety orange
• properly located safety color centroids on the CIE 1931
Chromaticity Diagram
• updated references
ANSI Z535.2 Environmental Facility and Safety Signs is now
better harmonized with Z535.4, Z535.5, and Z536.6. In so doing,
the concepts of accident, harm, and incident have been refined
to more clearly delineate the separation of physical injury and
other safety-related issues. This edition also clarifies the five
types of safety signs for facilities and environments—hazard
alerting, notice, safety instructions, safety equipment location,
and fire equipment location.
ANSI Z535.3 Criteria for Safety Symbols has also been revised
to eliminate an annex on safety symbol examples. Certain
examples from that annex have been moved into the annex
on symbol design to illustrate graphical design principles and
guidelines. Another annex on evaluation of candidate safety
symbols includes:
• a table of equivalent scoring if less than 50 test subjects
are used
• controls and safeguards if the comprehension test is
administered over the internet
• a minimum symbol size to test when the actual symbol
size is unknown
• an optional test question about the consequences
of not following safety instructions
14 NEMA electroindustry • October 2011
ANSI Z535.4 Product Safety Signs and Labels was revised to
align Z535.2, Z535.4, Z535.5, and Z535.6. As a result, Z535.4
now includes refinements to the concepts of accident, harm,
and incident to clearly delineate physical injury from other
safety-related issues. Z535.4 also introduces the safety
instructions sign to join the existing hazard-alerting sign
and safety notice sign.
ANSI Z535.5 Safety Tags and Barricade Tapes (for Temporary
Hazards) was similarly part of the effort to harmonize Z535.2,
Z535.4, Z535.5, and Z535.6. It also has the refined concepts
of accident, harm, and incident that clearly delineate physical
injury from other safety-related issues (such as property
damage). As Z535.4 introduces the safety instructions sign,
Z535.5 introduces a safety instructions tag.
ANSI Z535.6 Product Safety Information in Product Manuals,
Instructions, and Other Collateral Materials was accordingly
revised based on the changes made to Z535.4 for product signs
and labels, as well as to Z535.2, Z535.4, and Z535.5. It uses
the refined concepts of accident, harm, and incident to clearly
separate physical injury issues from other safety-related issues.
Z535.6 also clarifies the use of the safety alert symbol, now
permitting its use in the middle of a line of text.
ANSI Z535 is available as individual
documents or as a set. Visit www.
nema.org/stds/z535set.cfm. ei ei
2013 Plan
The approach taken last year, and for a number of years prior has been a broad brush
approach, reaching out to a large number of people, attempting to increase awareness
and drive use.
The focus of the plan this year is narrower. This targeted approach will focus efforts on
the channels which will be more precisely targeted. This will be done through 1) content
creation and distribution 2) outreach 3) sales and marketing.
Content Creation and Distribution
The creation of content surrounding Z535 and the distribution of that content through
effective channels, will be helpful in better informing the correct people

Podcast Series
o Each month over 6,000 people tune into a NEMA podcast. Creating a
podcast series surrounding the Z535 standard creates solid, in-depth
content that can be used through a variety of channels.
o The series will have 7 parts – one for each part of the standard and an
overview section. The overview will be done by the committee chair, and
the other 6 parts by the respective sub-committee chair.
o The preparation and completion of the podcast will be done before any
one of them is released. Then they will be released, once per week,
consecutively for 7 weeks.
o The podcasts will be pushed out through NEMA. Additionally though, the
distribution will come from the retweets and formal distribution through
Z535 committee companies and their channels.
o NEMA will focus an eiXtra newsletter to the campaign, which will be sent
to 25K+ subscribers.

EI Article
o In the October 2012 electroindustry magazine there will be an article on
the Z535 standard. This article will be sent to over 42K subscribers.

Speaking Engagement(s)
NEMA will work to line up speaking engagements for the Chairman of the
ANSI Z535 Committee. This will expand the awareness and relevance of
the committee and the standard.
Outreach
Reaching out to other organizations who are working in electrical workplace safety will
be effective. Opening dialog and discussing how the use of updated Z535 will further
this safety will further the standard’s use and open doors to other opportunities
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
IEEE electrical safety in the workplace subcommittee
o This group participates heavily in the NFPA 70E (Electrical Safety in the
Workplace) working group, as well as the NEC (NFPA 70) National
Electrical Code development. While there is an emphasis here on the
petroleum and chemical industry, this will open doors.
o http://ewh.ieee.org/soc/ias/pcic/subcommittees/safety.html

Continued work with OSHA
o NEMA GR will continue to work with OSHA and congress to assist in the
adoption of the 2011/12 Z535 standards to replace the existing OSHA
compliant signs from 1968 formats.
o This will be the most effective use of energy and resources, with success
driving implementation nationwide.
o Issue Brief
Sales and Marketing
Using other organizations as avenues to reach out to targeted audiences

IHS, ANSI, Techstreet
o NEMA has agreements with these three standards sales organizations to
promote and sell standards.
o Z535 will again be included in mailings to targeted recipients who have
purchased Z535 in the past or have purchased related standards.

American Society of Safety Engineers (ASSE)
o A preliminary agreement is in place with ASSE. NEMA is finalizing
approval under a contractual agreement with IHS that with facilitate this to
take place.
o ASSE will use its own measures to promote the standard for sale through
its own store.
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May 2012
ISSUE: OSHA Adoption of ANSI Z535 Standards
The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) current regulations for safety signs in the workplace are
based on 71-year-old safety sign formats that are outdated and do not meet today’s safety communication needs. OSHA has
an opportunity to build on its efforts to advance safety in U.S. workplaces by updating its regulations to reference the
American National Standards Institute (ANSI) Z535 series of standards.
IMPORTANCE
In the late 1930s, the American Standard Association (ASA) began work on a national standard for safety signs and published
a standard in 1941 known as ASA Z35.1 Specifications for Industrial Accident Prevention Signs. This standard subsequently was
revised in 1959 and 1968, with very little in the way of changes to the format and content definitions for safety signs. OSHA
currently requires safety signage to meet the 1968 version of the ASA Z35.1, using color specifications included in ASA
Z53.1-1967 Marking Physical Hazards—Safety Color Code.
A lot has changed in America’s workplaces since the original sign design parameters were defined in 1941. A wide range of
U.S. industries use sophisticated equipment and technology in their processes and building control systems. New technologies
have spawned entire new industries that have multifaceted potential hazards that could not have been imagined in 1941. As a
result, safety signs associated with more complex workplaces must attempt to communicate critical—and often more
detailed—safety messages to an increasingly multi-cultural workforce.
The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) Z535 Committee on Safety Signs and Colors has, for more than 25 years,
worked to develop a national uniform set of industry consensus standards that enable users to clearly communicate safety
information. ANSI Z535 standards routinely are cited in litigation as defining the state-of-the-art when there is a question as
to the adequacy of a warning. Specifically, ANSI Z535.1-2011 Standard for Safety Colors and ANSI Z535.2-2011 Standard for
Environmental and Facility Safety Signs offer the following advantages over the ASA Z35.1-1968 and ASA Z53.1-1967 standards
currently reference by OSHA in its regulations:





better definition for the content of a safety sign
improved safety sign formats
differentiation between varying degrees of risk/hazard severity
consistency leading to improved comprehension
superior overall guidance on safety sign design
Currently, OSHA allows use of ANSI Z535 standards because they share the same basis document as the present OSHA
regulation. However, because this acceptance is accomplished via the “de minimus situation” provision, employers using the
current ANSI Z535 standards still are found in violation of the existing OSHA regulations for safety signs, even though no
fine is issued. Unfortunately, OSHA’s use of this approach creates obstacles to the use of the more effective, modern signs.
POSITION
NEMA strongly supports OSHA’s adoption of the ANSI Z535 series of standards (particularly ANSI Z535-1-2011 and ANSI
Z535.2-2011). OSHA’s incorporation of these standards by reference in its regulations will improve safety, reduce compliance
uncertainty, and protect workers of all backgrounds.
Contact: Sarah Owen, [email protected], 703-841-3245
NEMA is the association of electrical equipment and medical imaging manufacturers. Founded in 1926 and headquartered in
Arlington, VA, NEMA’s approximately 400 member companies represent over 350,000 U.S. jobs and manufacture a diverse set
of products including power transmission and distribution equipment, lighting systems, factory automation and control systems,
and medical diagnostic imaging systems. Worldwide annual sales of NEMA-scope products exceed $120 billion. In addition to
its headquarters in Arlington, Virginia, NEMA also has offices in Beijing and Mexico City.
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