Do Not Touch, Men Working Sign

Do Not Touch, Men Working Sign

A men working sign of this type combines a prohibition pictogram with the wording “Do not touch, men working” to warn passers-by away from equipment, machinery, or work areas where maintenance personnel are actively engaged. Unlike a general do-not-touch pictogram, this worded version specifically flags that people are present and working, making it especially useful around temporary job sites such as scaffolding, open machinery casings, or electrical panels with covers removed. It is typically displayed at the boundary of a work area, on barrier tape, or directly on the equipment being serviced, giving anyone approaching a clear reason not to interfere.

The design follows the worded, AS-style prohibition sign format: a generic black crossed-circle pictogram paired with bold text on a white background within the standard red prohibition border, rather than a single fixed-object pictogram. This men working sign format suits situations where the hazard changes from job to job, since the wording communicates the warning even when the equipment itself doesn’t match a standard ISO 7010 symbol. It carries IMPA code 33.8564 and ISSA code 47.585.64, the catalogue codes ship chandlers and marine suppliers use for reordering, and Safety Sign Hub keeps this sign in stock for quick despatch.

Marking Temporary Work Areas Aboard Ship

This sign is well suited to short-term jobs where fixed signage doesn’t already cover the specific hazard, such as a contractor servicing a winch, a crew member with an access panel open on deck machinery, or maintenance being carried out on cargo handling gear in port. Because it can be moved from job to job, it is often kept as a portable sign clipped to barrier tape or hung from a temporary stand rather than permanently fixed in one location. Once the job is finished and the area is safe, the sign should be removed promptly so it doesn’t lose meaning through overuse. It pairs well with our full range of prohibition signs for marking more fixed hazards elsewhere on the vessel.

Manufactured on fire-retardant material with a photoluminescent option for use in dim engine rooms or cargo holds, this sign is built to survive being moved and reused across many different jobs rather than staying fixed in a single spot. UV-stable printing resists fading from repeated deck exposure, while a protective laminate shrugs off the grease, oil, and general handling that comes with being clipped, unclipped, and stored between uses. This durability matters for a sign that may see more physical wear than one permanently bolted in place, since a portable men working sign still needs to look authoritative every time it’s deployed.

Available as a self-adhesive label for fixing to equipment casings or barrier stands, or as a rigid panel better suited to repeated handling and portable use, this sign uses the same IMPA 33.8564 and ISSA 47.585.64 codes in both formats. Vessels that regularly carry out contractor or maintenance work in port may find it useful to keep several of these signs on hand, given how often temporary work areas need marking.

Supporting Safe Work Area Boundaries

Even generic worded prohibition signs like this one follow the pictogram and layout conventions described in ISO 7010 and reflected in AS 1319, keeping their visual style consistent with fixed-object prohibition signs elsewhere on the vessel. That consistency matters when a sign needs to communicate a one-off hazard quickly: crew already familiar with the red circle-and-bar format recognise the warning immediately, even though the pictogram itself doesn’t point to a specific object.

Bosuns and deck supervisors often keep a couple of these signs in the deck store specifically for contractor visits, since shore-based maintenance teams don’t always bring their own signage when boarding to service cranes, winches, or hatch machinery. Fitting the sign at the start of the job, alongside any barrier tape, and removing it as soon as the work area is stood down keeps the warning meaningful rather than becoming a permanent fixture that crew learn to ignore. This turnover discipline is what keeps a general-purpose warning sign useful across dozens of different jobs over a vessel’s working life.

This men working sign warns crew and visitors not to interfere with equipment while maintenance personnel are actively working on it. Browse our full range of Prohibition Signs for more IMO-compliant maritime safety signage.