ISO 17080:2005

Overview

ISO 17080:2005 provides design principles and requirements for single-panel product safety labels permanently affixed to manually portable agricultural and forestry machines and powered lawn and garden equipment. Its purpose is to ensure clear, consistent communication of safety messages where available label space is limited - using geometric shapes, safety colours and hazard pictorials to convey warnings, prohibitions and mandatory actions across language barriers.

Key topics and technical requirements

• Scope and use: Applies to single-panel labels used when multi-panel labels are unnecessary; labels may be used alone or in combination with other single-panel labels.
• Label types: Three defined single-panel types:
  • Hazard description (warning) - yellow equilateral triangle with black triangular band and black pictorial.
  • Prohibited action - white background with red circular band and diagonal bar; black pictorial inside.
  • Mandatory action - filled blue circle with white pictorial.
• Geometric and dimensional details: Formats include specific geometry (e.g., triangular band with rounded corners, nominal radius 0.06 b) and border-width guidance (e.g., 0.025 b to 0.05 b for triangle borders; 0.025 d to 0.05 d for circular borders).
• Safety colours and chromaticity: Colours and contrast colours are specified; chromaticity coordinates are given (Table 1) consistent with ISO colour references to ensure conspicuity and reproducibility.
• Pictorial design: Follows graphical design principles referenced from ISO 11684 (Annex D) for hazard pictorials and human figure representation.
• Supplementary information: Recognizes that product labels may need to be supplemented by operator’s manuals and other collateral material for complete safety instructions.

Applications and users

ISO 17080:2005 is practical for:

• Manufacturers and product designers of handheld agricultural tools, chainsaws, trimmers and powered garden equipment designing durable, on-product safety labels.
• Safety engineers and compliance officers ensuring labels meet harmonized international label formats.
• Label printers and suppliers producing durable, colour-accurate, single-panel safety decals.
• Regulators and testing labs evaluating product labeling and conformity to safety communication standards.

Common label examples include warnings for blade thrust, thrown objects, chainsaw kickback, and mandatory ear/eye protection pictorials.

Related standards

• ISO 11684 - Safety signs and hazard pictorials (general principles)
• ISO 3864‑1 / ISO 3864‑2 - Safety colours and design principles for signs and product labels
• ISO 10526, ISO 10527 - Colorimetry references

ISO 17080:2005 helps organizations implement consistent, legible safety labeling on portable agricultural, forestry and lawn/garden equipment to reduce user risk and improve compliance.