Life-saving rules poster

Life-saving rules are a short list of rules for the activities that most often kill people at work. The best-known set comes from IOGP, the International Association of Oil and Gas Producers, which drew up nine rules from its fatal incident data: bypassing safety controls, confined space, driving, energy isolation, hot work, line of fire, safe mechanical lifting, work authorisation and working at height. Each applies in manufacturing too. This poster lists the nine rules with a plain line on what each means on a plant floor.

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The PNG is free to download now. The print-ready vector PDFs open after a short form, once.

Download PNG (300 dpi)2550 x 3300 px, prints at 8.5 x 11 in · 466 KB · no form

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The words on the poster

Life-saving rules

Nine rules for the work that kills people most often.

Bypassing safety controls Never override a guard or interlock without authorisation.
Confined space Enter only with a permit, a gas test and an attendant.
Driving Belt on, speed limits kept, no phone at the wheel.
Energy isolation Isolate, lock and prove zero energy before work.
Hot work Control ignition sources and combustibles. Permit first.
Line of fire Keep out of the path of moving and falling things.
Safe mechanical lifting Plan the lift. Never stand under a load.
Work authorisation Have a valid permit when one is required.
Working at height Fall protection on when you could fall.

Never break these rules. Never ask anyone else to. Stop the job if it can't be done safely.

Rule names from IOGP Report 459, Life-Saving Rules. Plain-language lines are this poster's own.

On the floor

How to use it

Putting the Life-saving rules poster to work

1
Post it at the entrance and at the permit board, and use it in induction for employees and contractors.
2
Take one rule a week as the theme of the safety moment at the huddle.
3
Tie each rule to your own procedures: the lockout procedure, the permit system, the forklift rules.
4
If your company adopts the IOGP rules formally, use IOGP's own icons and wording, which must not be changed.

Where the poster goes and how to teach with it, in the order to try them.

Which size to print

24 x 36 in or A2: a main wall or team board, read from a few metres away.
18 x 24 in or A3: a station or notice board. The A3 file also fits 11 x 17 in paper.
Letter or A4: a clipboard, binder or handout, on any office printer.

Every PDF is vector, so it stays sharp at full size. Nothing runs to the edge of the page, so no bleed is needed.

Sources and notes

The rule names are IOGP's. The lines under each name are this poster's own plain-language reminders, not IOGP's wording, and the icons are generic. Organisations that adopt the IOGP rules formally use IOGP's official icons and wording, which IOGP asks not to be altered.