What does this sign mean?
A mandatory (blue) sign requiring the operating manual to be read before the equipment is started or handled. The solid blue circle with a white symbol is the ISO 7010 mandatory shape, it instructs an action rather than warning of a hazard, and M002 shows an open booklet: do not turn the switch before you have read it.
Where does it go and when is it required?
Posted on presses, lathes and cutting machines in workshops and factories, on control panels and electrical switchgear, on laboratory instruments and sterilisers, on commercial kitchen equipment such as fryers and mincers, and on hoists and forklifts in warehouses. It belongs on the machine body next to the start control, not on a distant wall.
Regulation notes: Civil Defense and occupational safety authorities in Saudi Arabia and the UAE expect clear mandatory signage on equipment as part of operating licence conditions and risk-assessment files, with the manual kept within reach. In the UAE, practice under the OSHAD Code of Practice 17.0 is for Arabic to sit above English on safety signs.
- Mount at eye level (1.4–1.6 m) on the machine body or directly on the control panel, so the operator sees it before reaching for the switch.
- A5 or A4 is enough on the machine itself; step up to A3 on plant room doors and main switchgear enclosures.
- Keep a copy of the manual, or a QR code that opens it, immediately beside the sign, an instruction to read is ignored when there is nothing to read.
This sign is also known as: refer to instruction manual sign, read the manual before use sign printable pdf, ISO 7010 M002 sign, consult operating instructions sign Arabic English. Shape and colours follow ISO 7010 / ISO 3864-1, reference M002.
