What does this sign mean?
A mandatory (blue) sign requiring the handrail to be held when going up or down the stairs. The solid blue circle with a white symbol is the ISO 7010 mandatory shape, an instruction to act, not a hazard warning, and M012 shows a person on stairs with a hand on the rail; stair falls remain one of the most common workplace injuries.
Where does it go and when is it required?
Required on office and mall stairways, in escape stairs and external steps exposed to rain and dust, on steel stairs and platforms in factories and warehouses, at scaffold stairs and access towers on construction sites, and on the wet or slippery stairs of restaurant storerooms.
Regulation notes: Civil Defense and occupational safety authorities in Saudi Arabia and the UAE expect compliant handrails on every stairway and instructional signage at the head of the flight as a condition of occupancy certificates and operating licences, particularly along escape routes. In the UAE, practice under the OSHAD Code of Practice 17.0 is for Arabic to sit above English on safety signs.
- Mount at both the top and the bottom of the flight at 1.5–1.7 m, so it is read before the first step in either direction.
- A5 or A4 on internal stair landings; A3 on industrial stairs and external scaffold access.
- Add anti-slip nosing to each tread alongside the sign, telling people to hold the rail does not fix a slippery step or poor lighting.
This sign is also known as: use handrail sign, hold the handrail sign printable pdf, ISO 7010 M012 sign, use the handrail stairs mandatory sign Arabic English. Shape and colours follow ISO 7010 / ISO 3864-1, reference M012.
