Evaluating the impact of safety pictogram training on comprehension scores and knowledge retention among engineering students

Abstract

Safety pictograms are essential tools for identifying workplace hazards by providing critical information about health hazard risks, fire safety, emergency evacuation, and accident prevention. Effective safety pictogram training programs are necessary to enhance workers' knowledge of these pictograms. This study evaluates the effectiveness of a safety pictogram training program on the comprehension and retention of knowledge among engineering students. A total of 262 participants were asked to predict the meaning of 22 safety pictograms regulated by International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 7010 before and after a one-hour online training session. A follow-up test was administered six months later to assess long-term knowledge retention. Results showed that the average comprehension rate increased from 60.1 % before training to 68.3 % after training, with a retention rate of 66.0 % six months after training. The study found that training positively affected comprehension of emergency and mandatory action pictograms, while lower scores were observed for warning pictograms. Statistical tests revealed a significant effect of training on comprehension levels 16 out of 22 pictograms, with an average increase in comprehension of 11.2 %. Of these 16 pictograms, the comprehension level of 10 pictograms increased after training and remained at the same level six months later. However, the scores decreased slightly six months after the intervention, indicating the need for continued reinforcement or retraining. These findings have important implications for safety education and training programs, particularly in industries where safety hazards are widespread. The positive impact of training on comprehension scores highlights the ongoing need to improve safety pictogram comprehension to consistently meet standard acceptance criteria. Future training programs may need to focus on categories such as warning pictograms and fire equipment and fire action pictograms, which exhibited lower comprehension scores, to ensure better employee understanding.