10 Things to Know About Color-Coding: Breaks Down Language Barriers

The environment in a food processing facility can be a chaotic place. This is compounded when you bring multiple languages into the mix. Trying to keep everything organized and streamlined can at times be a daunting task. Having a color-coding program in place can help eliminate some of the confusion that can arise from a language barrier.

Whether you have one employee that speaks another language, or 500, color-coding can help to keep efficiency high. Because colors are universal, no matter what language someone speaks, they are going to be able to tell one color from another. Red is red, even if the word itself is different.

If red is for the raw zone, and someone, who speaks a language that the majority of employees do not, sees a red tool in the blue zone, which is for processed product, they know immediately that something is not right, and can then take appropriate actions. However, if no color-coding program is in place, and say, for instance, the method of communication is to have labels on the tools stating what zone they belong in, that employee might not know for sure if that tool is supposed to be there or not. With this kind of system, any time spent confused is a loss of work, or worse yet, a cross-contamination hazard. Better to have a proper system in place to begin with, so the problem can be fixed as soon as possible.

But, before you can go putting colors into a facility all willy-nilly, expecting employees to follow along, there must be good documentation and communication of zones. This goes for all people, no matter the language. There must be signage and internal communication that clearly states what these different colors mean, and what the appropriate steps are when something goes wrong, in different languages, if necessary. Once everyone is on the same page, your color-coding system will work that much easier.

What about those who can’t see colors, you might ask? Color blindness can affect about 8% of men and .05% of women. Depending on what kind of color blindness your employee has, choosing colors that have a high contrast might be a solution. Every situation is different, and the most important thing is to know your employees’ needs and how to best meet them.

Having a color-coding program in place can help to limit the language confusion found in food processing facilities. Less confusion means safer practices, and this means better food safety. This can add up to fewer recalls, which saves money.

If you would like to find out more about color-coding products, download our catalog for more information!