Color design scheme praised for boosting industrial safety

Neon-color paint applied to walkways, stairways and collision-risk zones

A factory at HD Hyundai Heavy Industries with color design applied. [KCC]
A factory at HD Hyundai Heavy Industries with color design applied. [KCC]

KCC announced Thursday that a workplace color design improvement project it jointly carried out with HD Hyundai Heavy Industries won the Green Award in the spatial environment category at the 24th Korea Color Design Awards.

Hosted by the Korean Society of Color Studies, the Korea Color Design Awards recognizes outstanding examples of effective color use. This year's ceremony marked the 24th edition, with the event adopting a new name from its previous title, the Korea Color Awards.

The winning project applied color design across HD Hyundai Heavy Industries' worksites to enhance safety and improve working conditions. The two companies signed an MOU in June last year and have since carried out color design and painting work on buildings and facilities across the shipbuilding, engine and medium-vessel divisions.

A key feature of the project is a color-coded safety system differentiated by the function of each space and its level of hazard. Red signals prohibition, yellow caution, green guidance and blue instruction. KCC's neon-color paint product "Neonpoxy" was applied to walkways, stairways and collision-risk zones to improve visibility, making it easier for workers to distinguish travel routes from danger points.

The design also took into account the visual environment's effect on worker fatigue and concentration. Unnecessary color stimuli were minimized so that key safety information stands out clearly. HD Hyundai's corporate identity colors were also incorporated throughout the facilities.

The two companies are expanding the program to additional sites, including HHIP in the Philippines and HD Hyundai Samho. Last year, they received the Blue Award in the technology category for the "HD Hyundai HiMSEN Engine Color System."

Color design in industrial settings serves as more than an aesthetic upgrade — it functions as a means of communicating safety information. Color-coding work zones, traffic routes and hazard points helps workers intuitively grasp the information they need. The approach is particularly valuable at large-scale manufacturing sites where diverse equipment and personnel operate simultaneously.

"We will continue to draw on our color expertise and product technology to help our customers create safe and comfortable working environments," a KCC official said.

Meanwhile, KCC has now won at the Korea Color Design Awards for four consecutive years, from 2023 through this year. The company is also expanding its safety environment design business, having signed an MOU with the Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency to build visually safe work environments.


boo@heraldcorp.com