- Author
-
Collins, B. L.
|
Lerner, N. D.
- Title
- Evaluation of Exit Symbol Visibility. Final Report.
- Coporate
- National Bureau of Standards, Washington, DC
- Report
-
NBSIR 83-2675
April 1983
- Distribution
- Available from National Technical Information Service
- Keywords
-
fire safety; symbols; visibility; buildings; legibility
- Abstract
- The performance of exit symbols was assessed in a laboratory experiment using viewing conditions degraded to resemble smoke. Research participants were presented with color slides showing symbol signs designed to be used in buildings. For each slide the participant indicated if the symbol conveyed the message of 'exit'. A total of 108 symbol slides were used, of which 18 were exit symbols. Each of the 42 participants were familiarized with a random set of 9 of the 18 exit symbols, prior to data collection. During the experiment, the symbol of slides were presented under three levels of viewing difficulty. In general, errors increased as the viewing conditions became more degraded but the increase in errors became much more severe for some symbols than others.