Even if you’re not in the construction industry, you’ve probably noticed how common brightly colored marking flags are—they’ve become almost synonymous with construction sites. And for good reason: properly marking a construction zone is essential for ensuring safety.

Marking flags, tape, barricades, and other tools play a crucial role in alerting both workers and passersby to potential hazards. Here’s a quick guide to the types of marking products used on construction sites and how to distinguish between them.

Which Marking Products Should You Use on Your Construction Site, and Why?

Selecting the right marking products for your construction site is crucial for maintaining organization, improving productivity, and keeping workers safe. Different parts of a construction project require specific types of markings, such as high-visibility paint for temporary survey markings, durable tape for long-term perimeter indications, and marking flags to highlight potential hazards or utility lines.

Be mindful that factors such as weather conditions, surface materials, and the intended duration of the markings all influence the choice of products. A project manager must carefully assess these factors to properly mark the ground and ensure their construction zone is correctly marked. By selecting the appropriate solutions, builders and developers can minimize confusion, streamline workflow, and reduce the risk of costly errors, helping to complete the job effectively.

What Do the Colors Mean?

The color of tape you see on a job site isn’t just random. In many cases, they’re used to convey a specific hazard or situation, and there’s an entire color code that sites follow. 

  • Red Flags – Used to indicate electric power lines, cables, conduits, and lighting cables. These brightly colored flags help identify potential dangers around the work site, preventing accidental contact with high-voltage lines.
  • Orange Flags – Marks communication lines, such as telephone, alarm systems, and cable TV. Proper identification of these signal lines prevents disruptions to essential services.
  • Yellow Flags – Identifies gas, oil, steam, petroleum, or other gaseous materials. It is crucial to highlight these risks in work zones to prevent hazardous incidents.
  • Green Flags – Designates sewer and drain lines, including underground pipes and wastewater systems. Accurate marking of these helps avoid costly repairs during excavation.
  • Blue Flags – Highlights potable water lines to ensure that clean water remains uncontaminated during construction activities.
  • Purple Flags – Represents reclaimed water, irrigation systems, and slurry lines, which are vital in landscaping and municipal building projects.
  • Pink Flags – Used for temporary survey markings to help surveyors and a home inspector mark key points before breaking ground on a new property.
  • White Flags – Indicates proposed excavation areas or outlines planned construction projects. These are commonly seen in cities and town planning phases and help builders visualize the future site layout.

To Make Your Construction Site as Safe as Can be, Call Presco Today

Searching for durable and high-quality safety marking products for your construction site? Presco has you covered!

We offer marking flags, barricade tape, whiskers, adhesive tape, and much more so that your job site can be as safe as can be. Give us a call today to learn about our available safety marking products and to place an order!