IMO A.952(23)
Graphical symbols for shipboard fire control plans
Pictogram sheets for fire and safety plans
Safety pictogram sheets provide small equipment symbols for printed fire and safety plans, used in plan preparation and amendments.
Symbols for printed fire and safety plans
Individual pictograms identify the equipment or function shown at a position on the drawing, including fire-fighting equipment and life-saving appliances.
A plan gives an overview of the vessel's arrangement. The pictogram marks the equipment position, and the legend explains its meaning.
Repeated items need repeated symbols across the drawing. Sheets make those individual pictograms available for the locations being marked, while the plan's existing symbol set determines which design belongs in each position.
Matching the symbol to the drawing
Size matters at the scale of the finished plan. A symbol that looks clear on its sheet can become difficult to distinguish when surrounded by other information.
The symbol must also represent the correct item. A general equipment symbol and one identifying a particular appliance are not automatically interchangeable. The drawing's legend and the equipment being represented provide the reference.
Plan amendments and physical identification
When equipment moves, the printed plan and its onboard location need to describe the same arrangement. The pictogram on the drawing connects with the sign or label at the physical item.
These small plan symbols serve a different viewing situation from equipment signs mounted on bulkheads. The plan is read at close range as a drawing; the equipment sign is read in the space where the item is kept.
Standards
What each standard covers here
ISO 17631 sets the requirements for the plans that hang aboard ship: fire control, damage control, life-saving appliances and means of escape. The symbols used on them come from IMO Resolution A.952(23) for fire control plans, which applies to ships built from 1 January 2004, and from A.760(18) as amended by MSC.82(70) for life-saving appliances.
IMO A.760(18) as amended by MSC.82(70)
Symbols related to life-saving appliances and arrangements
ISO 17631
Shipboard plans for fire control, damage control, life-saving appliances and means of escape
Asking for a quote
What to tell us about the plan
- Which plan the symbols are for: fire control, damage control, life-saving appliances or means of escape.
- The symbols needed and how many of each, since repeated equipment needs repeated symbols.
- The size the symbols have to work at on the finished drawing.
- The vessel's build date, which decides which fire control symbol set applies.
- The existing plan's symbol set, where symbols are being added to a drawing already in use.
Questions
Pictogram sheets, answered
What are pictogram sheets for?
Marking the equipment positions on a printed shipboard plan. The plan gives the overview, the pictogram marks where an item is, and the legend explains what it means. Sheets make the individual symbols available for the positions being marked.
Which standards apply?
ISO 17631:2022 sets out the shipboard plans themselves — fire control, damage control, life-saving appliances and means of escape. The symbols for fire control plans come from IMO Res. A.952(23), and the symbols for life-saving appliances from IMO Res. A.760(18) as amended by MSC.82(70).
Does the vessel's age change which symbols apply?
It can. A.952(23) applies to ships built from 1 January 2004. Ships built before that date may still use the symbols from the earlier resolution, A.654(16), so the build date is worth establishing before a plan for an older vessel is drawn.
How do these differ from equipment signs?
By viewing situation. A plan is read at close range as a drawing; an equipment sign is read in the space where the item is kept. A symbol that is clear on its sheet can be hard to distinguish once it is surrounded by other information, so size at the finished scale matters.
Can DENFOIL be bought directly?
No. DENFOIL is supplied through distributors, who quote the specification and handle the order.
Related maritime families
Local distribution
Specifying pictogram sheets for a plan
Tell us which plan is being prepared or amended and which symbol set it uses. A distributor quotes the specification.