Emergency stop button: the device that can save a life

Occupational risk prevention and safety at work are key to avoiding accidents in the workplace.

Do you remember the iconic film Modern Times starring Charles Chaplin as a steelworker who works tightening nuts on an assembly line? Can you imagine what would happen if that conveyor belt made a mistake and suddenly stopped? At the very least, the worker played by Chaplin could get his hand crushed by his colleague.

In the real world, a mistake can have serious consequences. Occupational risk prevention and safety at work are key to avoid dangerous scenarios like the one described.

In this new blog post, we will explain how to avoid workplace accidents like this one thanks to a very important device: the emergency stop button.

WHAT IS THE EMERGENCY STOP BUTTON?

In industrial sectors, machinery is essential to automate processes and increase productivity.

However, machines are not infallible, and can fail at any time, putting the safety of operators at risk. For example, a failure in an automatic foam rubber cutting machine in a sofa upholstery company or carelessness on the part of the worker during use can cause a serious accident at work. How can this accident be avoided or prevented? With a so-called emergency stop button.

This button acts as a superhero in such cases. It is a control switch that allows machinery to be stopped quickly when there is a risk of an accident at work or when it has to be stopped for some reason. This emergency stop button, according to the UNE 20-416-80 Standard, is compulsory on all industrial machinery, guaranteeing safety unless the machine is manually operated.

HOW DOES IT WORK?

The emergency stop button is shaped like a "mushroom head", red in colour and with a yellow circle on the lower surface. Its operation is simple. In the event that a worker detects that an anomaly has occurred in the operation of a machine, he/she presses the red button, and the machine stops, cutting off the power supply (electricity, pressurised air...). The reactivation of the machinery requires a key, ensuring total control over the situation.

This emergency stop device, in some cases, may not interrupt all the circuits of the machine, which if stopped may pose a danger or risk to the worker or the machine, such as, for example, magnetic chucks or auxiliary circuits such as lighting or cooling circuits. Not only are certain processes not stopped, but others can be started by pressing the button without risk to the operator. Examples of this are emergency braking devices for a quicker stop or reversing the direction of rotation on the rollers of a sheet metal bending machine.

ON WHICH MACHINES SHOULD AN EMERGENCY STOP BUTTON BE INSTALLED?

Emergency stop buttons should be installed on all machinery where there may be a mechanical risk or hazard during normal conditions of use.

Depending on the type of machine, it may be necessary to install more than one emergency stop button, e.g. on machines with more than one control and monitoring station, special machines with more than one point of danger separate from the control and monitoring station...

Some industrial machines that must have an emergency stop button in case of an error or unforeseen hazardous or dangerous situation are hydraulic presses, automatic packaging machines, welding machines, computer numerical control machines, conveyor belts to stop the belt in case of jams, imminent danger or need for manual intervention, chemical processing equipment to stop operations in case of leaks, dangerous reactions or other incidents, or metal fabrication machines such as lathes, milling machines and metal cutting machines, for example.

If you want to find out more about emergency stop buttons, please contact us! Our sales team will be happy to advise you on the solution that best suits your needs.