Understanding Symbols: Emergency Stop
Posted by Bethany Savage | 27th Oct 2015
One of the main building blocks for a product’s safe design is the proper use of color-coding and symbols.
The need to correctly identify emergency stop actuators designed into machinery is critical so operators can easily locate them to stop a machine in an emergency situation. Following the latest best practices for symbols is important in helping to identify these devices. They provide practical guidance to make sure machine products are in compliance with the latest standards on this vital, potentially life-saving topic.
To learn more about new developments in the field of marking emergency stop actuators, be sure to read our CEO Geoffrey Peckham’s latest article in In Compliance Magazine, part of a series on safety symbols used on product safety labels and how they’ve changed over time to become more universally recognizable. The article, available in the October issue of In Compliance, gives practical guidance on the latest standards related to emergency stop, including NFPA 79, EN/IEC 60204-1, EN/ISO 13850, and the Machinery Directive. Also discussed is a new symbol registered in ISO 7010 to indicate the location of emergency stop buttons.
Looking for more emergency stop indication resources and products? Our online catalog includes die-cut yellow emergency stop legend plates (with and without text) in hole sizes of 22.5mm and 30.6mm to accommodate the standard 22mm and 30mm switch sizes offered by most emergency stop button manufacturers. We also offer the ISO and IEC symbols as both signs and labels in a wide variety of sizes and materials.