Emergency Stops

MajorFault · Apr 27, 2009

A little of topic I know but please help me out here....

Does anyone out there have plastic hinged covers over the emergency stop buttons on operator consoles? We have several of the AB 800T style E-Stop Push-Pull buttons throughout our facility (typical manufacturing plant). Most of them have the aluminum ring around them to prevent accidental activations. However, due to 2 or 3 events where this type of accident has happened, management has decided to completely cover the e-stops with some type of clear plastic hinged guard. They claim that there is another facility very simliar to ours that has these in place and is a OSHA VPP Star site. Is this possible? Anyone out there using any style of guard that competely covers the e-stop?
What about the "initiated by a single human action" as described in NFPA 79?

Brijm · Apr 27, 2009

MajorFault said:
A little of topic I know but please help me out here....

Does anyone out there have plastic hinged covers over the emergency stop buttons on operator consoles? We have several of the AB 800T style E-Stop Push-Pull buttons throughout our facility (typical manufacturing plant). Most of them have the aluminum ring around them to prevent accidental activations. However, due to 2 or 3 events where this type of accident has happened, management has decided to completely cover the e-stops with some type of clear plastic hinged guard. They claim that there is another facility very simliar to ours that has these in place and is a OSHA VPP Star site. Is this possible? Anyone out there using any style of guard that competely covers the e-stop?
What about the "initiated by a single human action" as described in NFPA 79?

I don't believe that is leagal.... I would move the E-stop away from the other controls, where it is less likely to get accidentally hit.

leitmotif · Apr 27, 2009

Hmmm ASSUMING you are really wiring these as E stops and not just an OFF ON - which has been the practice in the last few places I have worked.

You spend all this money
1. To wire them properly
2. To safely shut the machine down (which may include brakes, hydraulic bleed circuits)
3. Make them accessible
4. NOT turn the machine on when reset
5. Adhere to single action needed

THEN you spend more money to defeat the purpose of them by covering them up?

The other site being OSHA VPP just means that OSHA has not found them covering E stops.
Dan Bentler

OZEE · Apr 27, 2009

I don't think that's technically legal either.

Contact OSHA. I can't remember the exact name, but they are supposed to have some kind of "consumer relations" group to answer questions like this without triggering an audit...

Killercal · Apr 27, 2009

Yeah, that doesn't sound too safe to me! I agree wit OZEE and contact OSHA.

Good luck and please advise us of you findings.

Thanks

PeterW · Apr 27, 2009

Why don't you move them to about 15 foot in the air, they should be safe from 'accidental' operation there.

Unless you company employs ex basketball players of course.

leitmotif · Apr 28, 2009

OZEE said:
I don't think that's technically legal either.

Contact OSHA. I can't remember the exact name, but they are supposed to have some kind of "consumer relations" group to answer questions like this without triggering an audit...

In the past both OSHA and state programs had consulting programs. These were free and completely separate from the compliance guys.

IF you are a state program contact your state group.
IF OSHA then contact OSHA

I am afraid that if you are lucky they may know what you are talking about BUT they do not have NFPA 79 as an adopted code.
Dan Bentler

Longhorn · Apr 28, 2009

all we have on our site is a piece of stainless pipe (food industry) which goes over the e-stop but still leaves the top of the mushroom button accessible.

You must have some clumbsy operators on the site.....

LH

JesperMP · Apr 28, 2009

Put a camera (dummy or real) looking right onto the E-Stop.

BobB · Apr 28, 2009

IDEC (Izumi) have a plastic cover that is lockable but is for standard 22.5 mm push buttons.
I would think that putting a cover over an emergency stop would be frowned upon at the very least and would also most probably break all the safety rules in your country.
Rings are common and probably the best one I have seen comes from Sprechur & Schuh - AB probably have them as they own S&S.

Tim Ledwith · Apr 28, 2009

I've had a similar problem with 'accidental" operation of the Emergency Stops. We had the A-B rings fitted but it still kept happening. The culprit turned out to be tools carried in peoples toolbelts as they were leaning on the console. We relocated the switches to slightly above waist height and the "problem" went away. The other style of guard I've seen was a 'C' shaped piece of rod (like a cover handle) across the front of the switch. Like the other posters, I'm totally against putting any sort of complete cover over an Emergency Stop Switch.
Tim.

George Graziano · Apr 28, 2009

We had a lot of accidental hits of the E-stops to the point management said do something. We ended up putting the mushroom head in one of those shrouds. You could hit it with a hand if you needed to. Would have trouble if you needed to hit it with an elbow, or back into it.

George

Kev77 · Apr 29, 2009

If I recall correctly, we had an audit by our insurance carrier and they made us remove the covers because the inspector said that the OSHA standard was that the button must accessible to open palm activation. Not sure how correct that statement was...

Kevin

OZEE · Apr 29, 2009

Kev77 said:
If I recall correctly, we had an audit by our insurance carrier and they made us remove the covers because the inspector said that the OSHA standard was that the button must accessible to open palm activation. Not sure how correct that statement was...

Kevin

If that's the case, then those rings around an estop button aren't legal either. (which has been my understanding of the law anyway...)

alwalker · Apr 29, 2009

Personally, I don't like having any kind of cover on an e-stop, not even the rings. I don't want to have to guide my fingers into a 40mm opening in an emergency. I want to be able to throw my arm up in that general direction and stop the machine.

That being said, operators accidently hitting an e-stop can be a big problem. Here in our plant we had this and management wanted to install rings. To get around this I watched the operators normal work path and moved two e-stops about 6 inches to the left and the problem went away. The buttons are still well within the operators reach, but far enough away that there is very little risk of an accidental activation.

Just my two cents.

Emergency Stops

MajorFault

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Brijm

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leitmotif

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OZEE

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Killercal

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PeterW

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leitmotif

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Longhorn

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JesperMP

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BobB

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Tim Ledwith

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George Graziano

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Kev77

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OZEE

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alwalker

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