EN 60 204-1 - I'm feeling rather Blue...
Hi Dan,
Welcome to the Forum...
Recommended colour coding acc. to EN 60 204-1
1. Colours
Pushbutton actuators must be marked with 2 colours in accordance with table 2.
Colours for START/ON actuators should be WHITE, GREY or BLACK, preferably WHITE. GREEN is also permitted. RED must NOT be used.
RED must be used for actuators provided for stopping in an emergency situation and for switching off in an emergency situation.
Colours for STOP/OFF actuators should be BLACK, GREY or WHITE, preferably BLACK. GREEN must NOT be used. RED is also permitted, however, it is recommended to avoid RED in the vicinity of components provided for emergency actions.
WHITE, GREY or BLACK are the preferred colours for pushbutton actuators with alternating START/ON and STOP/OFF function. RED, YELLOW or GREEN must not be used.
WHITE, GREY or BLACK are the preferred colours for pushbutton actuators initiating a function while being pressed and stopping the function when released (e.g. inching operations). RED, YELLOW or GREEN must not be used.
Resetting pushbuttons must be BLUE, WHITE, GREY or BLACK. In those cases where they also perform a STOP/OFF function, the preferred colours are WHITE, GREY or BLACK, with BLACK being the first choice.
GREEN must NOT be used. (<<<Take note Dan!)
Table 2: Colours for pushbutton actuators and their meanings
Colour: RED
Meaning: Emergency situation
Description: Actuate in a dangerous or emergency situation. Emergency stop
Examples of application: Initiate emergency functions
Colour: YELLOW
Meaning: Abnormal condition
Description: Actuate if an abnormal condition occurs
Examples of application: Intervention to suppress an abnormal condition
Intervention to resume an interrupted automatic sequence
Colour: GREEN
Meaning: Normal condition
Description: Actuate to initiate normal conditions
Colour: BLUE
Meaning: Mandatory action
Description: Actuate in a situation which requires a mandatory action
Examples of application: Resetting function
Colour: WHITE
Examples of application: START/ON (preferred) or STOP/OFF
Colour: GREY
Meaning: No special meaning defined
Description: General initiation of functions except emergency stop (see note below)
Examples of application: START/ON or STOP/OFF
Colour: BLACK
Examples of application: START/ON or STOP/OFF (preferred)
NOTE: If an additional coding feature (e.g. shape, position, surface finish) is used for marking pushbutton actuators, the same colours – WHITE, GREY or BLACK – may also be used to identify different functions (e.g. WHITE for START/ON and STOP/OFF actuators).
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2. Symbolic marking
It is recommended to mark pushbuttons with the following symbols near the actuator or – preferably – directly on the actuator in addition to the functional identification described:
START or ON
60417-IEC-5007
STOP or OFF
60417-IEC-5008
Pushbuttons with alternating START/STOP and ON/OFF function
60417-IEC-5010
Pushbuttons with START or ON function while being pressed and with STOP or OFF function when being released (i.e. inching)
60417-IEC-5011
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3. Indicator lights and indicators
Applications
Indicator lights and indicators are used to provide the following information:
- Indication: To draw the operator's attention to a specific circumstance or to indicate that a specific action should be performed. The usual colours used for this type of application are RED, YELLOW, GREEN or BLUE.
- Confirmation: To confirm a command or condition, or to confirm the end of a change operation or transition time. Usually, BLUE and WHITE are used for this type of application; GREEN is permitted in some cases.
Colours
Indicator lights must have the colour coding according to table 3 unless otherwise agreed between the supplier and the purchaser. Other meanings deviating therefrom (refer to IEC 60073) may be assigned based on one of the following criteria:
- Safety of persons and environment
- Condition of the electrical equipment
Table 3: Colours of indicator lights and their meanings relating to the machine status
Colour: RED
Meaning: Emergency situation
Description: Dangerous condition
Operator action: Immediate action to respond to a dangerous condition (e.g. by pressing emergency stop)
Colour: YELLOW
Meaning: Abnormal condition
Description: Abnormal condition; anticipated critical condition
Operator action: Monitoring and/or intervention (e.g. by restoring the intended function)
Colour: GREEN
Meaning: Normal condition
Description: Normal condition
Operator action: Optional
Colour: BLUE
Meaning: Mandatory action
Description: Indication of a condition requiring operator intervention
Operator action: Mandatory action
Colour: WHITE
Meaning: Neutral
Description: Other conditions; may be used if there is uncertainty about the appropriateness of RED, YELLOW, GREEN or BLUE
Operator action: Monitor
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Note: The above defines the general usage of colours as pushbuttons and indicator lights. This is for a clear standard on machinery.
It does not distinguish between a normal reset pushbutton and a safety reset pushbutton.
"Resetting pushbuttons must be
BLUE, WHITE, GREY or BLACK...".
BLUE's meaning and usage is noted as a mandatory resetting function:
Colour: BLUE
Meaning: Mandatory action
Description: Actuate in a situation which requires a mandatory action
Examples of application: Resetting function
You are considering using WHITE which is noted as:
Colour: WHITE
Examples of application: START/ON (
preferred) or STOP/OFF
GREY is either/or and BLACK is START/ON or STOP/OFF (preferred).
WHITE, GREY or BLACK are permitted as resets, but by interpretation of the above, BLUE is clearly intended to be the first choice for reset pushbuttons. There is no standard that states you
must use BLUE for a
safety reset, but just that BLUE is the first preference as a reset in general. It has, however, become the general norm for safety resets.
Indicator lights -
Unfortunately EN 60 204-1 doesn't quite cover illuminated pushbuttons as NFPA does, but I think the consensus here is to assume the colour of a light to be the same as the colour of the light on an illuminated pushbutton. The fact that the pushbutton and light meanings for BLUE are both defined as a mandatory action would support this.
Colour: BLUE
Meaning: Mandatory action
Description: Indication of a
condition requiring operator intervention
Operator action: Mandatory action
So again, a BLUE light should indicate a mandatory action, which requires intervention from the operator e.g. an emergency stop reset.
Whereas a WHITE light is...
Colour: WHITE
Meaning: Neutral
Description: Other conditions;
may be used if there is uncertainty about the appropriateness of RED, YELLOW, GREEN or BLUE
Operator action: Monitor
In other words, in general a WHITE can be used for any other conditions except for the conditions that RED, YELLOW, GREEN or BLUE normally indicate, and can only be used as a backup light colour if one the preferred colours is somehow inappropriate in some way.
So you should use the preferred BLUE light as a mandatory action indicator and also BLUE for non-illuminated pushbutton mandatory resets, regardless of whether they're safety or not. In cases where it's not a mandatory reset, say for a fault acknowledge, then you could use, for example, a BLACK pushbutton, or a WHITE illuminated pushbutton.
Regards,
George