E-Stops Have A Yellow Background, Right?

You bet! Who could not possibly know by now that practically all electrical/safety/machine guarding standards now clearly call out that an emergency stop button must be red, mushroom shaped, and have a yellow background in order to be called an emergency stopping device? Well, to quote my four year old grandson – probably a trillionmegabazillion! You guessed it, he’s paying far too much attention to cable news lately. However, in my experience, I’ve been asked far too many times by engineers, maintenance, and plant operations personnel over recent years if they really need to update their operator stations to comply with this requirement? My answer has consistently been, yes – that is my recommendation. With the added caveat of course that this requirement is one of OSHA’s most frequent violations.

In my opinion, the intent behind this requirement is to unequivocally differentiate the e-stop button from other red devices in the area of the emergency stop device. Only when this requirement is complied with will the potential for hazardous mistakes be minimized. Several suppliers have developed solutions for this requirement that are relatively easy to apply in the field. But, the number one obstacle to compliance I’ve seen is awareness of the requirement. Hopefully this blog will help educate – and reduce hazards!