The Garmat Paint Booth Emergency Stop Button, the big, bright, red button on your paint booth control panel that is so tempting to push. This type of button is typically used to stop dangerous situations from occurring, except in movies, where they often start one.
No one is quite certain when red buttons were first used in industrial applications, but they have been around for a long time. Some industries call them a “Kill switch.” At Garmat, we call them an “EM STOP” – short for “Emergency Stop.” And that is what they are intended to do; immediately “Stop” the function of the paint booth in case of a life or limb situation.
Most of us know what these buttons are for, but yet we still want to push them. Why? There are learned behaviors around the color red and red buttons. The color red is everywhere in our daily lives, and we are trained to notice it. Historically, it is tied to the action “stop,” and with our paint booth controls, there is no difference. However, with the advent of cell phones, the color red is often used for notifications, indicating we need to do something. Then, there is the psychology of the word “Don’t.” Our brain cannot process the word “Don’t.” (Here is a simple test – tell yourself “Don’t think about …” and then you do.) With the instruction regarding the red button being “don’t push the emergency stop,” your brain translates it to “push the emergency stop.”
To retrain ourselves, maybe we need to understand why we should avoid using the Emergency Stop Button. (Notice how I used the word avoid instead of “don’t.”) The Emergency Stop Button on your paint booth is designed to immediately shut down operations in the paint booth in case of a life or limb emergency in the paint booth. This type of shutdown is a hard shut off and does not allow components to cycle down. So, pushing the Emergency Stop Button immediately shuts down all functions. Using this on a regular basis is hard on the components that control the paint booth. Think of a computer, most of us were taught to avoid a hard shut off on our computers because it can cause data loss and corruption on your hard drive. The same thing happens with the paint booth controls. Not only is the user risking breaking the switch, but they are also potentially causing problems with operation of the paint booth system as a whole. These problems can result in down-time, lost production, and costs related to trouble shooting component failure issues.
How do you stop the paint tech or other staff from pushing the EM Stop to shut down the paint booth? It is simple. Train yourself or your staff to shut down the paint booth properly, using the off buttons in the touch screen or the physical buttons/switches when using basic paint booth controls.
Need help with getting your paint shop production ready? Contact Garmat USA to locate a distributor to help you evaluate your paint booth and processes.
Garmat USA paint booth control panels are built in our very own UL 508A Listed Panel Shop located at the Garmat USA Factory in Englewood, Colorado. Every control panel produced is built to the most recent ETL specifications. Employing our own UL 508A Listed Panel Shop allows for infinite possibilities in customizing each control panel, from the simplest functions to a touch screen complete with any imaginable paint recipe. Garmat certified staff tests every piece of equipment that leaves the facility; we are not dependent on standards set by an outside company so we can ensure that every control panel meets the quality standards Garmat USA is known for.
