SOPs help you decide when a machine is safe to operate, but how you start or stop it also matters. In industry, machines may warm up slowly or step down in stages to avoid damage. On your trainer board, those ideas are simplified, but you’ll still use real controls—start, pause, reset, and emergency stop—to practice how machines are safely managed in everyday use.

#

START-UP AND STOPPING PROCEDURES

To prevent damage in industry, many machines need to start slowly or stop slowly. Below is a brief explanation of these gradual processes. You will encounter these terms in industry, so you should understand what they are referring to.

Ramping up: This refers to the gradual process of starting a machine. Some machines need to "warm up" different aspects of its system before it is ready to run. An example of this would be in food production: a machine may need to go through a sterilization process before it is ready to process product.

Controlled Stop: Most machines will need to be turned off gradually. Stopping the machine suddenly can damage equipment. This may mean that you "step" the machine back down.

Emergency Stop or E-Stop: Ah, the big red button. This button should only be pressed if there is risk of bodily harm or risk of damage to equipment. This is because, you guessed it, stopping the machine suddenly can damage equipment. If there is not a risk of bodily harm or damage to equipment, use the controlled stop process.

EMERGENCY STOP BUTTONS

Only use emergency stop (or e-stop) buttons if there is risk of bodily harm or risk of damage to equipment.

#

BUTTONS ON THE BOARD

While our trainer boards don't have a long ramp up time, you should understand how to stop the trainer board properly. The video below shows you how to use the various buttons on the board in order to properly stop the board. At the end of this module, you will follow an SOP and then use those buttons to run the trainer board.