Safety or pressure mats operate as a lone safety device with N/O rather than positive-guided contacts. For this reason, safety mats are mainly used as a protection against circumvention. This means that the border to the safety area is monitored using an ESPE and the area beyond that via a safety mat.

Also see: emergency stip units, HMI, light curtain monitors, motion control, power monitoring relays, programmable safety systems (PSS), safe bus systems, safety assessment, safety relays, safety switches, voltage monitoring relays