1. A method for collecting downtime data for powered manufacturing equipment, said manufacturing equipment adapted for starting, stopping, and restarting, said downtime data including manufacturing equipment shutdowns of both mechanical and non-mechanical nature, said method comprising the steps of: connecting an independent electronic logic system to the manufacturing equipment; electrically blocking the manufacturing equipment from restarting after stopping until an acceptable reason has been entered and recognized by the electronic logic system; and manually entering an acceptable reason into said electronic logic system to enable restarting of the stopped manufacturing equipment.