Playout system frozen or not playing

1. Keep the station on air. Fire something from another source: a jingle player, a CD, a second playout machine, or open a microphone and talk.
2. Check whether the playout has simply stopped or paused (automation switched to manual or "assist"?), or is genuinely frozen.
3. If an item shows as playing but there's no audio, check the playout output fader on the desk, then try skipping to the next item.
4. If it's frozen, follow your station's restart procedure. Note the time and the item that was playing first: it helps find the cause.
5. Once it's back, check the log is in sync with the clock before handing back to automation.

Recurring freezes need investigating: raise a ticket with the times, so they can be linked to a problem record.