A method for operating a continuous casting machine at the start of casting, at the end of casting and when producing a transitional piece for improving the quality of the ends of the strand, and protecting the machine from damage. The tire status monitoring apparatus includes transponders which are provided on the respective tires, detect statuses of the tires in response to a request signal and generate transponder data including data indicative of the statuses of the tires detected, and a transceiver which transmits the request signal to each transponder and receives the transponder data from each transponder. The classroom barrier is simple to operate, bullet resistant, and impenetrable for some predetermined length of time. The signal is compliant with a communication protocol that specifies that the first connection of the communication interface carries the signal while the second connection of the communication interface carries the clock signal. The bone engagement member defines at least two bone engagement points and wherein at least one bone engagement point is movable relative to at least one other bone engagement point in the direction of the bone. In a second method, the entire user program is copied into and afterward directly interpreted by an internal memory of the microcontroller during the runup phase of the flow of control.