What are the differences between the installation standards of European logistics sorting lines and those of China?

The installation standard of European logistics sorting line takes the unified mandatory specification of the European Union as the core, focusing on universal requirements such as compliance and environmental protection. China, on the other hand, is based on the national standard, supplemented by industry and local standards, which is more suitable for the practicality of domestic logistics scenes. There are significant differences between the two in core system, safety and environmental protection, installation details and so on, as follows:

Standard system and certification requirements

Europe: The unified mandatory standard system of the European Union is adopted, and the core is to obtain CE certification. All sorting lines must conform to EN series standards, such as the requirements of mechanical safety risk assessment of EN 12100 and the specifications of protective devices of EN ISO 14120. At the same time, it also needs to meet the environmental protection requirements of special laws and regulations, such as WEEE directive and PPWR packaging waste regulations, and the standards are common in EU member States, with no regional differences. Compliance is the prerequisite for the equipment to be put into use.

China: With the national standard (GB) as the core, supplemented by industry standards (YZ, etc.) and group standards, such as Code for Engineering Design of Automated Logistics Transportation System (GB/T51357-2019) and General Technical Conditions of Express Sorting Equipment, etc. The installation must conform to the standards of construction quality acceptance, such as the General Code for Construction and Acceptance of Mechanical Equipment Installation Engineering (GB50231-2019), and there is no uniform compulsory certification threshold. The project acceptance and third-party inspection reports are used as the compliance basis, and some places will have detailed requirements to adapt to local logistics parks.

Safety and protection installation specification

Europe: The safety standards are stricter and more detailed, requiring not only basic protection such as emergency stop buttons and safety fences, but also mandatory provisions on risk pre-judgment and emergency mechanism of equipment. For example, for the sorting of dangerous goods such as lithium batteries, it is necessary to set up an independent fire prevention sorting area and connect it with the fire protection system; At the same time, the noise and electromagnetic radiation of equipment operation are more strictly restricted to avoid affecting the health of operators, and the material and protective spacing of protective devices have clear quantitative indicators.

China: The safety regulations focus on foundation protection and construction safety, such as requiring special operators to hold certificates, reliable grounding of equipment, and up-to-standard insulation of electrical lines. For specific equipment such as cross-belt sorter, the installation accuracy parameters such as track clearance and trolley shaking amount will be defined, but the special protection for dangerous goods sorting is mostly suggested, lacking mandatory uniform standards, and the indicators such as noise and electromagnetic radiation only meet the basic industrial safety threshold.

Equipment adaptation and interface standard

Europe: It needs to adapt to the unified logistics data interface and goods identification standards of the European Union, such as the mandatory compatibility of goods labels with EAN-13 codes, and the sorting equipment needs to be seamlessly connected with the European Union ICS customs system to realize the real-time transmission of goods' origin, declared value and other information. In addition, the voltage needs to match the European Union 230V standard, and the data transmission needs to conform to the mainstream European industrial bus protocols such as Profinet. At the same time, the European pallet standard is 1000mm×1200mm, and the conveying distance and the size of the sorting port of the sorting line are designed around this standard.

China: The interface and adaptation standards are more flexible. The goods labels can be compatible with various barcode types. The sorting equipment needs to be connected to the single window system of China Customs, but the data interface format can be adjusted according to the actual system of the enterprise. The voltage adapts to the domestic 220V standard, and the industrial bus mostly adopts general protocols such as Modbus. Domestic pallet standards are not uniform, and the sorting line needs to be adapted to pallets with various specifications such as 1200mm×1000mm, and more flexible adjustment space is often reserved during installation.

Environmental protection and material requirements

Europe: Environmental protection requirements run through the whole installation process, and it is mandatory for sorting equipment to adopt recyclable environmental protection materials and have the function of sorting packaging waste. After the equipment is installed, the environmental indicators of waste disposal, lubricating oil and other consumables must meet EU standards to avoid environmental pollution. Violators will face high penalties.

China: Environmental protection specifications mostly focus on energy saving and emission reduction after equipment operation. For example, it is required to optimize motor power and reduce energy consumption. The environmental protection of materials and waste disposal during installation are mostly guiding requirements, lacking mandatory constraints. Enterprises can choose flexibly according to costs and project requirements, and the implementation of environmental protection indicators is flexible.