I. Machinery Safety
What to look for regarding machinery safety.
In terms of IEC machinery safety standards, safety is addressed as follows: Electrical—IEC 60204-1 *Safety of machinery – Electrical equipment of machines – Part 1: General requirements* (applies to machines that are not portable during operation, including groups of machines working in a coordinated manner; covers equipment starting from the point of connection to the power supply; 6th edition 2016 plus A1:2021 amendment replacing the 5th edition; IEC Webstore); Functional—IEC 62061 *Safety of machinery – Functional safety of safety-related control systems* (specifies requirements and recommendations for the design, integration, and verification of safety-related control systems [SCS]; applies to control systems performing machinery safety functions—either individually or in combination—for machines not portable during operation; 2nd edition 2021; IEC Webstore); General—IEC 61508 series *Functional safety of electrical/electronic/programmable electronic safety-related systems* (included in IECEE industrial automation product certification; IEC 61508-1:2010 is identically adopted as GB/T 20438.1; drafting organizations include the Institute of Instrumentation Technology & Economy of Machinery Industry, China Academy of Safety Science and Technology, Hangzhou HollySys, Siemens, and Omron); Adoption—GB/T 5226.1 identically adopts IEC 60204-1 (GB 28526 identically adopts IEC 62061:2021; scope modified/expanded from safety-related electrical/electronic/programmable electronic control systems [SRECS] to safety-related control systems [SCS] for machinery; National Standard Information Public Service Platform); Guidelines—IEC TS 63394:2023 *Safety of machinery – Guidelines for functional safety of safety-related control systems* (GB 28526 and GB/T 16855.1 provide guidance to machinery manufacturers on the design, development, and integration of safety-related control systems [SCS] or safety-related parts of control systems [SRP/CS]); Framework—IEC 62061 is an IEC…
Machinery-sector-specific standards (EVS) within the 61508 framework—six perspectives on machinery safety: 60204-1 (Electrical), 62061 (Functional Safety), 61508 (General), GB standard adoption, 63394 (Guidelines), and sector-specific standards—forming a closed-loop safety approach.
II.
Electrical Components
What to look for regarding electrical components.
Based on IEC standards for low-voltage electrical equipment, the components are categorized as follows: Switches—IEC 60947 (Low-voltage switchgear and controlgear – Part 1: General rules; applicable to equipment connected to circuits with rated voltages not exceeding 1000 V AC; 2020 edition; IEC Webstore); Contactors—IEC 60947-4-1 (Low-voltage switchgear and controlgear – Part 4-1: Contactors and motor-starters – Electromechanical contactors and motor-starters; 2023 edition); Control—IEC 60947-5-1 (Low-voltage switchgear and controlgear – Part 5-1: Control circuit devices and switching elements – Electromechanical control circuit devices; 2024 edition); Emergency Stop—IEC 60947-5-5 (Control circuit devices and switching elements – Electrical emergency stop device with mechanical latching function; 1997 plus A1:2005); Motors—IEC 60034 series (International standards for rotating electrical machines: 60034-1 Ratings and performance; 60034-2-1 Motor testing standards; 60034-5 Classification of degrees of protection; 60034-30-1 Efficiency classification scheme—IE1 to IE4, with IE4 being the highest; IEC motor efficiency standards); Protection—IEC 60529 (Classification of degrees of protection provided by enclosures; classification of rotating machine protection; IEC 60034-5:2020); Voltage—Low-voltage switchgear with rated voltage not exceeding 1000 V AC (IEC 60947-1). In summary, there are six key areas for electrical components: IEC 60947 general rules, contactors and starters, control circuit devices, emergency stop devices, the IEC 60034 motor series, and IEC 60529 protection ratings; compliance is assessed across these six categories.
III.
Process Safety
What to look for regarding process safety.
Based on IEC standards for the process industry, the perspective is as follows: SIS—IEC 61511-1:2016 (Functional safety – Safety instrumented systems for the process industry sector – Part 1: Framework, definitions, system hardware, and application programming requirements) specifies the requirements for the design, installation, operation, and maintenance of SISs to ensure they reliably achieve or maintain a safe process state; Assessment—The IEC 61511 series addresses SIS applications in the process industry (including the necessary process hazard and risk assessment [H&RA] to derive SIS specifications, while the contributions of other safety systems are considered only regarding SIS performance requirements); Scope—An SIS encompasses all equipment required to execute a Safety Instrumented Function (SIF), from sensors to final elements (IEC 61511-1:2017-08 preview); Series—The IEC 61511 series includes Part 0 (Functional safety in the process industry) and the standard itself (an SC 65A publication); General—IEC 61508 is the generic standard for functional safety (IEC 61511 is the sector-specific application for the process industry; both derive from the IEC 61508 framework); Application—SISs are used in process industries such as oil, gas, and chemicals (non-standard production lines used in process industry scenarios must also consider IEC 61511)—Five perspectives on process safety: 61511 SIS requirements, H&RA risk assessment, sensor-to-actuator scope, Part 0/series structure, and the 61508 framework;
these five perspectives ensure process controllability.
IV. Cybersecurity
What to consider regarding cybersecurity.
Regarding IEC industrial cybersecurity standard practices, here is an overview of the cybersecurity perspective: **Series**—The ISA/IEC 62443 series defines requirements and processes for implementing and maintaining secure Industrial Automation and Control Systems (IACS) (these standards establish security best practices and provide methods for assessing security performance levels; ISA); **Full Lifecycle**—The IEC 62443 series was developed to protect IACS throughout their entire lifecycle (currently comprising nine standards, technical reports, and technical specifications; originally developed for the industrial process sector, though IACS are now found in increasingly diverse fields such as energy supply/distribution and transportation; IEC Blog); **Holistic Approach**—IEC 62443 provides guidance on protecting cyber-physical systems from cyberattacks (addressing not only the technologies constituting control systems but also workflow countermeasures and personnel; adopting a holistic approach because not all risks are technical; ensuring all employees possess the necessary training, knowledge, and skills for security; IEC); **Benchmark**—ISA/IEC standards set cybersecurity benchmarks across all industry sectors utilizing IACS (bridging the gap between operations and information technology, as well as between process safety and cybersecurity); **Application**—IACS technology is critical to essential infrastructure (energy supply and distribution, transportation; IEC); **Compliance**—IEC conformity assessment ensures correct implementation of the standards (IEC 62443 conformity assessment)—Six perspectives on cybersecurity: the 62443 series, full lifecycle, technology-plus-process-plus-personnel, industry benchmarks, critical infrastructure, and conformity assessment—six ways to view cyber protection.
V.
Robotics and Standard Adoption
What to look for regarding robotics and the adoption of standards.
Based on robot safety practices and the domestic adoption of standards, the regulatory landscape is viewed through six key aspects: Robots (ISO 10218-1:2025—Safety requirements for industrial robots, 3rd edition; covering “partly completed machinery,” inherent safety design, risk reduction, and information provision; defining requirements for the robot itself prior to integration into complex systems); Integration (ISO 10218-2—Covering the integration of robots into complex systems; ISO 10218-1:2025 replaces the 2011 version; developed by ISO/TC 299 in collaboration with CEN); Machinery Directive (Harmonized standards for EU Machinery Directive 2006/42/EC, including IEC 60204-1:2016 + A1:2021); Standard Adoption (GB/T 5226.1—Identical adoption of IEC 60204-1 for electrical safety of machinery; Chinese National Standard; effective Jan 1, 2020); Functional Safety (GB 28526—Identical adoption of IEC 62061:2021; scope expanded from safety-related electrical/electronic/programmable electronic control systems to machinery safety-related control systems); and Guidelines (IEC TS 63394:2023—Identical adoption; guidelines on functional safety for safety-related control systems of machinery).
Implementation is assessed through these six lenses: ISO 10218-1 (robots), ISO 10218-2 (integration), Machinery Directive harmonized standards, GB/T 5226.1, GB 28526, and TS 63394 guidelines.
Conclusion
Regarding IEC standards for non-standard assembly lines, the conclusion is that compliance is defined across five dimensions: machinery safety, electrical components, process safety, cybersecurity, and robot-specific standards.
Machinery Safety—IEC 60204-1 (General requirements for electrical equipment of machines, 2016 + A1:2021), IEC 62061 (Functional safety of safety-related control systems, 2021 2nd Edition), IEC 61508 (Generic electrical control systems), IEC TS 63394 (Guidelines on functional safety); Electrical Components—IEC 60947 (Low-voltage switchgear and controlgear: 60947-1 General rules <1000V AC, 60947-4-1 Contactors and motor-starters, 60947-5-1 Control circuit devices, 60947-5-5 Emergency stop devices), IEC 60034 (Rotating electrical machines: ratings, testing, protection, efficiency IE1-4), IEC 60529 (Degrees of protection/IP ratings); Process Safety—IEC 61511-1:2016 (Functional safety – Safety instrumented systems for the process industry sector: specification, design, installation, operation, and maintenance; H&RA risk assessment; sensor-to-actuator SIF); Cybersecurity—IEC 62443 series (nine standards, technical reports, and technical specifications; IACS lifecycle protection; holistic approach covering technology, processes, and personnel; critical infrastructure benchmarks); Robotics—ISO 10218-1:2025 (Safety requirements for industrial robots: inherent mechanical safety design), ISO 10218-2 (Robot systems and integration); Adoption of Standards—GB/T 5226.1 (equivalent to IEC 60204-1), GB 28526 (equivalent to IEC 62061:2021), GB/T 20438.1 (equivalent to IEC 61508-1:2010), IEC TS 63394:2023 (guidelines).
In line with industry practice, here is a summary of the IEC standards: 60204 (Electrical), 62061 (Functional Safety), 60947 (Components), 60034 (Motors), 61511 (Process), and 62443 (Cybersecurity)—adhere to these six standards to ensure worry-free compliance.
