SIST EN 415-4:2026

SLOVENSKI STANDARD
01-marec-2026
Varnost pakirnih strojev - 4. del: Stroji za nakladanje in razkladanje palet ter
pripadajoča oprema
Safety of packaging machines - Part 4: Palletizers and depalletizers and associated
equipment
Sicherheit von Verpackungsmachinen - Teil 4: Palettierer und Depalettierer und
zugehörige Ausrüstungen
Sécurité des machines d'emballage - Partie 4 : Palettiseurs et dépalettiseurs et
équipement associé
Ta slovenski standard je istoveten z: EN 415-4:2025
ICS:
55.200 Pakirni stroji Packaging machinery
2003-01.Slovenski inštitut za standardizacijo. Razmnoževanje celote ali delov tega standarda ni dovoljeno.

EN 415-4
EUROPEAN STANDARD
NORME EUROPÉENNE
December 2025
EUROPÄISCHE NORM
ICS 55.200 Supersedes EN 415-4:1997, EN 415-4:1997/AC:2002
English Version
Safety of packaging machines - Part 4: Palletizers and
depalletizers and associated equipment
Sécurité des machines d'emballage - Partie 4 : Sicherheit von Verpackungsmaschinen - Teil 4:
Palettiseurs et dépalettiseurs et équipement associé Palettierer und Depalettierer und zugehörige
Ausrüstungen
This European Standard was approved by CEN on 4 November 2024.

CEN members are bound to comply with the CEN/CENELEC Internal Regulations which stipulate the conditions for giving this
European Standard the status of a national standard without any alteration. Up-to-date lists and bibliographical references
concerning such national standards may be obtained on application to the CEN-CENELEC Management Centre or to any CEN
member.
This European Standard exists in three official versions (English, French, German). A version in any other language made by
translation under the responsibility of a CEN member into its own language and notified to the CEN-CENELEC Management
Centre has the same status as the official versions.

CEN members are the national standards bodies of Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia,
Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway,
Poland, Portugal, Republic of North Macedonia, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Türkiye and
United Kingdom.
EUROPEAN COMMITTEE FOR STANDARDIZATION
COMITÉ EUROPÉEN DE NORMALISATION

EUROPÄISCHES KOMITEE FÜR NORMUNG

CEN-CENELEC Management Centre: Rue de la Science 23, B-1040 Brussels
© 2025 CEN All rights of exploitation in any form and by any means reserved Ref. No. EN 415-4:2025 E
worldwide for CEN national Members.

Contents Page
European foreword . 4
Introduction . 6
1 Scope . 7
2 Normative references . 7
3 Terms and definitions . 9
3.1 Definitions . 9
3.2 Definitions of palletizers and depalletizers . 11
3.3 Definition of auxiliary equipment . 12
4 Safety requirements . 14
4.1 General requirements . 14
4.2 Safety requirements for semi-automatic stripper plate palletizer . 26
4.3 Safety requirements for an automatic low-level palletizer or depalletizer . 27
4.4 Safety requirements for an automatic high-level palletizer or depalletizer. 27
4.5 Safety requirements for a pick and place palletizer and depalletizer (column or
gantry type) . 28
4.6 Safety requirements for a robot palletizer or depalletizers . 28
4.7 Requirements for a case-packer palletizer . 29
4.8 Safety requirements for a multi-station palletizer served by AGVs . 29
4.9 Safety requirements for a mechanical gripping head . 33
4.10 Safety requirements for a vacuum gripping head . 33
4.11 Safety requirements for a magnetic gripping head . 34
4.12 Safety requirement for a roller curtain gripping head . 34
4.13 Safety requirements for a pallet stacker/destacker . 35
4.14 Safety requirements for a pallet changer . 38
4.15 Safety requirements for a pallet grouping and/or ungrouping machine . 39
4.16 Safety requirements for a layer pad mechanism . 40
4.17 Safety requirements for a pallet load size or weight checker . 42
4.18 Safety requirements for a pallet condition checker . 42
5 Verification of safety requirements and measures . 43
5.1 General. 43
5.2 Verification procedures . 43
6 Information . 45
6.1 General. 45
6.2 Instructions . 45
Annex A (informative) List of significant hazards . 46
A.1 General. 46
A.2 Semiautomatic stripper plate palletizer . 49
A.3 Automatic low-level stripper plate palletizer or depalletizer. 51
A.4 Automatic high-level palletizer or depalletizer . 53
A.5 Pick and place palletizer and depalletizer (column pick and gantry type) . 56
A.6 Robot palletizer or depalletizer . 58
A.7 Case packer palletizer . 61
A.8 Multi station palletizing system . 63
A.9 Mechanical gripping head . 66
A.10 Vacuum gripping head . 68
A.11 Magnetic gripping head . 69
A.12 Roller curtain gripping head . 70
A.13 Pallet stacker /destacker . 71
A.14 Pallet changer . 73
A.15 Grouping and ungrouping unit . 74
A.16 Device for loading or unloading of layer pads . 76
A.17 Pallet size/weight checker . 77
A.18 Pallet condition checker . 79
Annex B (normative) Noise test code . 80
B.1 Introduction . 80
B.2 Operating condition . 80
B.3 Determination of emission sound pressure level at the workstation . 81
B.4 Typical positions for measurement of the emission sound pressure level . 81
B.5 Determination of the sound power level . 82
Annex C (informative) Method for assessing the stability of loads staked on a pallet . 83
C.1 General . 83
C.2 Prevention of slipping . 83
C.3 Prevention of overturn . 84
C.4 Evaluation of the horizontal forces (inertia effects) . 84
C.5 Stopping/starting acceleration . 85
C.6 Centrifugal force . 85
C.7 General case . 85
Annex D (informative) Design criteria for the safety of multi station palletizer served by
AGV . 86
Annex E (informative) Safety aspects for integrated palletizing system . 87
Annex ZA (informative) Relationship between this European Standard and the essential
requirements of Directive 2006/42/EC aimed to be covered . 90
Bibliography . 92
European foreword
This document (EN 415-4:2025) has been prepared by Technical Committee CEN/TC 146 “Packaging
machines - Safety”, the secretariat of which is held by UNI.
This European Standard shall be given the status of a national standard, either by publication of an
identical text or by endorsement, at the latest by June 2026, and conflicting national standards shall be
withdrawn at the latest by June 2026.
Attention is drawn to the possibility that some of the elements of this document may be the subject of
patent rights. CEN shall not be held responsible for identifying any or all such patent rights.
This document supersedes EN 415-4:1997.
— palletizers and depalletizers that incorporate industrial robots and multi-stations palletizing
systems have been added to the scope;
— safety requirements have been rewritten so they are in line with EN 415-10:2014;
— normative references have been changed to reflect the current B1 and B2 standards;
— the performance level required PLr (specified by EN ISO 13849-1:2023) is specified for the safety-
related parts of control systems
This document has been prepared under a standardization request addressed to CEN by the European
Commission. The Standing Committee of the EFTA States subsequently approves these requests for its
Member States.
For the relationship with EU Legislation, see informative Annex ZA, which is an integral part of this
document.
This document is part of the series EN 415, Safety of packaging machines, which consists of the
following parts:
— Part 1: Terminology and classification of packaging machines and associated equipment;
— Part 2: Pre-formed rigid container packaging machines;
— Part 3: Form, fill and seal machines; fill and seal machines;
— Part 5: wrapping machines;
— Part 6: Pallet wrapping machines;
— Part 7: Group and secondary packaging machines;
— Part 8: Strapping machines;
— Part 9: Noise measurement methods for packaging machines, packaging lines and associated
equipment, grade of accuracy 2 and 3;
— Part 10: General requirements.
Any feedback and questions on this document should be directed to the users’ national standards body.
A complete listing of these bodies can be found on the CEN website.
According to the CEN-CENELEC Internal Regulations, the national standards organisations of the
following countries are bound to implement this European Standard: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria,
Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland,
Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Republic of
North Macedonia, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Türkiye and the
United Kingdom.
Introduction
This document is of relevance, in particular, for the following stakeholder groups representing the
market players with regards to machine safety:
— machine manufacturers (small, medium and large enterprise);
— health and safety bodies (regulators, accident prevention organization, market surveillance, etc.).
Others can be affected by the level of machinery safety achieved with the means of the document by the
above-mentioned stakeholder groups.
— machine users/employers (small, medium and large enterprise);
— machine user/employees (e.g. trade unions, organization for people with special needs);
— service providers, e.g. for maintenance.
The above-mentioned stakeholder groups have been given the possibility to participate at the drafting
process of this document.
The machinery concerned and the extent to which hazards, hazardous situations or hazardous events
are covered are indicated in the Scope of this document.
This document is a type-C standard as stated in EN ISO 12100:2010.
When requirements of this type-C standard are different from those which are stated in type-A or type-
B standards, the requirements of this type-C standard take precedence over the requirements of the
other standards for machines that have been designed and built according to the requirements of this
type-C standard.
The full set of requirements for machines in the Scope of this document is composed by those given in
this document in conjunction with the relevant requirements of EN 415-10:2014.
The Annex ZA of this document will not list the EHSR which are not relevant for this kind of machines or
are not covered for any other reason.
NOTE EN 415-7:2006+A1:2008 is currently being revised with a new title: “Cartoning and Case-packing
machines”.
1 Scope
This document is applicable to the following groups of machines, auxiliary equipment and their
combinations:
— palletizers;
— depalletizers;
— auxiliary equipment incorporated in or linked to the operations of palletizers and depalletizers;
— conveying systems which are part of palletizers or depalletizers;
— palletizers combined with functions of machines which are covered by other parts of EN 415, but
detailed requirements are only provided for palletizing functions.
The individual machines are described in 3.2. Auxiliary equipment is described in 3.3.
This document deals with safety requirements for machine design, transport, installation,
commissioning, operation, adjustment, maintenance and cleaning of palletizers, depalletizers, auxiliary
equipment and conveying systems which are part of palletizer or depalletizer. The extent to which
hazards, hazardous situations and events are covered is indicated in Annex A.
Exclusions:
This document is not applicable to the following machines:
— machines that were manufactured before the date of publication of this document by CEN;
— conveyors that connect palletizers and depalletizers with machines that are not in the scope of this
document.
Conveyors in the scope of this document also fall in the scope of EN 619:2022, however, this document
describes the additional or specific hazards for conveyors fitted into palletizers and depalletizers and so
the requirements of this document take precedence over the requirements of EN 619:2022.
This document does not consider the following hazards:
— the use of palletizers and depalletizers in a potentially explosive atmosphere;
— the health, safety or hygiene hazards associated with the products that are contained in the unit
load handled by palletizers and depalletizers except for the spillage of hazardous substances caused
by the malfunction of a machine.
2 Normative references
The following documents are referred to in the text in such a way that some or all of their content
constitutes requirements of this document. For dated references, only the edition cited applies. For
undated references, the latest edition of the referenced document (including any amendments) applies.
EN 415-1:2014, Safety of packaging machines — Part 1: Terminology and classification of packaging
machines and associated equipment
EN 415-7:2006+A1:2008, Safety of packaging machines — Part 7: Group and secondary packaging
machines
EN 415-9:2009, Safety of packaging machines — Part 9: Noise measurement methods for packaging
machines, packaging lines and associated equipment, grade of accuracy 2 and 3
EN 415-10:2014, Safety of packaging machines — Part 10: General Requirements
EN 795:2012, Personal fall protection equipment — Anchor devices
EN 1005-3:2002+A1:2008, Safety of machinery — Human physical performance — Part 3: Recommended
force limits for machinery operation
EN 13155:2020+A1:2025, Crane — Safety — Non-fixed load lifting attachments
EN 60204-1:2018, Safety of machinery — Electrical equipment of machines — Part 1: General
requirements
EN IEC 61496-1:2020, Safety of machinery — Electro-sensitive protective equipment — Part 1: General
requirements and tests
EN IEC 61496-2:2020, Safety of machinery — Electro-sensitive protective equipment — Part 2: Particular
requirements for equipment using active opto-electronic protective devices (AOPDs)
EN ISO 4413:2010, Hydraulic fluid power — General rules and safety requirements for systems and their
components (ISO 4413:2010)
EN ISO 4414:2010, Pneumatic fluid power — General rules and safety requirements for systems and their
components (ISO 4414:2010)
EN ISO 7010:2020, Graphical symbols — Safety colours and safety signs — Registered safety signs
(ISO 7010:2019, Corrected version 2020-06)
EN ISO 10218-1:2025, Robotics — Safety requirements — Part 1: Industrial robots (ISO 10218-1:2025)
EN ISO 10218-2:2025, Robotics — Safety requirements — Part 2: Industrial robot applications and robot
cells (ISO 10218-2:2025)
EN ISO 12100:2010, Safety of machinery — General principles for design — Risk assessment and risk
reduction (ISO 12100:2010)
EN ISO 13849-1:2023, Safety of machinery — Safety-related parts of control systems — Part 1: General
principles for design (ISO 13849-1:2023)
EN ISO 13850:2015, Safety of machinery — Emergency stop function — Principles for design
(ISO 13850:2015)
EN ISO 13851:2019, Safety of machinery — Two-hand control devices — Principles for design and
selection (ISO 13851:2019)
EN ISO 13855:2024, Safety of machinery — Positioning of safeguards with respect to the approach of the
human body (ISO 13855:2024)
EN ISO 13856-2:2013, Safety of machinery — Pressure-sensitive protective devices — Part 2: General
principles for design and testing of pressure-sensitive edges and pressure-sensitive bars
(ISO 13856-2:2013)
EN ISO 13857:2019, Safety of machinery — Safety distances to prevent hazard zones being reached by
upper and lower limbs (ISO 13857:2019)
EN ISO 14122-2:2016, Safety of machinery — Permanent means of access to machinery — Part 2:
Working platforms and walkways (ISO 14122-2:2016)
EN ISO 14122-3:2016, Safety of machinery — Permanent means of access to machinery — Part 3: Stairs,
stepladders and guard-rails (ISO 14122-3:2016)
3 Terms and definitions
For the purposes of this document, the terms and definitions given in EN 415-1:2014, EN 415-10:2014,
Clause 3, EN ISO 12100:2010, Clause 3 and the following apply.
ISO and IEC maintain terminology databases for use in standardization at the following addresses:
— ISO Online browsing platform: available at https://www.iso.org/obp/
— IEC Electropedia: available at https://www.electropedia.org/
3.1 Definitions
3.1.1
palletize
place one or more products on a pallet, a similar support or on the floor
3.1.2
depalletize
separate a palletized load into individual products
3.1.3
layer
arrangement of products in a horizontal plane
3.1.4
layer pad
layer sheet
intermediate layer
sheet of material used to stabilize a pallet load
[SOURCE: EN 415-1:2014, 3.15.39]
3.1.5
layer pattern
disposition of the products in a layer
3.1.6
pallet
rigid horizontal platform designed to be handled by pallet trucks, forklift trucks or other appropriate
handling equipment, and used as a base for assembling, loading, storing, handling, stacking,
transporting, or displaying goods and loads
Note 1 to entry: The pallet may be constructed with, or fitted with, a superstructure.
3.1.7
pallet load
arrangement of products placed on a pallet or slip sheet
3.1.8
porous vacuum plate
plate made of porous material which holds a product by means of a vacuum
3.1.9
row
horizontal line of products
3.1.10
slip sheet
thin flat piece of material used to support a pallet load
3.1.11
stack
vertical column of products or pallets
3.1.12
integrator
entity who designs, provides, manufactures or assembles an integrated manufacturing system and is in
charge of the safety strategy, including the protective measures, control interfaces and interconnections
of the control system
Note 1 to entry: The integrator may be a manufacturer, engineering company or the user.
3.1.13
integrated palletizing system
assembly of machines designed to palletize or depalletize pallet loads
3.1.14
ESPE
electro-sensitive protective equipment
assembly of devices and/or components working together for protective tripping or presence-sensing
purposes and comprising as a minimum:
— a sensing device
— controlling/monitoring device
— output signal switching device and/or a safety-related data interface
3.1.15
AOPD
active opto-electronic protective device
device whose sensing function is performed by opto-electronic emitting and receiving elements
detecting the interruption of optical radiation generated, within device, by an opaque object present in
the specified detection zone for a light beam device, on the axis of the light beam
3.1.16
AOPDDR
active opto-electronic protective device responsive to diffuse radiation
device, whose sensing function is performed by optoelectronic emitting and receiving elements, that
detect the diffuse reflection of optical radiation generated within the device by an object present in a
detection zone specified in two dimensions
3.1.17
personnel key
key which is released from a trapped key interlocking device (typically an access lock used in
conjunction with whole body access) and retained by a person to prevent a hazardous situation, e.g.
unexpected start-up (ISO/TS 19837:2018)
3.2 Definitions of palletizers and depalletizers
3.2.1 General
This clause describes the working principles of typical configurations of palletizers and depalletizers.
Variations of these typical assemblies also exist.
3.2.2
semi-automatic stripper plate palletizer
palletizer in which an operator forms the products into the layer pattern on a stripper plate manually,
then the operator starts the automatic layer transfer intentionally
3.2.3
automatic low-level palletizer or depalletizer
palletizer in which layers of packages are formed at one level, usually a low level, transferred by
pushing onto a stripper plate which raises or lowers to the appropriate level and transfers the layers
onto the pallet while the pallet remains at one level
3.2.4
automatic high-level palletizer or depalletizer
palletizer in which layers of packages are formed at one level usually a high level and transferred onto
the pallet which is raised and then lowered as the pallet load forms
Note 1 to entry: A depalletizer operates in reverse.
3.2.5
pick and place palletizer or depalletizer (gantry type)
palletizer in which products are gripped, lifted, transferred to the loading position and then lowered
onto the pallet load with linear movements and a rotation of the end effector
3.2.6
pick and place palletizer or depalletizer (column type)
pick-and-place palletizer in which the product lifting device is supported on a column and can move up
and down the column or rotate around the column
Note 1 to entry: A rotation of the end effector may also exist.
Note 2 to entry: Column palletizers can pick up products one at a time, or in groups. Products are typically
conveyed to the machine at low level but sometimes at high level.
3.2.7
stack palletizer
palletizer which creates stacks of packages, e.g. crates which are then transferred to the pallet as a
group
3.2.8
robot palletizer and depalletizer
palletizer or depalletizer which uses an industrial robot to perform some or all sequential operations
for palletizing or depalletizing products
Note 1 to entry: Robot palletizers can pick up products one at a time, or in groups. In some installations the robot
also positions the pallet or the layer pads.
3.2.9
case-packer-palletizer
machine which combines the operations of case-packing and palletizing in one machine
3.2.10
linear multi-station palletizing system
palletizer in which two or more pallet or pallet loads are positioned in a row on the ground for
palletizing or depalletizing and pallets and pallets loads are delivered to and removed from the machine
using an industrial truck
Note 1 to entry: The industrial truck can be a conventional forklift truck, a manually operated pallet truck or
remote-controlled self-propelled work equipment.
3.3 Definition of auxiliary equipment
3.3.1 General
This clause describes the working principle of typical types of auxiliary equipment used in palletizers
and depalletizers.
3.3.2
mechanical gripping head
assembly of mechanical components which hold products, a set of products, an empty pallet or layer
pads using one of the following methods:
a) positive support, e.g. the product is supported by a plate or hooks
b) friction between fingers or plates and the load
c) friction between the products that make up the load
d) friction or positive support by inflatable elements
3.3.3
vacuum gripping head
gripping head which uses vacuum to hold products or layer pads
Note 1 to entry: The mechanism will typically comprise several suction cups or a porous vacuum plate.
3.3.4
magnetic gripping head
gripping head which uses electromagnetic force to lift products made from magnetic material, e.g. tin-
plated mild steel cans
3.3.5
gripping head with roller curtain
mechanism comprising a set of free running rollers supported by two chains which receives and
supports a layer of products; the mechanism is then lifted and moved over a pallet where the roller
curtain is retracted leaving the products on the pallet
3.3.6
pallet stacker/unstacker
machine which dispenses pallets from a stack or accepts single pallets and places them in a stack
3.3.7
pallet changer
machine which removes a pallet load from a pallet so that it can be placed on another pallet
3.3.8
pallet grouping and/or ungrouping machine
assembly of pallet conveyors which stores, sorts and delivers pallets or pallet loads to several loading
stations
3.3.9
layer pad inserter or remover
machine or attachment which places layer pad onto layers of products or the pallet as the pallet load is
formed or removes layer pad as a pallet load is dismantled
Note 1 to entry: The layer pad magazine can be inside the safeguarded zone or in a separate control zone.
3.3.10
pallet checker
machine that checks the quality of a pallet
3.3.11
pallet load checker
machine which checks the quality of a pallet load
3.3.11.1
pallet size/weight checker
machine that checks the weight or dimensions of a pallet load
4 Safety requirements
4.1 General requirements
4.1.1 General
All machines in the scope of the standard shall comply with the following requirements.
Where a machine has hazards, which are not on a typical machine and so are not described in Annex A,
the machine shall be designed according to EN 415-10:2014.
4.1.2 Risk from moving parts – inherently safe design – physical aspects
The requirements of 5.2.1.1 of EN 415-10:2014 shall apply.
NOTE Annex B (informative) of EN 415-10:2014 provides maximum values for force and pressure of
inherently safe design.
4.1.3 Safeguards
Where hazards from moving parts cannot be eliminated by design, access to these hazards shall be
prevented by fixed or interlocked guards.
When there is a risk of falling loads outside the safeguarded area, protection by means of ESPE devices
alone is not permitted.
ESPE can be used to protect pallet load infeed or discharge openings in guards or to monitor the
interior zone.
4.1.4 Fixed or interlocked movable guards
The requirements of 5.2.1.2, 5.2.1.3 and 5.2.1.4 of EN 415-10:2014 shall apply.
Where interlocking devices are connected in series, the influence of fault masking and its influence on
the diagnostic coverage DC and the safety performance (PL/SIL) shall be considered.
4.1.5 Operator access to hazard zone
4.1.5.1 General
On machines without pallet conveyors where the hazard zone is small enough or simple enough for the
operator to check that no one is inside the hazard zone from a single control station outside the guards,
it is acceptable for pallet loads and operators to use the same access opening in the guards.
On machines where it is not possible to have a clear view of the hazard zones from the reset device the
requirements of 5.16.2.2, 5.16.2.3 and 5.16.2.4 of EN 415-10:2014 shall apply.
4.1.5.2 Access over a conveyor
Where approach to the hazard zone is foreseeable over a belt or slat band conveyor, the maximum
distance between the pallet load and the columns supporting the AOPD or the guards on both sides of
the slat band or belt conveyor shall be not greater than 180 mm to prevent an operator from passing
through the gap when the AOPD is muted.
Where fixed or interlocking guards extend over a conveyor or a tunnel guard at the entry or exit of the
machine, the design shall prevent climbing over the guard, e.g. by an additional guard or measures to
prevent standing on the tunnel or conveyor. Additional guards shall be dimensioned by considering the
tunnel or conveyor as a plane of access 2 000 mm high from the floor or the access platform.
On chain or roller conveyor the clearance between the outer edge of the pallet load to fixed parts shall
be not greater than 230 mm as specified in EN 415-10:2014, 5.2.1.3.13.
4.1.5.3 Separation of hazard zones
Where a machine has more than one safeguarded zone, for example separate control zones for the
pallet magazine, layer pad mechanism and palletizer, the equipment covered by these different control
zones shall be separated by safeguards.
Where two or more palletizers or depalletizers are installed next to each other they shall be separated
by safeguards and the following shall apply:
1) where objects are possibly dropped or ejected and present hazard, interlocking guards shall
prevent access as long as the hazard exists;
2) a means to reset and activate the adjacent zone shall be available in every zone from where the
adjacent zone cannot be reached;
3) a means to reset and activate the adjacent zone which the operator has left from the zone where the
operator stays shall be provided.
The reset device for these AOPD devices shall be located where there is a clear view of the zone to
be reset adjacent to the AOPD. Where there is no one position from which there is a clear view of
the hazard zones, two or more reset devices shall be used, so that by moving from one reset device
to the next reset device, the operator resetting the system has a view of the two zones. One or more
of these reset devices can be located within the hazard zones, however, the last reset device to
complete the resetting sequence shall be located outside the hazard zones where it cannot be
reached from inside the hazard zone;
4) Where zones are equipped with interlocking devices which provide a personnel key for the
operator to take into a zone, the control system shall ensure that it is not possible to reset the AOPD
and restart an adjacent zone unless all guards are closed and the personnel key has been used for
resetting in the zone of access (see 3.1.17).
4.1.6 Apertures in guards
4.1.6.1 Minimum distance between ESPE and the nearest hazard zone
The minimum distance between ESPE and the nearest hazard zone shall comply with
EN ISO 13855:2024.
For the calculation of the minimum distance of an AOPD or AOPDDR for access over a conveyor the
approach speed K according to EN ISO 13855:2024 for walking may be reduced to 800 mm/s when all
the following conditions are fulfilled:
a) for chain conveyors or belt conveyors:
— the minimum distance between the centre of the chains or belts is 550 mm;
— the belts or chains are not wider than 100 mm;
— obstacles are used between the chains or belts to slow down the approach speed;
b) for roller conveyors:
— the minimum clearance between rolls is 120 mm;
— the frames are not wider than 40 mm;
— there are no filler plates between the rollers.
4.1.6.2 Alternative safeguarding measures
The following alternative measures to the ones in 5.2.1.3 and 5.2.1.4 of EN 415-10:2014 using a
combination of safeguarding devices shall apply.
The feeding zone of the product shall be safeguarded by a combination of fixed and interlocked guards
and ESPE (see Figure 1) performing the following functions:
1) when the pallet enters the intermediate area the outer safeguard (A) is triggered and switched to
off;
2) before the pallet (P) can get conveyed through the inner safeguard (E), the outer safeguard (A) shall
be manually reset and thus release the movement of the pallet. While the pallet (P) is passing the
inner safeguard (E) and the outer safeguard (A) is still in the OFF-state or actuated, the palletizer
shall stop all hazardous movements. This condition shall be maintained until manually reset;
3) after the passage of the pallet (P), the inner safeguard (E) will be automatically reset only if the
outer safeguard (A) has been manually reset;
4) the manual reset device of the outer safeguard shall be mounted outside the hazard zone, in a
position where it cannot be reached from the hazard zone or the intermediate area and is in a
position where there is a clear view of the hazard zone.

Key
A outer safeguarding device
C conveying device
E inner safeguarding device
G fixed guard
H light beam
L length of conveyor
M reset device
N intermediate area
P pallet load
Z hazard zone
Figure 1 — Automatic feed
4.1.6.3 Pallet loads with different widths
4.1.6.3.1 Vertical AOPD
Where pallet loads of different width are conveyed through a large aperture, AOPD devices complying
with 5.2.1.3.13 of EN 415-10:2014 in combination with additional vertical AOPD or alternatively a
vertical AOPDDR (e.g. laser scanner) complying with 5.2.1.3.17 of EN 415-10:2014 shall be applied to
detect whole body access while the product is passing and stop the hazardous movements.
a) Where the widths of the conveyed pallet loads differ less than or equal to 600 mm, the following
measures shall apply:
1) vertical AOPD safeguards the aperture while narrow pallet loads are passing;
2) the clearance between the vertical AOPD beams (2) next to the pallet load and the outer edge of
the product (see Figure 2) shall not be greater than 300 mm while the product is passing;
3) the clearance between the supports of the horizontal AOPD and the vertical AOPD (see
Figure 2) shall not be greater than 300 mm;
4) the clearance between a support of the horizontal AOPD (4) and a fixed guard (5) shall not
exceed 180 mm.
b) Where the difference between pallet load widths is greater than 600, the following measures shall
apply:
1) the width of the pallet load shall be transmitted to the safety-related control system (discharge
only) or measured by a separate device. The muting of vertical AOPDs respectively the control
of the AOPDDR shall be triggered by this information. If the pallet does not arrive at the
guarding at the expected time a safety-related stop of the machine shall be initiated;
2) the clearance between the vertical AOPD beams (2) next to the pallet load and the outer edge of
the product (see Figure 2) shall not be greater than 300 mm while the product is passing;
3) the clearance between the supports of the horizontal AOPD and the vertical AOPD (see
Figure 2) shall not be greater than 300 mm;
4) the clearance between a support of the horizontal AOPD (4) and a fixed guard (5) shall not
exceed 180 mm.
Dimension in millimetres
Key
1 pallet load
2 beams of AOPD
3 conveyor
4 AOPD support
5 fixed guards
Figure 2 — Aperture with additional vertical AOPD
4.1.6.3.2 Additional measures
Where the automatic measures for muting of 4.1.6.3.1 and 4.1.4 cannot be applied due to the large
variety of the pallet load width, a manual muting of the ESPE may be used and the following
requirements shall apply.
1) the device shall be a key actuated hold to run device;
2) the device shall be mounted outside the hazard zone, in a position where it cannot be reached from
inside the hazard zone and in a position where there is a clear view of the hazard zone;
3) the device shall mute the ESPE and only start the pallet load conveyor and, the muting control
system shall have the same performance level as the ESPE control system and shall provide a visual
or acoustic signal indicating that the muting function is active;
4) the muting shall stop if the conveyor stops for any reason, if the hold to run device is released or the
time taken for the pallet load to move through the ESPE is 2 s longer than the normal time for a
pallet load to move this distance;
5) an emergency stop device complying with EN ISO 13850:2015 shall be positioned next to the ESPE
muting device.
4.1.7 Prevention of unexpected lowering of machine components
4.1.7.1 Strength of mechanical components
Mechanical components which support a load shall be designed and constructed in such a way as to
withstand the static overload without permanent deformation or patent defect.
A static test coefficient of 1,5 shall apply.
In addition, the following components which support a load shall have the working coefficients as listed
below when using only 1 element.
— rope  5
— chain  4
— belt  5
— textile fibre 7
— toothed belt 5
Other components of lifting mechanisms shall be designed according to good engineering practices.
NOTE EN 13001-1:2015 and EN 13001-2:2021 provide useful information.
Where two or more components are used, the minimum working coefficient of each component shall be
not less than the factors stated above divided by the number of components the factor shall not be less
than 2.
4.1.7.2 Requirements to prevent the unintended lowering of lifting mechanisms
The following measures shall be applied to prevent the unintended lowering of lifting mechanisms
during access to all areas where intervention is necessary during operation, adjustment, maintenance of
the machinery:
1) mechanical compon
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