The two big layers
The European layer. Trucks sold into the EU must conform to the Machinery Directive, marked CE, with the manufacturer’s declaration and instructions supporting the marking. Granvolt trucks carry CE conformity across the range — the certification statement on our certifications page — and the declaration ships in the document folder per machine.
The North American layer. The ANSI/ITSDF B56.1 standard family governs powered industrial trucks in the United States, with OSHA workplace rules on operator training and use layered over it. This is a different regime from CE, not a translation of it, and it interacts with a separate emissions regime for combustion engines — which is why our EPA position is stated as an honest gap until certificates exist, rather than assumed. Buyers bound for North America should confirm the certification path for the specific truck class with us and their local advisers before configuring an order.
What the standards actually ask of a buyer
- Configuration for the market: lights, alarms, seat and operator-presence provisions, and markings appropriate to the destination — agreed at quotation, not retrofitted at customs.
- Documents on file: declaration of conformity or equivalent, instructions in the required languages, and the load chart — the document list our quotations state per order.
- Workplace compliance on site: operator training per local rules — the training basics guide covers the program shape — plus traffic management, inspection records and risk assessment as the local rules require.
- Maintenance to the manufacturer schedule, because the standards’ safe-use assumptions assume a maintained machine — the inspection routine and service schedules are the evidence.
| Layer | Governs | Granvolt position |
|---|---|---|
| EU Machinery Directive (CE) | Machine conformity, declarations, instructions | Held across the range; documents ship per machine |
| ANSI/ITSDF B56.1 family (US) | Truck design and safe-use provisions | Path confirmed per class with the buyer before configuration |
| Local workplace rules | Training, traffic, inspection records | Buyer-side, with our schedules and records in support |
| ISO 9001:2015 | Factory quality management | Held at the Qingdao plant behind every shipment |
The buyer’s compliance checklist
- Name the destination market and any sub-market rules in the RFQ, so configuration matches the layer that will inspect the truck.
- Collect the document folder at acceptance and file it where auditors will look for it — the acceptance routine includes the step.
- Run the workplace layer on site: training records, traffic plan, inspection logs, maintenance evidence.
- Re-check after changes: a new attachment, a new attachment’s residual capacity statement, a market expansion — each reopens a compliance question worth one email.
Why we state gaps plainly
Compliance regimes punish optimism. Our practice is to hold what we hold — CE, ISO 9001:2015, TÜV Rheinland on the EP battery system — and to mark what we do not yet hold, EPA among them, in every relevant document and conversation. Buyers deserve to know which layer their market needs and which parts of it we cover; that clarity is also why our quotations attach the certificate scope and load chart by default, so the compliance file starts complete on the day the truck lands.
Keeping the compliance file alive after year one
Compliance decays quietly: documents drift into drawers, training lapses, attachments arrive with their own residual capacity statements, and a site that was clean at acceptance is arguable by year three. The countermeasure is a light annual audit of the same file: certificates and declarations current, training records on cycle, inspection logs continuous, attachment statements on file, and the load charts matching the trucks as now configured. One afternoon a year, one owner, one checklist — and the site that survives an unannounced inspection is the same site that runs safer every day, because the audit’s questions are the questions the daily routine already answers. Compliance is not a certificate on the wall; it is a file that keeps being true.
The RFQ line that prevents most compliance surprises
One sentence in the RFQ does more for compliance than any afterthought: state the destination market, the layer that governs it, and any site-specific configuration the rules require. With that line, the quotation configures the truck for the layer that will inspect it — lights, alarms, markings, documentation languages — and the certificate scope attached to the quote covers exactly what that market expects to see. Without it, every party assumes their default and the differences surface at the port. The line costs nothing, travels through our 12-hour response process, and comes back as a configuration confirmation you can file — which is what a compliance conversation should produce: paper, filed early, that stays true.
Frequently asked questions
What certification do Granvolt trucks carry?
CE conformity with the EU Machinery Directive across the range, ISO 9001:2015 behind the factory quality system, and TÜV Rheinland certification on the EP lithium battery system. Gaps such as EPA are stated plainly.
What is ANSI B56.1?
The American standard family for powered industrial trucks, governing design and safe-use provisions in the United States, with OSHA workplace rules layered over it.
Is CE enough for the United States?
No — CE and the ANSI regime are different layers. Buyers bound for the US should confirm the certification path for the truck class before configuring an order.
What does the buyer handle versus the manufacturer?
The manufacturer covers machine conformity and documents; the buyer covers workplace compliance — training, traffic, inspection records — per local rules.
What documents should I keep on file?
The declaration or equivalent, instructions, the load chart, and your own inspection and maintenance records — the acceptance routine files them on day one.