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WenzhouJune 3, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — On May 29, 2026, TÜV SÜD Group (hereinafter referred to as “TÜV SÜD”) jointly hosted the “Children’s Non-Powered Play Equipment Standards Seminar and Small-Scale Play Equipment National Standards Promotion Conference” with the Wenzhou Institute of System Process Equipment Science. The event was co-organized by the Wenzhou Educational Toy Industry Association, Zhejiang Provincial Educational Toy Product Quality Inspection Center, and Yongjia County Quality Technology Promotion Association. This conference focused on three key objectives: precise interpretation of national standards, international compliance alignment, and government-enterprise collaborative empowerment. It aimed to establish an efficient exchange platform for regulatory bodies, third-party certification agencies, and manufacturers, helping the industry overcome technical barriers, standardize production and operations, and enhance product competitiveness.
Group photo of Wenzhou Institute of System Process Equipment Science and TÜV SÜD team
Currently, the demand for children’s outdoor growth continues to rise, with diverse scenarios such as theme parks, community facilities, cultural tourism real estate, and campuses driving rapid expansion of the children’s non-powered play equipment industry. China, along with Europe and the United States, has become a core global consumer market. Enhancing facility safety levels, breaking through product design homogenization, and improving environmental compliance requirements are becoming key priorities for the industry’s high-quality development.
Meanwhile, TÜV SÜD experts leveraged their professional knowledge to share technical information with attendees, helping companies overcome technical barriers through standard certification. Zhu Ning, Signatory for Play Equipment in TÜV SÜD’s Greater China Light Products Division, provided a detailed breakdown of the two most common standard systems for exports to Europe and the United States—the U.S. ASTM F1487 “Standard Consumer Safety Performance Specification for Public Use Playground Equipment” and the EU EN 1176 series of standards for playground equipment safety. He conducted a comparative analysis of their technical differences, including:
- Structural strength and load testing: ASTM F1487 primarily relies on load testing, while EN 1176 adopts a combination of technical requirements and load testing.
- Handrail and guardrail requirements: EN 1176 specifies heights between 600mm and 850mm, whereas ASTM F1487 differentiates based on age groups.
- Entrapment protection differences: ASTM F1487 mainly addresses head, torso, and V-shaped entrapment risks, while EN 1176 adds entanglement risks, among others.
Additionally, for companies aiming to enter the North American market, TÜV SÜD U.S. technical expert Tim Fouchia further shared the latest updates to ASTM F1487, including the addition of anti-climbing warning signs at the top of fully enclosed tube slides, design requirements for fan-shaped guardrails and flangeless sections, open slide clearance zone specifications, and other technical upgrades, as well as the IPEMA certification process.
IPEMA certification is executed by TÜV SÜD in the United States under authorization from IPEMA, covering factory manufacturing consistency audits, product testing, and annual surveillance. Upon obtaining certification, companies can use the IPEMA certification mark on products and promotional materials. This mark has become a key access requirement in public procurement tenders for schools, municipal parks, and other facilities in North America.
The conference also featured a government-enterprise collaborative Q&A session, providing one-on-one answers to practical challenges companies face in standard implementation. Addressing current industry issues such as product homogenization, frequent safety hazards, and increasing environmental compliance pressures, Zhang Binggang, Senior Manager of TÜV SÜD’s Greater China Light Products Division, stated: “Standards are not just the baseline for safety; they are a bridge for the industry to move toward standardization and internationalization.” He emphasized that through multi-party collaboration among government, inspection bodies, enterprises, and associations, the industry can shift from “price competition” to “value competition” and from “low-end manufacturing” to “quality creation.” In the future, TÜV SÜD will leverage its global technical network to localize more services in Yongjia and Wenzhou, helping companies achieve “one test, multiple market access” and enhancing the safety and international competitiveness of China’s children’s play equipment.