Robot deployment checklist: 30 items to confirm before your first North American site
Short answer: Before a robot maker ships its first unit to a customer in the United States or Canada, it should be able to answer "yes" to 30 questions in nine groups: (1) contract and acceptance criteria, (2) safety and electrical certification (CSA/cUL in Canada, an OSHA NRTL listing for US workplaces, with UL 3300 increasingly the robot-specific standard), (3) radio approval (ISED in Canada; FCC in the US, where new foreign-produced mobile robot models have been blocked since July 28, 2026 unless they hold a Conditional Approval), (4) importer of record, customs and lithium battery shipping, (5) 120 V / 60 Hz power, (6) insurance and the certificate of insurance the customer will ask for, (7) a first spare-parts kit already in the country, (8) a remote support plan that works across the time difference plus a named on-site field service partner, and (9) bilingual training material, a data and IT security pack, and a 30-day post-go-live support plan. Most first deployments that slip do so on items that were never anyone's job: who imports, who is insured, who drives to site when the robot stops at 7 a.m. local time.
This checklist is written for robot makers (OEMs) and their export teams. It is not the same as a site readiness checklist: what the building must have ready (Wi‑Fi, elevators, floors, charging spot, staff) is covered in our robot commissioning checklist for Canadian sites, and we only mention it in one line here. KeepRobots is a robot field service company in Vancouver; we do robot deployment and on-site support, so we are one of the partners you might use for item 24. We do not test, certify, insure, broker customs or give legal advice. Regulatory points summarize official sources checked on 2026-10-15 and listed at the end. Lead times and hours marked estimate are our planning assumptions, not measured data.
Why a robot OEM needs its own deployment checklist
A first North American site usually starts with a sales win and a date. Then the date meets reality: the certification lab has a queue, the forwarder will not take the battery pack, the customer's procurement team asks for a certificate of insurance naming them, the IT team sends a 90-question security questionnaire, and the only engineer who knows the robot is 15 hours ahead in Shenzhen. None of these are hard problems. They are slow ones, and they are on the robot maker's side of the line, not the customer's.
The 30 items below are the ones we would want confirmed before a robot leaves the factory for a first customer in the US or Canada. They apply to service robots, cleaning robots, delivery and logistics robots (AMRs), and, with a few differences noted, to humanoid and quadruped pilots. For the full step-by-step flow in Chinese, from certification to customer sign-off, see 机器人在加拿大落地部署全流程清单; for the on-site work itself, see KeepRobots robot deployment and commissioning.
The 30-item robot deployment checklist
"Owner" is who normally does the work. "Start" is how far before the ship date to begin (estimate; your lab, broker and customer set the real dates).
A. Contract and acceptance (items 1–5)
| # | Confirm before shipping | Owner | Start (estimate) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Written acceptance criteria: what the robot must do, on which routes, for how many days, at what success rate, measured how. Without this a pilot never formally ends. | OEM sales + customer | At contract |
| 2 | Incoterm and importer of record agreed in writing. Under Incoterms 2020, DDP means the seller clears import and pays duties and taxes; DAP or FCA leave import clearance with the buyer. Pick consciously; "DDP" quoted by habit has made more than one OEM the importer in a country where it has no number. | OEM export + customer | At contract |
| 3 | Warranty terms in local language: period, what voids it, who does the labour, and how fast. Customers read "warranty" as "someone comes"; say who and when. | OEM | At contract |
| 4 | Service level per zone: reply time, remote triage time and on-site arrival time, separately, for the customer's actual city. One national number hides a big spread. | OEM + field partner | At contract |
| 5 | Who pays for what after go-live: consumables, wear parts, software updates, re-mapping after a layout change, extra visits caused by the site. | OEM + customer | At contract |
B. Certification and labels (items 6–10)
| # | Confirm before shipping | Owner | Start (estimate) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6 | Electrical approval for Canada: robot and charger carry a mark from a certification body accredited by the Standards Council of Canada (for example CSA, cUL, cETL). Provincial electrical rules (Technical Safety BC in BC, ESA in Ontario) list accepted marks. A field evaluation label (CSA SPE-1000) is a fallback for a single unit, not a plan for a fleet. | OEM + lab | 3–6 months |
| 7 | US workplace equipment: listing by an OSHA-recognized NRTL. For service robots, labs increasingly evaluate to UL 3300 together with a base standard (62368-1 or 60335-1). OSHA added UL 3300 to its NRTL list of appropriate test standards effective December 31, 2025. Industrial mobile robots are usually discussed against ANSI/A3 R15.08; fixed robot arms against CSA Z434 / ISO 10218. | OEM + lab | 3–6 months |
| 8 | ISED radio certification (Canada) for every Wi‑Fi, LTE, Bluetooth or UWB module, with the ISED number on the label (or e-label where allowed). RSS-Gen section 9.3.1 requires the user manual to carry its regulatory notices in both English and French. | OEM + lab | 6–12 weeks |
| 9 | FCC status (US). Since July 28, 2026 (DA 26-786) new models of foreign-produced ground-mobile robots in scope cannot get FCC equipment authorization unless the maker holds a Conditional Approval from the Department of War, tied to a US onshoring plan. As of 2026-10-14 three Conditional Approvals had been published. Models authorized before July 28 can still be imported, sold and used. Know which bucket your model is in before you promise a US date. Our FCC Covered List explainer has the detail. | OEM + US counsel | Before quoting a US date |
| 10 | Labels and marks on the actual shipped unit: rating plate (120 V, 60 Hz), certification marks, ISED/FCC identifiers, battery warnings. In Quebec, product inscriptions and manuals generally must be available in French (Charter of the French language, OQLF guidance). | OEM factory | Before final QC |
C. Shipping, customs and batteries (items 11–15)
| # | Confirm before shipping | Owner | Start (estimate) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | Importer of record set up. Canada: the OEM as a Non-Resident Importer (Business Number + CARM account) or a Canadian company acting as importer. US: an importer of record and a customs bond. A licensed customs broker in each country. | OEM export + broker | 4–8 weeks |
| 12 | Tariff classification and duty checked by the broker, including standalone lithium-ion packs (Canada 8507.60.90 carries 7% MFN duty; plus 5% GST) and, for China-origin goods into the US, the Section 301 line for each HTS code. | Broker | 4 weeks |
| 13 | Lithium battery shipping: UN 38.3 test summary on file, correct UN number (UN 3480 alone, UN 3481 packed with or contained in equipment; your dangerous-goods forwarder decides whether a self-propelled machine ships as a vehicle, UN 3556), Class 9 booking. Under the 2026 IATA rules, lithium-ion batteries packed with equipment (PI 966) must be at no more than 30% state of charge; for batteries installed in equipment (PI 967) 30% is recommended. | OEM + forwarder | 2–3 weeks |
| 14 | Demo or test units going on temporary import (ATA Carnet, Canada 9993.00.00 with BSF865, US TIB) are kept separate from units that will be sold. A temporarily imported unit cannot simply be left with the customer. | OEM export | 2 weeks |
| 15 | Delivery and unpacking: crate dimensions and weight versus the site's dock, elevator and doors; who receives, inspects for shipping damage and stores the crate until commissioning. | OEM + field partner | 2 weeks |
D. Power and site interfaces (items 16–17)
| # | Confirm before shipping | Owner | Start (estimate) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 16 | 120 V / 60 Hz: charger accepts North American input, ships with a NEMA 5-15 plug and certified cord set, and its continuous draw fits a standard 15 A receptacle circuit with margin (the Canadian Electrical Code treats continuous loads at 80% of the breaker rating). If it needs 208/240 V, the customer needs an electrician, and you need to tell them now. | OEM engineering | At design freeze |
| 17 | Site readiness (network, elevator interface, doors, floors, charging spot, mapping window, training staff) is the customer's side and has its own site readiness checklist. Send it to the customer at signing; elevator work in BC alone can take weeks. | Customer, led by OEM | At contract |
E. Insurance and liability (items 18–19)
| # | Confirm before shipping | Owner | Start (estimate) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 18 | Product liability and general liability cover that includes Canada and the US. Many policies written in Asia exclude North America or need an endorsement. Ask your broker the direct question. | OEM + insurance broker | 4–6 weeks |
| 19 | Certificate of insurance (COI) ready to send, and the same asked of your field service partner. Building owners and enterprise customers commonly ask to be named as additional insured; in BC, a WorkSafeBC clearance letter is the usual way to show a contractor's workers' compensation is in good standing. | OEM + field partner | 2 weeks |
F. Spare parts (items 20–21)
| # | Confirm before shipping | Owner | Start (estimate) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20 | First spare-parts kit in the country before go-live, not ordered after the first failure: consumables (brushes, squeegees, filters, tires), the parts that fail first (drive module, wheels, bumper/cliff sensors, charging contacts), and one battery if allowed. Our robot spare parts consignment guide explains ownership, customs and logging. | OEM + field partner | Ship with the robot |
| 21 | RMA path for failed parts: what is swapped on site, what comes back to the factory, who pays freight, how a damaged lithium battery is shipped (it has its own, stricter rules). | OEM service | 2 weeks |
G. Support model (items 22–25)
| # | Confirm before shipping | Owner | Start (estimate) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 22 | Time-zone plan. Vancouver is 15 hours behind Beijing year-round from 2026 (BC adopted permanent daylight time); Toronto and New York are 12 hours behind in summer and 13 in winter. A robot that stops at 8 a.m. in Vancouver stops at 11 p.m. in Shenzhen. Decide who answers the first call. | OEM service | 4 weeks |
| 23 | Remote access that the customer's IT will accept: how the robot reaches your cloud, which ports and domains, whether a cellular modem is allowed, how your engineers log in, and an audit trail. | OEM engineering | 6 weeks |
| 24 | A named on-site field service partner in the customer's region, trained on your robot before the first failure: who goes, how fast, at what rate, with which tools and parts. Our service partner checklist lists twelve things to check. | OEM | 4–6 weeks |
| 25 | Ticket flow: one ticket template, severity levels, who escalates to factory engineering and when, and where the field report and photos go. | OEM + field partner | 2 weeks |
H. Training, data and security (items 26–28)
| # | Confirm before shipping | Owner | Start (estimate) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 26 | Bilingual material: an English operator guide (French too for Quebec, and for the ISED notices everywhere in Canada), a one-page quick card for staff, and a technician manual your field partner can work from. Machine-translated Chinese manuals are where field visits go wrong. | OEM | 4 weeks |
| 27 | Security and privacy pack for the customer's IT: data flow diagram, what the cameras and microphones record, where data is stored and for how long, encryption, update process, and a contact for vulnerabilities. Canada: PIPEDA (and BC PIPA, Alberta PIPA, Quebec Law 25 in those provinces). In the US, state laws matter, for example Illinois BIPA if the robot processes face geometry. | OEM engineering + legal | 6 weeks |
| 28 | Firmware and map version frozen for the pilot, with a rollback plan. Note that for US models authorized before July 28, 2026 the FCC waiver for harm-mitigating software and firmware updates runs at least to January 1, 2029 (DA 26-789); hardware changes are a different question. | OEM engineering | 2 weeks |
I. Go-live and the first 30 days (items 29–30)
| # | Confirm before shipping | Owner | Start (estimate) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 29 | Commissioning plan with names: who is on site (your engineer, the partner's technician, or both), who is on remote call from the factory, the date, and the go/no-go call three working days before. | OEM + field partner | 2 weeks |
| 30 | A 30-day post-go-live support plan: daily remote health checks in week 1, a scheduled on-site check in week 2 or 3, a re-map budget for layout changes, a weekly report to the customer, and the acceptance sign-off meeting on the calendar. | OEM + field partner | At contract |
What the first deployment costs (on-site part)
The robot maker's own costs (certification lab, insurance premiums, broker fees, freight) depend entirely on the product and the quotes you get, so we do not put numbers on them here. The on-site part is easier to estimate. Example for a first site in Greater Vancouver at KeepRobots' current published rates: $100 CAD call-out per visit in the core area, $150 CAD per hour on site, $200 CAD diagnosis per visit (credited if you approve the repair); in the US $150 USD per hour and $200 USD diagnosis, travel quoted per project. All before tax. Hours are assumptions for a ready site, not measured averages.
| Step | Assumption | Example cost (CAD, before tax) |
|---|---|---|
| Pre-ship site survey and written readiness report | 1 visit × 2 h | $100 + 2 × $150 = $400 |
| Receiving, unpacking, damage check, storage until install | 1 visit × 2 h | $100 + 2 × $150 = $400 |
| Commissioning, one robot, one floor (with factory engineer on remote) | 1 visit × 6 h | $100 + 6 × $150 = $1,000 |
| 30-day plan: two scheduled on-site checks | 2 visits × 2 h | 2 × ($100 + 2 × $150) = $800 |
| One unplanned fault in the first month | 1 visit, diagnosis + 2 h repair (repair approved) | $100 + 2 × $150 = $400 (the $200 diagnosis is credited against the approved repair) |
| Total, first site | about $3,000 plus parts |
Compare that with flying an engineer from China for the same work: return flights, about two weeks of hotel and per diem, visa lead time, and the second trip when something fails in week three. The point is not that one is always cheaper; it is that you should decide before shipping, not after the first failure. For the in-house versus partner break-even by fleet size, see Should a robot startup outsource field service?
Common pitfalls
- "DDP" in the quote, no importer number. The robot sits at the border while someone opens a Business Number and CARM account.
- Chinese CCC or CE marks only. They are not accepted as North American electrical approval. The site's electrician or inspector can refuse to plug it in.
- US date promised before the FCC question was answered. A new model of a foreign-produced mobile robot needs a pre-July-28 authorization or a Conditional Approval. Canada is a separate, independent ISED process.
- Battery shipped at full charge, or no UN 38.3 summary. The forwarder refuses the booking, and the ship date moves.
- Insurance that excludes North America. Discovered when the customer's procurement asks for a COI.
- No parts in the country. A one-hour repair becomes a two-week outage waiting for an express shipment and customs.
- The only expert is asleep. No local first responder, no handover window, so every incident waits for China's morning.
- No written end to the pilot. Without acceptance criteria and a 30-day plan, the pilot drifts, and so does payment.
What KeepRobots can do
KeepRobots is a robot field service company based in Greater Vancouver, serving Canada and the United States, in English and Mandarin. We don't make or sell robots, and we are not an exclusive agent for any brand. For a robot maker shipping its first North American unit, we can:
- Walk through this checklist with your team and mark which items are open (our engineers read Chinese technical documents and can work around China business hours)
- Run the pre-ship site survey and send a written readiness report
- Receive, unpack and inspect the robot, and store it until install; hold a consignment spare-parts kit
- Do on-site deployment and commissioning with your factory engineer on remote, then staff training and hand-over
- Be the named on-site partner for the first 30 days and after: scheduled checks, repairs by the hour, preventive maintenance
- Do pre-sales demos with your sales team or on your behalf
We do not do certification testing, customs brokerage, insurance or legal work; we can tell you which questions to take to those specialists. Write to partners@keeprobots.com with your robot type, target city and ship date, or see North America field service for robot makers.
FAQ
What should a robot maker confirm before shipping the first robot to a US or Canadian customer?
Thirty items in nine groups: contract and acceptance criteria; electrical and safety certification (an SCC-accredited mark such as CSA or cUL in Canada, an OSHA NRTL listing for US workplaces); ISED and FCC radio status; importer of record, customs and lithium battery shipping; 120 V / 60 Hz power; insurance and a certificate of insurance; a first spare-parts kit in the country; a remote support and time-zone plan with a named on-site field service partner; bilingual training material, a data and IT security pack, and a 30-day post-go-live support plan.
Can a new foreign-produced robot model still be sold in the US?
Since July 28, 2026, new models of foreign-produced ground-mobile robots in scope of FCC DA 26-786 cannot receive FCC equipment authorization unless the maker holds a Conditional Approval from the Department of War, based on a US onshoring plan. Three had been published as of October 14, 2026. Models authorized before July 28 can still be imported, sold and used. Canada's ISED certification is separate and, as of mid-October 2026, we found no similar Canadian measure. Confirm your model with US counsel and your test lab.
Is UL 3300 mandatory for service robots in North America?
No law names UL 3300 as mandatory. What is required is an accepted certification mark in Canada and, for US workplace equipment, a listing by an OSHA-recognized NRTL. UL 3300 is the robot-specific standard labs increasingly use to get there, together with a base standard such as 62368-1 or 60335-1.
How many spare parts should ship with the first robot?
Enough to avoid waiting on international shipping for the most likely failures in the first months: consumables, the parts that wear or fail first on your robot type (drive wheels or modules, bumper and cliff sensors, charging contacts), and a battery if shipping rules and budget allow. Keep it in the country with whoever does the on-site work, on a consignment basis if you have no local entity.
How much does on-site deployment cost for a first site?
At KeepRobots' current rates in Greater Vancouver ($100 CAD call-out, $150 CAD per hour, $200 CAD diagnosis credited against approved repairs, before tax), a survey, receiving, one-robot commissioning and two scheduled checks in the first 30 days come to about $2,600 CAD, or about $3,000 with one unplanned repair, plus parts, assuming a ready site. The hours are planning assumptions. US work is $150 USD per hour with travel quoted per project.
Sources
- FCC Public Notice DA 26-786 (July 28, 2026), Covered List: foreign-produced advanced robotic devices: docs.fcc.gov
- FCC Fact Sheet DOC-423682 (previously authorized models not affected): docs.fcc.gov
- FCC DA 26-789 (software/firmware update waiver to at least January 1, 2029): docs.fcc.gov
- FCC DA 26-1089, Appendix B (Conditional Approvals list, updated October 9, 2026): docs.fcc.gov; FCC Covered List FAQs (robots and inverters): fcc.gov
- ISED, RSS-Gen: General Requirements for Compliance of Radio Apparatus (section 9.3.1, English and French user manual notices; section 9.4, labelling): ised-isde.canada.ca
- ULSE, ANSI/CAN/UL 3300: shopulstandards.com; OSHA NRTL expansion for UL LLC incl. UL 3300 (90 FR 61414): federalregister.gov; 29 CFR 1910 Subpart S: ecfr.gov
- Technical Safety BC, Approved certification marks for electrical products: technicalsafetybc.ca; ESA, Recognized certification marks: esasafe.com; SCC accredited organizations: scc-ccn.ca
- A3, ANSI/A3 R15.08 industrial mobile robots: automate.org; CSA Z434: webstore.ansi.org
- CBSA, CARM Client Portal: release prior to payment, who can enrol: canada.ca; Customs Tariff 2026, Chapter 85 (8507.60): cbsa-asfc.gc.ca; Importing guide: cbsa-asfc.gc.ca
- CBSA D8-1-1 (9993.00.00, BSF865) and D8-1-7 (ATA Carnet): cbsa-asfc.gc.ca, cbsa-asfc.gc.ca; CBP ATA Carnet FAQs: cbp.gov; 19 CFR 10.31 (TIB): law.cornell.edu
- IATA Lithium Battery Guidance Document: iata.org; IATA guidance on lithium battery powered vehicles: iata.org; Lion Technology summary of 2026 state-of-charge rules: lion.com; Transport Canada, devices containing lithium batteries: tc.canada.ca
- Canadian Electrical Code Section 8 (continuous loads), industry guide: electricalindustry.ca
- WorkSafeBC, clearance letters: worksafebc.com
- BC Government, permanent daylight saving time (March 2, 2026): news.gov.bc.ca; US daylight saving time, 15 U.S.C. § 260a: law.cornell.edu
- OQLF, French language requirements for businesses: oqlf.gouv.qc.ca
- Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada, PIPEDA: priv.gc.ca; Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (740 ILCS 14): ilga.gov
- ICC, Incoterms 2020: iccwbo.org
Lead times, hours and example costs on this page are our planning estimates and assumptions, not measured fleet data or industry benchmarks. KeepRobots rates are current published rates and may change; taxes, parts and travel outside the core area are extra. Regulatory summaries are for orientation only; confirm with the authority, your certification body, customs broker, insurance broker or qualified counsel.