How to use this guide
Use this guide to prepare your requirements. Contact us if you need help choosing a configuration.
A factory acceptance test is most useful when it verifies an agreed machine configuration under documented conditions. It is not simply a demonstration video and it cannot replace every site test. This checklist helps buyer and supplier define what will be inspected, measured, recorded and corrected before export packing.
1. Freeze the approved test basis
Start with the signed quotation, technical agreement, approved drawings and change record. List the exact model, serial or project identifier, included modules, product-contact materials, voltage, control components, change parts, accessories and documentation. If a configuration changed during production, update the test basis before FAT rather than testing against an obsolete quotation.
Define the product, package, dose or weight, cap, label, code and target output for each planned test. Record the sample owner, quantity, condition and any substitution. A water test may verify basic movement but does not prove performance with a viscous, foaming or particulate product. Every limitation should appear in the report.
2. Complete a visual and configuration inspection
Check the machine nameplate and identifiers against the order. Inspect frame, guards, doors, fasteners, wiring, tubing, product path, sensors, controls, operator interfaces and accessible workmanship. Confirm the included change parts, tools, consumables and agreed spare parts. Photograph important identifiers and configuration details.
Verify available manuals, electrical and pneumatic diagrams, parts lists, certificates or declarations within their actual model and scope, and any test records promised by contract. Missing documentation should be a punch-list item, not replaced by a general statement that it will be available later.
3. Verify utilities and pre-start conditions
Record test voltage, frequency, phase, compressed-air pressure and other utilities. Check lubricants, product-path assembly, guards, emergency devices and the test area before energizing. Confirm that test personnel understand the hazards and the stop procedure. Maintenance or intervention that exposes hazardous energy requires the site’s applicable energy-control process.
OSHA describes electrical, mechanical, hydraulic, pneumatic, chemical and thermal sources as potentially hazardous during service and maintenance, and requires appropriate lockout/tagout practices in its jurisdiction. The buyer must establish procedures for the destination workplace; a supplier FAT checklist is not a substitute for legal safety duties or operator training.
4. Test basic functions and controls
Exercise start, normal stop, emergency stop, reset, jog or manual mode where provided, alarms, sensors, interlocks and product or package absence logic. Verify conveyor direction, guide adjustment, recipe selection, counters and fault messages. Test safe recovery after representative stops instead of only a continuous best-case run.
For connected equipment, check upstream/downstream signals, accumulation, line stop and restart. Confirm that one station’s fault does not create an uncontrolled condition elsewhere. Record which functions are verified and which require final site integration.
5. Measure performance with an agreed sample plan
Before the run, document machine settings, sample condition, ambient or product temperature where relevant, operator tasks and warm-up or priming. Define run length, number of measured packs, treatment of stops and reject counting. Use calibrated or otherwise agreed measuring equipment with adequate resolution.
For filling or dosing, record individual measurements or the agreed summary, not only a verbal accuracy claim. For capping, define torque or closure criteria. For labeling, define position and visual acceptance. For sealing and coding, state the inspection method. Calculate good output from accepted packs and elapsed operating time under the defined conditions.
If a result misses the criterion, record the observed condition, adjustment, repeat test and final disposition. Do not delete an unsuccessful run from the evidence trail. A transparent retest is more useful than a perfect-looking edited video.
6. Demonstrate cleaning, draining and changeover
Where included in the acceptance scope, demonstrate draining or removal of product-contact parts, access for cleaning and reassembly. Identify residual-product points and parts requiring tools. For multiple packages, demonstrate the agreed change parts and adjustments. Record actual steps and remaining site responsibilities.
Food-contact or regulated suitability depends on the complete application, materials, procedure and validation. FDA guidance and the Food Code emphasize control of equipment surfaces and contamination; a short FAT rinse does not establish a validated sanitation process.
7. Control the punch list
Classify open items by impact. A critical item prevents safe or contract-compliant shipment. A functional item requires correction and evidence before release. A documentation or cosmetic item can have an agreed due date if it does not undermine safe use or acceptance. Assign an owner and target date to every item.
After correction, attach evidence and mark the item closed with buyer acknowledgement where required. Shipment authorization should state whether FAT is accepted, conditionally accepted or rejected. Avoid ambiguous phrases such as “generally OK” when unresolved items remain.
8. Verify export preparation after FAT
Confirm cleaning after the test, drainage, corrosion protection where applicable, securing of moving parts, removal and labeling of loose accessories, moisture protection, export wooden case, lifting and center-of-gravity marks, packing list and shipping documents. Photograph the machine before wrapping, key secured points and the closed case.
Minimum FAT evidence pack
- Approved configuration and sample matrix.
- Machine identification, utilities and settings.
- Inspection checklist and functional-test results.
- Individual or summarized measurements under the agreed method.
- Good-output calculation and stop/reject record.
- Photos and unedited representative video clips.
- Punch list with owner, due date and closure evidence.
- Final acceptance and shipment-release status.
- Packing photos, packing list and agreed documents.
MUJIU can coordinate FAT on the actual delivery machine after order. Test scope depends on safe and lawful sample availability, the selected equipment and the signed technical agreement. Final site acceptance remains necessary for installation, utilities and production conditions not reproduced during FAT.