Key decisions
Turn the specification into observable acceptance evidence
- Trace every test to an agreed requirement, drawing, product-and-pack matrix or documented interface.
- Use representative product, containers, closures and line states rather than an uninterrupted demonstration with easy samples.
- Define measurements, sample sequence, pass criteria and treatment of rejects before testing begins.
- Separate factory-proven functions from items that can only be confirmed after installation at the customer site.
- Record deviations, owners, dates and closure evidence rather than relying on informal verbal agreement.
Build one requirements-to-test matrix
Start with the accepted quotation, functional description, layout, product-and-pack matrix, utilities schedule and interface list. Convert each material requirement into a test that can be observed or measured. Where a requirement is qualitative, define what acceptable behaviour looks like—for example clean nozzle cut-off, stable container transfer or controlled restart after a downstream stop.
The matrix should identify whether the item is checked by document review, inspection, dry cycling, product trial, measured run or site verification. This prevents important requirements from disappearing between the commercial specification and the test day.
| Requirement area | Typical FAT evidence | Typical SAT evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Machine scope | Installed components, guarding, tooling, controls and agreed documentation. | Delivered scope, installation condition and site-specific connections. |
| Product dosing | Representative product run, sequential quantity record and finished-pack observations. | Confirmation with site product supply, normal operators and production utilities. |
| Container handling | Format parts, sensors, guides, infeed/outfeed transfer and controlled stops. | Interfaces with upstream and downstream equipment under real accumulation conditions. |
| Control states | Start, stop, hold, starved, blocked, fault, reset, recipe and safe recovery behaviour. | Site line signals, permissions, remote stops and restart sequence. |
| Changeover and cleaning | Observed access, tooling sequence, recipe control and agreed clean-down demonstration. | Site procedure, cleaning services, waste route and operator execution. |
| Performance evidence | Agreed run conditions, sample sequence, rejects, interventions and limitations. | Sustainable operation within the installed line and site operating method. |
Define representative FAT conditions
FAT should use the products and packs identified in the project scope, including the format most likely to constrain the design. Record product batch, preparation, temperature where relevant, container source, tooling, software version, recipe and measurement equipment. The product trial guide explains how to select samples that expose real application risks.
A short run can confirm basic function but may not expose replenishment, temperature drift, container accumulation or operator workload. Agree the duration or number of cycles needed to observe start-up, normal running, refill, pause, restart and a credible changeover. Do not describe a headline rate as accepted unless the supporting conditions and exclusions are recorded.
Test line states and recovery, not only normal running
Production equipment spends part of its life waiting, blocked, starved, paused, faulted or being replenished. The test should show how containers already inside the machine are handled when the line stops, whether dosing is inhibited at the correct state, how a fault is diagnosed, and what the operator must do before restart.
For an integrated line, confirm signal ownership and sequence boundaries. A filler may be mechanically complete yet still fail to operate reliably if infeed permissions, downstream-blocked signals, reject confirmation or emergency-stop interfaces are ambiguous. Use the line integration guide and the approved interface schedule during testing.
Control open items without obscuring acceptance
Not every observation needs to prevent shipment, but every unresolved item needs a clear status. Classify it as a safety or compliance blocker, functional failure, documentation correction, site-dependent item or agreed improvement. Record the action, owner, target date, retest method and evidence required for closure.
Photographs, video, measurements, signed test sheets and software backups should be tied to the machine and revision. When a change is made after FAT, identify which tests need repeating. This protects both buyer and supplier from treating a changed configuration as though it were the one originally accepted.
Use SAT to confirm the installed production system
SAT should not simply repeat FAT. It should confirm that transport, positioning, utilities, extraction, drainage, product feed, controls, guarding interfaces and adjacent machinery support the intended operation. Site operators should carry out normal tasks using the approved instructions while the project team records remaining training or process actions.
Final acceptance should identify the exact products, packs, recipes and conditions covered. Later formulation, container or line changes should be reviewed against that basis. Where a change could affect safety, quantity control or machine suitability, use a competent site-specific assessment and focused requalification.
FAT and SAT information to agree before the test
- Approved quotation, functional description, layout and scope boundary.
- Controlled product, container, closure and format matrix.
- Test products, quantities, preparation, storage and safety information.
- Measurement method, equipment, sample order and treatment of rejects.
- Line-state, interface, fault and recovery test cases.
- Changeover, cleaning and operator-access observations.
- Required documents, software backups, photographs and signed records.
- Open-item classification, ownership, retest and closure process.