Packaging Line FAT & SAT Guide
Factory and site acceptance tests work best when the protocol is agreed before manufacture is complete. The test should represent the approved products, packs and operating conditions closely enough to expose real risk.
Turn the production need into a controlled brief
Factory and site acceptance tests work best when the protocol is agreed before manufacture is complete. The test should represent the approved products, packs and operating conditions closely enough to expose real risk.
A useful guide is not a substitute for product testing or competent project review. Its purpose is to structure the questions, expose assumptions and create comparable evidence. Record decisions in one controlled document and update it when samples, layouts or commercial boundaries change.
Test objective
Separate mechanical completion, functional checks, format trials, performance runs and documentation review.
Representative materials
Provide controlled product, containers, closures, labels and cases covering the difficult ends of the range.
Measurable criteria
Define duration, good output, rejects, fill or torque checks, changeover timing and allowed interruptions.
Action control
Record severity, owner, due date, retest method and any conditions for shipment or final acceptance.
Site conditions
Recognise that product supply, utilities, operators and upstream/downstream interfaces can differ between factory and site.
Information to document
The following checklist can be copied into an enquiry, user requirement or supplier-comparison sheet. Add units, ranges, sample references and responsible owners wherever possible.
- Approved test protocol
- Material quantities and storage conditions
- Calibrated measuring equipment
- Format and recipe list
- Safety and guarding checks
- Performance and quality data sheets
- Documentation review
- Punch-list and retest process
Use representative operating extremes
Include the smallest and largest packs, difficult products, closure and label variations, expected environmental conditions and the most demanding changeover. A line accepted only on an easy format may leave the real production risk untested.
Common planning mistakes
- 1Arriving with too little product or packaging material
Resolve this in the written brief, supplier clarification or agreed acceptance plan.
- 2Testing only one easy format
Resolve this in the written brief, supplier clarification or agreed acceptance plan.
- 3Changing acceptance criteria during the run
Resolve this in the written brief, supplier clarification or agreed acceptance plan.
- 4Shipping with unresolved critical actions and no agreed plan
Resolve this in the written brief, supplier clarification or agreed acceptance plan.
Recommended next step
Issue the brief to suppliers in a consistent format, request a compliance response and make exclusions visible. Before order, close all high-risk assumptions or convert them into named tests, design reviews and contract deliverables. Before FAT, confirm materials, measuring methods and the exact acceptance sequence.
Packaging Line FAT & SAT Guide FAQs
What is normally checked at FAT?
Build quality, safety functions, controls, formats, performance, quality checks and documents can all be included according to the agreed protocol.
Does FAT replace SAT?
No. SAT confirms the installed system and site interfaces under agreed production conditions.
Who should attend?
Representatives able to judge production, engineering, quality and project requirements should attend or approve the evidence.
Continue building the project brief
Use these guides to complete the technical, commercial and site detail for your project.
Installation & Commissioning
Packaging line installation and commissioning support covering positioning, utilities, setup, trials, training and production handover.
Learn more ExplorePackaging Line Specification Checklist
Use this packaging line specification checklist to document product, pack, output, quality, safety, utilities, layout, testing and support requirements.
Learn more ExplorePackaging Line Pre-Installation Site Readiness
Prepare for packaging line installation with checks for access, foundations, utilities, product supply, materials, staffing, safety and acceptance testing.
Learn moreLink every FAT and SAT result to an agreed condition and method
Acceptance evidence is useful when the product, pack, format, run state, sampling method and pass rule are defined before the test. FAT and SAT should show both normal production and the recovery or interface cases that can affect saleable output after handover.
Acceptance criteria schedule
Avoid entries such as “machine runs satisfactorily”. Name the observable result, test condition and record that will support the decision.
| Acceptance subject | Define before testing | Record during the test |
|---|---|---|
| Good output | Reference format, product condition, run duration, planned operator work, reject rules and treatment of stops. | Start and finish time, accepted quantity, rejects, stops, interventions and reasons. |
| Fill or dose result | Measurement method, instruments, tare or reference, sampling plan, tolerance and product condition. | Individual results, settings, sample identity and any adjustment or excluded sample with reason. |
| Closure, seal, label and code | Visible or measured quality standard, challenge samples, inspection method and reject response. | Approved examples, defect challenges, detection and rejection outcome. |
| Line interfaces | Required transfer, spacing, blocked/starved behaviour, accumulation purpose and restart sequence. | Observed test case, line response, product retained and recovery result. |
| Changeover | From and to formats, start and finish points, preparation allowed, people, tools and first-off approval. | Elapsed time, tasks, settings, issues and accepted first pack. |
| Documents and training | Required drawings, manuals, backups, parts lists, training scope and action status. | Issued revision, recipient, attendance and controlled outstanding actions. |
Structure the sample and format plan
Use a matrix that proves the operating envelope without pretending every combination has been tested when it has not.
Reference format
Choose a representative production format for the main performance run and document why it is suitable.
Difficult extremes
Include the smallest, largest, least stable or most demanding approved products and components where they change risk.
Changeover pair
Select a meaningful transition that exercises tooling, settings, cleaning or material change.
Fault challenges
Prepare controlled defects or interruption cases for inspection, reject, blocked/starved and recovery tests.
Control actions without weakening acceptance
A test may identify correctable actions. Their status and impact should remain visible until formally closed.
- Classify each action by safety, compliance, performance, quality, documentation or convenience impact.
- Name the owner, completion date, evidence and whether the action blocks dispatch, installation or production release.
- Record temporary controls and who has authorised them; do not allow a temporary workaround to become an undocumented final condition.
- Repeat the affected test after correction where the original result no longer proves compliance.
- Keep approved deviations linked to the specification, drawings, manuals and training information.
- Close the FAT and SAT records with signed results and a traceable outstanding-action list.
FAT and SAT planning questions
Should every product and format be run at FAT?
Not necessarily. Use a risk-based matrix that includes the reference duty and the approved extremes that materially change process or transfer behaviour. Record untested combinations and the evidence used to approve them.
Can FAT replace SAT?
No. FAT proves the agreed factory condition; SAT verifies the installed line with site utilities, retained equipment, product supply, environment, operators and interfaces. Some evidence may be referenced rather than repeated, but the site boundary still needs acceptance.
Who should approve acceptance criteria?
The responsible technical, production and quality stakeholders should approve criteria before testing, with safety or specialist input where required. The people witnessing the test should have authority to record results and actions.
Use the related pages to document the product, pack, output, layout and acceptance evidence before requesting a detailed proposal.
Make the acceptance record traceable from FAT to SAT
A signed test result should identify the requirement, machine and software revision, samples, method and evidence used. This allows valid FAT evidence to be carried forward and makes clear which site conditions must still be confirmed during SAT.
The acceptance pack should be usable by people who were not present at the original test. Photographs or video can support the record where agreed, but they need a test reference, date, format, operating condition and result. A clip of a running machine without the protocol and measured outcome does not show which requirement was accepted.
Use one numbering system for requirements, test cases, deviations and actions. When a result is repeated after a correction, retain the earlier record and link the successful retest rather than replacing the history.
| Record field | Why it matters | What to capture |
|---|---|---|
| Requirement and revision | Shows which approved duty or specification statement the test is proving. | Requirement reference, current revision, related drawing or interface and any approved deviation. |
| Test case and conditions | Makes the result repeatable and prevents a favourable condition being mistaken for the complete range. | Format, product state, line mode, run sequence, duration or sample count and permitted operator work. |
| Sample identity | Links performance to the actual product, packs and components tested. | Supplier or source, batch where relevant, drawings, conditioning, difficult extreme and quantity available. |
| Settings and revision state | Confirms that the accepted result belongs to a controlled equipment and software condition. | Recipe, principal settings, tooling identification, program or parameter revision and instrument status. |
| Measurement or inspection method | Separates an observable pass rule from a general statement that the line appeared satisfactory. | Instrument, sampling method, reference pack, visual standard, calculation and person responsible for release. |
| Result and raw evidence | Supports review of the decision and any later investigation. | Individual measurements where required, good and rejected quantity, stop log, defect challenges, images and witness notes. |
| Action, deviation and retest | Keeps unresolved work visible and shows whether the original evidence remains valid. | Owner, due stage, effect, temporary control, approval, corrective evidence and linked repeat test. |
| Witness and approval | Records who observed or reviewed the evidence and their authority for the decision. | Name or role, organisation, date, comments and accepted status for dispatch, installation or handover. |
Decide what can be referenced and what must be reconfirmed on site
The actual FAT and SAT split depends on the contract, assembly boundary and factory test setup. Record the decision for each requirement instead of using a generic rule.
| Evidence area | Factory record that may support SAT | Site confirmation normally still required where applicable |
|---|---|---|
| Build and documentation | Equipment identity, drawings, parts, guards, manuals, software revision and closed factory actions. | Installed identity and revision, transport or installation changes, damage checks and as-installed updates. |
| Machine function | Controlled functional tests using factory services and agreed samples. | Functions affected by actual utilities, product feed, environment, retained equipment or site configuration. |
| Line interfaces | Simulated or physically connected handshake, blocked, starved, inspection and recovery tests. | Actual site signals, network, working heights, transfers, utilities and retained-machine behaviour. |
| Safety and control functions | Factory checks completed within the assembled and approved test boundary. | Approved checks affected by installation, final guarding, site interfaces or changes, completed by the responsible competent parties. |
| Performance and quality | Representative good-output and quality evidence under the factory protocol. | The agreed site duty using stated product, materials, operators, utilities and production conditions. |
| Training and handover | Prepared manuals, backups, parts information and training material. | Attendance, practical competence checks where included, issued revisions, spares receipt and remaining-action control. |
Prepare the witness pack before the test starts
- Approved protocol, drawings, format matrix, acceptance references and controlled sample list.
- Test sheets with requirement references and space for settings, measurements, stops, defects and actions.
- Agreed instruments, inspection references, data exports and identification for photographs or video.
- Witness roles, decision authority, pause or abort conditions and process for agreeing a retest.
- Document issue list and a closing review that separates passed work, accepted deviations and open actions.
FAT and SAT evidence-record FAQs
Can video evidence support a packaging-line FAT?
Yes, when it is linked to the approved test case and clearly identifies the equipment, format, operating condition and result. Video should support the agreed measurements and witness record rather than replace them without prior agreement.
What if the product or components used at SAT differ from the FAT samples?
Record the difference and assess whether it changes process, transfer, closure, label, inspection or quality risk. Repeat the affected test or agree additional evidence before treating the earlier result as representative.
When is site acceptance complete?
When the agreed SAT criteria have been completed or formally dispositioned, required documents and training have been issued, and remaining actions have an approved status that permits the defined handover stage.
Use the specification checklist to number the requirements, the site-readiness guide to prepare SAT conditions and the commissioning page to plan handover.