FAT evidence
Verifies supplied equipment and available functions before shipment under documented factory conditions.
- Scope and document review
- Available functional tests
- Deferred and simulated conditions
Test the agreed basis
Beverage Line FAT and SAT Acceptance Planning
Factory Acceptance Testing and Site Acceptance Testing answer different questions: FAT checks the available equipment and controls before shipment, while SAT checks the installed line against the agreed site, product, package and utility conditions.
Answer first
What should be tested during FAT and SAT for a complete beverage bottling line?
The plan should trace each accepted requirement to a test method, reference product or substitute medium, package material, measurement record, responsibility and open-point rule. FAT should verify what can genuinely be observed at the supplier location; SAT should address installed interfaces and conditions that could not be represented there, without treating either test as universal food-process validation.
Interactive acceptance basis
Decide where and how each requirement will be proved.
A deferred test is controlled only when the reason, owner, location, materials and closure rule are recorded.
Decision areaWhat to controlCurrent status
Equipment completeness
Installed scope, identification, guarding, workmanship and open items.
Controls + safety functions
Modes, interlocks, alarms, fail states, recipes and recovery scenarios.
Reference package handling
Containers, closures, labels, packs, change parts and inspection results.
Product-process behavior
Temperature, pressure, gas, foam, viscosity, particles and hygiene limitations.
Good output + loss
Accepted count point, duration, rate, rejects, stops and exclusions.
Utility consumption
Measurement boundary, conditions, instruments and representative operating state.
Changeover + cleaning
Declared transition, endpoint, staffing, materials and release evidence.
Documents + training
Approved deliverables, backups, records, instruction and open-action closure.
Rows with a usable status0 / 8
Rows still needing clarification8 / 8
Use the first technical review to close the open rows.
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01 / Test basis
Freeze the requirement and reference condition before testing
An acceptance test cannot resolve an undefined contract basis. The approved test plan should identify which product, package, output condition, materials, utilities and connected systems are available, then state how unavailable conditions will be handled.
- Trace each test item to the approved specification or documented deviation.
- Name the reference product or test medium and explain its limitations.
- List container, closure, label, coding and packing materials needed for the test.
- Agree measurement methods, records, witnesses and treatment of open items before the test starts.
02 / Factory acceptance
Use FAT to inspect build, function and available interfaces
FAT can review equipment identity, workmanship observations, controls, interlocks, recipes, alarms, dry or wet functions and available package handling. The plan must disclose when upstream, downstream, utilities or actual product conditions are simulated or absent.
- Verify supplied equipment and documents against the approved scope.
- Exercise operating modes, safety-related interfaces and agreed fault responses where testable.
- Run available containers and packaging materials through the connected factory setup.
- Record simulated signals, temporary utilities and functions deferred to the site.
03 / Site acceptance
Use SAT to verify installation and complete-line handoffs
SAT begins only after site prerequisites and commissioning gates are met. It focuses on installed utilities, interconnecting pipework, actual line controls, product and container feed, downstream acceptance, operator access and the agreed reference operating condition.
- Confirm mechanical, electrical, utility and control completion before the performance sequence.
- Verify product and container conditions at defined system handoffs.
- Observe starved, blocked, hold, fault and restart behavior across connected modules where agreed.
- Capture accepted results, deviations, punch-list items and retest responsibilities.
04 / Closure
Close evidence, punch items and handover as one controlled record
A test event is not complete merely because equipment has run. Results, deviations, configuration versions, corrective actions, conditional acceptance and remaining buyer or supplier tasks should be signed off through the project document process.
- Link test records to the equipment and software revision actually tested.
- Classify open items by effect on operation, safety, quality, documentation or convenience.
- Assign owner, evidence required and retest or document-closure method.
- Carry final accepted configuration and as-built records into operations handover.
Acceptance matrix
Separate factory evidence from installed-line evidence
A requirement may be fully testable at FAT, deferred to SAT or divided between both. The open-point rule prevents a limitation from being mistaken for a pass.
| Test area | FAT evidence | SAT evidence | Open-point rule |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scope and identity | Equipment, key components and document status against approved scope | Installed identity and connection against site drawings | Record substitutions, missing items and approval status |
| Package handling | Available reference containers, closures, labels and packs through factory setup | Actual materials through the installed infeed, filling and end of line | State which formats or materials remain untested |
| Process and filler feed | Available tanks, pumps, instruments and simulated or real feed conditions | Actual upstream transfer, utility and filler-inlet conditions | Do not treat substitute-medium behavior as final product proof |
| Controls and interlocks | Modes, alarms, recipes, permissives and simulated line handshakes | Real equipment communications and site fault or restart behavior | List every simulated signal and its later verification method |
| Complete-line behavior | Connected factory run only to the extent the offered setup permits | Installed module balance, accumulation and agreed operating sequence | Tie any performance conclusion to the exact test condition |
| Documents and training | Draft manuals, drawings, software records and test reports | As-built updates, training records and handover package | Keep acceptance conditional until required closure evidence is supplied |
Acceptance boundaries
Keep three different forms of evidence distinct
Separating factory verification, site verification and product validation protects the buyer from conclusions that the observed test cannot support.
SAT evidence
Verifies installation, real interfaces and the agreed line behavior after site commissioning prerequisites are complete.
- Installed utilities and controls
- Actual material handoffs
- Punch-list and retest closure
Project validation
Addresses product safety, process outcome or destination-specific requirements through separately qualified project work.
- Product-specific basis
- Qualified methods and responsibility
- Records outside generic equipment acceptance
Test-plan inputs
Information required before the acceptance plan is approved
When an input is unavailable, the plan should state the substitute, limitation and later verification point rather than silently reducing the test scope.
- Approved specification
- Controlled requirements and accepted deviations that each test item must trace back to.
- Reference product
- Actual beverage or declared test medium, with known properties and limitations.
- Reference package
- Containers, closures, labels, coding supplies, film, cartons and other materials needed for testing.
- Operating basis
- Agreed product-package condition and sequence to be observed, without relying on unrelated nameplate maxima.
- Available utilities
- Factory and site service conditions, temporary supplies and known differences.
- Connected scope
- Equipment physically present at FAT and SAT, plus all simulated or third-party interfaces.
- Measurement plan
- Instruments, sampling, records, witnesses and responsibility for interpreting results.
- Deviation process
- Classification, owner, corrective evidence, retest and conditional-acceptance method.
Illustrative acceptance plan
A CSD line with limited factory product conditions
A carbonated PET line is assembled for FAT, but the buyer beverage and final site utility conditions are not available at the supplier location. Containers, closures and selected packaging materials are available.
- Trace equipment identity, available package handling, control modes and agreed factory functions to the approved specification.
- List product conditions, utility loads and upstream or downstream interfaces that are simulated, substituted or absent.
- Use FAT records to close observable build and functional items without claiming final carbonation or complete-line performance.
- Carry every deferred product, utility and interface requirement into the SAT plan with site-readiness prerequisites.
- At site, verify actual feed conditions, complete-line handshakes and agreed operating evidence before closing the punch list.
Preliminary resultThe buyer receives useful pre-shipment evidence while preserving a clear list of conditions that only SAT or separate project validation can resolve.
Illustrative acceptance logic only. Actual test media, methods, criteria and responsibilities must be approved in project-specific documents.
Evidence boundary
What supports this guide—and what still needs confirmation.
Evidence labels keep a reference architecture separate from a final design or commercial promise.
Catalog reference
The approved reference catalog supports the process, filling and packaging modules that may appear in a complete-line test boundary; it does not define universal acceptance criteria.
Engineering interpretation
General commissioning and verification logic supports requirement traceability, documented test conditions, simulation disclosure and controlled punch-list closure.
Project confirmation
The signed specification, approved FAT and SAT plans, site conditions, product information and witnessed records establish actual acceptance.
Buyer questions
Frequently asked questions
These are planning answers. Final process and equipment choices require a confirmed project brief.
Are FAT and SAT the same test in different locations?
No. FAT covers functions and evidence available before shipment. SAT covers the installed system, actual site interfaces and agreed conditions that could not be represented at the factory.
Can water testing prove final beverage performance?
Not by itself. A substitute medium can verify selected mechanical or control functions, but differences in product properties, temperature, carbonation, particles or hygiene conditions must remain explicit.
Should every machine be tested only at its own nameplate speed?
Complete-line acceptance should use the agreed reference product and package basis and verify system relationships, not simply collect unrelated maximum-speed demonstrations.
Does equipment acceptance prove product shelf life or regulatory compliance?
No. Product safety, shelf life and regulatory outcomes require their own qualified, product- and destination-specific validation and cannot be inferred from a machinery FAT or SAT.
How to read the technical evidence
Catalog reference The supplied 2026 catalog supports the named CSD and juice/tea equipment chains and is the source for the redrawn functional routes.
Engineering principle Interface explanations show why product, process, package, utilities and line balance must be reviewed together.
Project confirmation The routes are not a final process design, P&ID, validated cycle, quotation, availability statement or performance guarantee. Signed project documents define the final scope.