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.