Project coordination, machine commissioning and internal factory acceptance testing are critical parts of preparing automation equipment for delivery. From verifying field wiring and operator interfaces to testing machine functions with personnel unfamiliar with the equipment, these activities help uncover problems before the customer becomes involved. But internal testing is only the first of three important milestones. The next two—customer-attended factory acceptance testing (FAT) and site acceptance testing (SAT)—introduce new expectations, operating conditions and opportunities to improve the machine.

The customer FAT is a monumental moment in the project. This is where you will show off the characteristics and performance of your machine. It is a good idea to provide the customer with a comprehensive list of examination points and desired outcomes.

Many manufacturers will start the FAT with a quick demonstration of the operation of the machine. Run the machine with product going through it to give the customer and yourself confidence that you have achieved the goal you set out to achieve. Follow that up by going through the features that the customer will find important.

Safety points are a good way to kick this off. Start the machine and work through each safety entry point. If you have 22 doors on the machine, go through each one sequentially to show that the machine stops appropriately and resumes function after being reset. Have the customer stand in front of the operator station so that they can verify the annunciation of each stop and reset.

Break out the rest of the FAT into disciplines. Mechanical folks review the mechanical features; electrical folks evaluate the electrical features. Make sure to get input from the customer along the way to keep them engaged in the process.

The FAT process will, like the internal FAT, likely provide a list of items to clean up prior to shipping to the customer facility. You want to make sure you take care of all of this prior to shipping because it is much easier to accomplish than trying to fix things at the customer site without the supporting functions and skills that you have in your own facility.

All the work to this point prepares you for the final benchmark, the site acceptance test. At this point, we hope to have all the bugs out of the system, and we will be focused on integrating our equipment with the other equipment that makes up the production line or process.

It’s very important to recognize that while we would like to think that the internal FAT and customer-attended FAT have captured all the opportunities for improvement, we will often encounter situations during the commissioning process at the customer facility that are completely unexpected.

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The best we can do at this point is stay calm and remind ourselves that we did a good job getting to this point. This is not the moment to panic and assume that everything is wrong and we need to start over.

Troubleshooting during the SAT is more about having an opportunity to test our machine in a live production environment. During the previous FAT events, we tend to subconsciously remove items that will cause issues with production.

For example, we will pull out carton or case blanks that are bent from being strapped together. We will take the time to fan out those blanks to make sure that they aren’t stuck to each other. Factory acceptance testing tends to go at a slower pace, and we have time to address such items.

We are also under a lot of pressure to make the FAT perfect. The last thing we will want is to have the machine crash with the customer standing there with a clipboard or a video camera.

During the SAT, the customer will run their own machine. They will have their own personnel in place, loading magazines, stacking boxes and replenishing ink and glue.

The machine is expected to produce at a normal production pace, where it might not stop except for scheduled breaks or lunch. We can’t simulate that during a FAT at our own facility, so be prepared to encounter situations related to that continuous-run environment.

Finally, it is very important to recognize that, despite our best efforts, we will come across things that were not anticipated. Make sure to document the events because that becomes the basis for the next build, the next new machine or process.

Product design is an evolution. We need to learn from each other and remember to bring those lessons back so we can do better on the next opportunity.