Project Delivery
Site Acceptance Test Guide
Site acceptance testing verifies the installed equipment with site utilities, interfaces, operators and agreed production conditions. It follows installation and commissioning rather than repeating the factory test exactly.
Editorial basis
Planning guidance, not a final machine specification
Published by Allot Tech (Suzhou) Co., Ltd. This multilingual library uses a consistent buyer-decision framework and independently prepared language packs. Confirm the final configuration against supplier drawings, actual product and packaging samples, destination requirements and the signed technical agreement.
Direct answer
What this decision means for a real filling project
Site acceptance testing verifies the installed equipment with site utilities, interfaces, operators and agreed production conditions. It follows installation and commissioning rather than repeating the factory test exactly.
This guide is part of the Factory Readiness and Commissioning cluster. Read the hub when the project still needs a broader comparison.
Installed-line verification
A practical SAT checklist for a bottling line
A site acceptance test should answer one question: does the installed line meet the agreed requirements with this factory’s utilities, production materials, interfaces and trained operators? Use a written protocol agreed before the test. There is no universal pass rate or test duration that suits every filling project.
FAT, commissioning and SAT serve different purposes. FAT records what was demonstrated before shipment. Commissioning establishes safe, stable operation after installation. SAT records performance against the approved site requirements. A successful FAT does not prove that the buyer’s air supply, conveyors or packaging materials will support the same result.
| Test area | Record before or during SAT | Closure evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Installation and safety readiness | Approved layout, utility connections, guarding review and outstanding installation items. | Authorized personnel sign the pre-start checks. Stop testing if a safety prerequisite is unresolved. |
| Utility supply under load | Specified pressure, flow, temperature and electrical conditions at the agreed machine interfaces while the line runs. | Recorded readings and any excursions linked to timestamps in the stop log. |
| Actual product and packaging | Product batch, filling temperature, bottle, closure, label, packing material and approved recipe revision. | Traceable samples and a list of formats actually tested, including limitations. |
| Integrated output and quality | Elapsed test time, total count, rejected count, accepted count and stop reasons at the agreed line boundary. | Calculated good output plus recorded fill, closure, label and pack checks against the agreed limits. |
| Changeover and restart | Selected format transition, crew, tools, cleaning boundary and time to stable accepted output. | A completed changeover record; restarting one machine alone is not an integrated-line result. |
| Handover and open actions | Manuals, drawings, settings backup, spares list, training records and remaining defects. | Each open item has an owner, due date, retest requirement and named approver. |
When should a SAT be postponed?
Postpone or explicitly limit the test when production materials are unavailable, utility conditions fall outside the agreed range, critical guarding checks remain open or required operators have not been trained. Record the reason and the conditions needed to restart. Do not bypass interlocks or enter guarded equipment to keep an acceptance run moving; only authorized personnel should conduct safety tests under the approved procedure.
Worked test record
Calculate accepted output over elapsed time, including stops
Consider an illustrative 90-minute integrated test. The line records 8,400 completed bottles, of which 168 fail the agreed quality checks. Six minutes of stoppage occur inside the test window. These are example numbers, not a claim about any supplied machine.
- Accepted count: 8,400 – 168 = 8,232 bottles.
- Accepted elapsed-time rate: 8,232 / 1.5 hours = 5,488 good bottles per hour.
- Reject rate: 168 / 8,400 x 100 = 2%.
- Running time: 90 – 6 = 84 minutes.
- Gross running-only rate: 8,400 / (84 / 60) = 6,000 bottles per hour. This higher figure excludes downtime and includes rejected bottles, so it is not the same result as 5,488 good BPH.
If the signed requirement is 5,500 accepted BPH over the complete test window, this example falls short by 12 BPH. Do not round it into a pass or replace it with the running-only figure. Investigate the losses and follow the agreed corrective-action and retest process. If the contract defines a different time boundary, report both the contractual result and the underlying counts so the difference is visible.
What belongs in the stop log and punch list?
For each event, record start and end time, affected machine, alarm or observed symptom, material condition, immediate action and responsible owner. Separate an observation from its unconfirmed cause. For example: “14:22-14:24, cap-feed alarm; cap hopper inspected; root cause pending” is more useful than assigning every stop to the operator without evidence.
For each defect, record its requirement reference, evidence, impact, correction owner, due date and verification method. Mark the agreed status: accepted, accepted with specifically listed conditions, or not accepted. Keep safety-critical matters outside any blanket commercial sign-off. The buyer’s qualified team must separately approve product hygiene, process validation and local compliance where applicable; a short mechanical performance run is not proof of food safety or aseptic performance.
Prepare the test with the FAT evidence matrix and installation planning guide. Use the BPH planning example to connect demand to a measurable target, then send your product, package and acceptance requirements for a project review.
Engineering inputs
Define the duty before comparing equipment
A useful proposal starts from agreed process and package information. These inputs keep suppliers from filling gaps with incompatible assumptions.
Send these details
- FAT record and open items
- Site utilities
- Production materials
- Operator availability
- SAT protocol
Require these checks
- Complete installation checks
- Verify interlocks
- Run sustained integrated test
- Record quality output and remaining actions
Line integration
Connect the choice to upstream and downstream equipment
Project delivery connects supplier engineering with the buyer's building, utilities, people and local obligations. A responsibility matrix and approved layout prevent interfaces from being discovered only during installation.
Comparison sheet
Put every supplier on the same basis
| Decision area | What to state in the RFQ | What to verify |
|---|---|---|
| Product | FAT record and open items | complete installation checks |
| Package | site utilities | verify interlocks |
| Performance | production materials | run sustained integrated test |
| Operation | operator availability | record quality output and remaining actions |
| Project scope | Utilities, interfaces, documents, spares, packing, shipping and support | Written inclusions, exclusions and acceptance evidence |
Verification route
Move from a claim to recorded evidence
Use staged verification: document review, factory testing, shipment inspection, installation checks and site acceptance. Open items should have owners and deadlines rather than being hidden inside a general completion statement.
- Approve the duty, drawings and test conditions before fabrication is treated as final.
- Use production-intent product and packaging wherever they materially affect performance.
- Record results by format, operating condition and quality criterion rather than relying on a short edited video.
- List open items, owners and closure evidence before packing and again after site commissioning.
Buyer questions
Answers to common RFQ and acceptance questions
When is Site Acceptance Test Guide useful?
Integrated lines after mechanical and electrical installation at the buyer's factory. SAT results are unreliable when utilities, materials or operators are not ready and these conditions are not recorded.
What details should be supplied before requesting a quotation?
Prepare the following project-specific information: FAT record and open items, site utilities, production materials, operator availability, SAT protocol. Drawings, photos and representative samples help the engineering review move from a budget assumption to a defined scope.
How should the proposed solution be checked before acceptance?
Use an agreed review or test plan to complete installation checks, verify interlocks, run sustained integrated test, record quality output and remaining actions. Record the conditions, measurements and open actions so the result can be compared with the approved specification.
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Allot Tech (Suzhou) Co., Ltd. was founded in 2019. Our roots are in new-media and online communication; since 2025, we have combined that experience with China manufacturing sourcing to introduce practical beverage and liquid-packaging equipment to global buyers honestly and clearly.