Acceptance: Four Sheets Before Start-Up

Do not start the line on the day it arrives. Fix four sheets first: goods check, single-machine run, full load run and defect list. Each sheet answers one question, and nothing counts until the judgement column carries numbers.

Why agree the sheets before the first start?

Equipment acceptance means confirming against items and limits agreed in advance, before signing, that a line matches the contract and the technical agreement. Without limits a trial proves one thing only, that the machine turns. Ten minutes of turning and two shifts of running are different claims; the columns separate them.

The sheets matter because written acceptance criteria, such as 24 hours continuous with output retested on that basis, give both sides a clear basis for checking results. Fix the limits in the agreement at order stage; negotiating tolerances during acceptance rarely works.

Sheet one: is this the machine we ordered?

This sheet compares paperwork, not equipment. Model, contact material, key components and documents are checked line by line: grade 304 or 316L, and whether pumps, valves and instruments were substituted. Record gaps on the spot, not after installation.

Sheet two: is it assembled correctly?

Sheet two is a single-machine run, not switching on with nothing inside. Some pump shaft seals and mechanical seals must not run dry, so confirm the permitted running condition in the manual, then run with the medium it specifies. It checks motor direction, noise, vibration, bearing temperature rise, belt tracking, valve response, and whether emergency stops and interlocks cut the drive. Skip it and a full load fault widens the search to the whole line.

Sheet three: does it hold under load?

A full load run uses real fruit for the agreed hours, recording output, yield, sterilisation temperature, filling accuracy and cleaning results. Output is retested on one basis: in the previous article's worked example (3,000 tonnes a year, 60% yield, 45 day peak), peak demand is 5.6 tonnes per hour against a 5 tonne line; retest against peak-season average intake and real effective hours, not a 24 hour day.

The limit numbers are not universal truths, they are what both sides write into the agreement: 500 ml filled to plus or minus 2 ml, 0.4% of the fill, or half that. The sterilisation band comes from the product process validation. Batch count is agreed the same way: continuous production is judged on run hours and stoppages. This article uses 3 batches as an example; test hours, batch count and sampling are agreed per project.

Cleaning needs its own limit: rinse pH and conductivity show how far the rinsing went, not whether the surfaces are clean. Add residue checks, surface sampling and, where risk calls for it, microbiological verification; an aseptic line cannot close on conductivity alone.

Sheet four: what happens to the shortfall?

The defect list carries three fields: what it is, who owns it, when it is retested. A list that never closes means the first three sheets carry no weight. Re-testing looks at the item as first recorded, without redefining the standard or folding in new findings.

Does every project need all four?

Not every project needs this depth. A single machine or replacement pump can merge the four into two: fold the goods check into the run record and test that machine's own performance, a pump on flow and head. Goods check plus run alone does not hold; a single machine is still checked on performance. A complete line, aseptic filler or export project needs all four, since a missed stage costs a whole line. Four sheets do not remove risk either: they make a problem recordable, owned and re-testable.

The order of the sheets is the order of the search: confirm what arrived, then how it was assembled, then whether it holds, then close what did not. Reverse the order and earlier conclusions get overturned by the next problem.