The design and engineering of equipment involves a huge amount of factors from inception to completion. Managing a large project takes a huge amount of skill and exceptional leadership qualities. Health and safety regulations will need to be followed and all team members need to be regularly communication with each other in order to ensure that the project runs smoothly. However, once the project is considered complete, it is not always the end. Clients may request a factory acceptance test or a site acceptance test and in many cases both will be conducted.
Factory Acceptance Test
The point of conducting factory acceptance tests is to ensure that high quality products are created and that the requirements needed to produce these products are met. In the case of installations, two checks will be made, this is in order to ensure that that final product is an exact match to the drawings that were presented to the specific project. Any possible faults and deviations from the original plans are recorded and measures put in place to resolve the problems that have been identified. The factory acceptance test is an essential aspect of the system lifecycle, and it should only be performed by personnel who are experienced in this area. Once a factory acceptance test has been conducted the documents presented to the client should include the following items; maintenance and user manual, recommended spare parts list, certificate of compliance, technical drawings as built, instrument calibration certificates as well as material certificates and data sheets.
Site Acceptance Test
A site acceptance test is very similar to a factory acceptance test, except it is conducted in the specific place that the commissioning is conducted. The aim is primarily the same, it is to ensure that the requirements put in place to ensure a high quality outcome of the project at hand are met and have been met throughout the duration of the project. When conducting a site acceptance test the following factors should be considered; finishing visual check, main components visual check, utilities functionality and setting check, safety devices check as well as operator’s training. The documents produced are described as quality testing documents. These documents will include any areas of worry or any deviations from the original commission. They will also include any measures that have been or will be put in place to address these issues.
