Factory acceptance test checklist for packaging machinery

A packaging line behaves differently on every film, carton and product. Settle the test material first. Name the film grade or carton board, the product, the fill weight or count, and the pack size to be run.

Ask the customer to send enough of their own material. A trial on your substitute proves little if the customer’s laminate is slipperier or their product is stickier.

Write down the rated speed in packs per minute, the run length for each test and the reject limit. These three numbers decide whether the day ends in a signature or an argument. Record the room conditions as well, since humidity and temperature change how film sticks and how cartons feed.

One good minute proves nothing. Run the machine for the agreed period at the rated speed and log the packs made, the packs rejected and every stoppage with its cause. A film splice, a jammed carton and a sensor trip are different problems.

Repeat at a lower and at a higher speed if the contract allows a range. The numbers show where the machine begins to struggle. A line that holds its reject rate at rated speed but drifts at a faster setting tells the customer how much headroom they really bought.

Capture seal quality too. Check seal strength, leak test result, print registration, code and date print, and pack weight against the checkweigher.

Customers buy a packaging machine for a mix of formats, so a changeover deserves its own test. Change from one format to another with the operator the customer will use. Time it with a stopwatch.

Note each step: change parts swapped, guides reset, recipe selected, first good pack. Record who did what.

For food and pharma lines, add a wash-down or cleaning step. Check that guards come off with the tools supplied and that nothing traps product. A forming collar that needs a hammer to remove will cost the customer hours every week.

Press every emergency stop and test every interlock on the guards. Confirm the light curtain stops the machine within the distance the risk assessment states. Record the result for each.

Open the HMI screens next. Check alarm messages, recipe storage, user levels and the counters for good and rejected packs. Take a backup of the PLC and HMI programs and note the version.

Hand over the draft manual, electrical drawings, spares list and lubrication chart, or note which are still pending.

List every item that failed or was waived. Give each one an owner, a deadline, and the place where it will be fixed, whether before dispatch or at site. The customer signs the sheet and keeps a copy.

Photograph the nameplate, the panel and the final run counters. Do it before the crate closes. Keep the shots in the same folder as the signed sheet, so a later warranty claim can be checked quickly. File them with the signed sheet against the machine’s serial number.

Before your next FAT, print this checklist and cross out any line your machine cannot honestly pass. Fix the contract wording or the machine before the customer visits. Add the sheet to your quote pack as well, so the customer sees the test before they buy.