Protocol freeze
Agree the protocol early
Define hold points, acceptance criteria, and witness needs in engineering — not the week before shipping.
Include dimensional, pressure, functional, and documentation checks with clear pass/fail language. Vague “verify operation” steps produce debates on the shop floor instead of records.
Align FAT scope to battery limits. Items tested only after site utilities connect should be listed as site tests, not hidden as implied FAT coverage.
Invite quality, operations, and I&C to protocol review. Each group catches different gaps: missing certificates, unworkable access, or signal mismatches.
Lock the drawing and tag revision that FAT will be executed against. Testing an obsolete GA invalidates much of the evidence.
If acceptance criteria are not written, FAT cannot fail — and therefore cannot protect you.
Fit and integrity
Dimensional and mechanical checks
Confirm the skid matches drawings and can be transported, lifted, and tied in without field surgery.
Verify overall envelope, nozzle locations, orientations, and flange ratings against the approved GA and nozzle schedule. Small deviations become major site rework when headers are already fabricated.
Check lifting points, shipping braces, and centre-of-gravity documentation. Mechanical damage in transit often starts as incomplete shipping engineering.
Pressure and leak tests should follow the specified medium, limits, and hold times. Record gauge IDs and calibration status with the results.
Inspect access, drip trays, and maintainability envelopes with an operations mindset. A skid that passes pressure test but blocks a seal replacement will fail later in a costlier way.
- Envelope and nozzle verification against drawings
- Flange rating, facing, and gasket compatibility
- Lift/shipping provision checks
- Pressure / leak tests as specified
- Support and bracing inspection before release
I&C prove-out
Instrumentation, electrical, and automation smoke tests
Prove tags, signals, and basic interlocks while correction is still cheap.
Cross-check nameplates and instrument tags to the I/O list and drawings. Tag drift discovered at site breaks both automation and documentation packs.
Loop checks and simulated signals should cover the agreed FAT boundary. Cold checks catch wiring errors; live utility tests may wait for site if media are unavailable.
Motor rotation, valve stroke, and fail-safe behaviour need explicit expected states. “Valve moved” is not enough when fail positions matter for process safety or hygiene.
Panel boundaries and earthing provisions should match the interface drawing. Ambiguity here creates duplicate work between skid vendor and site electrical contractor.
Automation surprises at site are usually FAT scope that was never written down.
- Tag and nameplate verification against drawings
- Instrument loop and I/O checks where in scope
- Motor rotation and interlock smoke tests
- Fail-safe and abort behaviour as specified
- Panel and power demarcation confirmation
Clean design
Hygienic and cleanability spot checks
For hygienic skids, FAT should challenge drainability and access — not only mechanical completeness.
Walk slopes, low points, and dead-leg suspects with quality present. Water drain trials, where practical, expose pockets drawings can hide.
Confirm valve orientations and instrument branches match cleanability assumptions in the design basis. Rework after electropolish or passivation is painful.
Review spray device access and manway clearances if in scope. Cleaning hardware that cannot be inspected will not stay reliable.
Record deviations that affect cleanability as punches with mandatory closure before ship, or with formal risk acceptance for site correction.
Evidence gate
Documentation pack completeness
Do not ship a mechanically finished skid with an unfinished quality story.
Use a document checklist tied to the URS: certificates, weld maps, as-builts, datasheets, calibration records, and FAT reports. Missing items should block release like open mechanical punches.
Ensure as-built markings match the physical skid after last-minute shop changes. Photographing nameplates helps close the loop when tags were swapped.
Include spare parts lists and special tool notes if they affect commissioning. Discovering a proprietary seal tool after set-down wastes crane time.
Package documents so site teams can find system-level truth quickly. A pile of unsorted PDFs is not a turnover pack.
Documentation closure is a FAT hold point — treat it with the same seriousness as a failed pressure test.
- Documentation pack complete for shipment
- As-built drawings aligned to shipped configuration
- Certificates and weld/inspection records as specified
- FAT protocol signed with results attached
- Open items listed with owners and due context
- Interface drawing included for site trades
Carry-forward
Link FAT to site success
Carry open items into a site punch register with owners. Do not let deferred points disappear between dispatch and commissioning.
Classify punches as ship-stoppers, site-correctable, or accepted deviations. Ambiguous lists encourage “we will see on site” behaviour that erases accountability.
Brief the site commissioning team on what FAT already proved and what remains. Retesting everything wastes time; retesting nothing repeats risk.
Preserve FAT media, recordings, and signed pages in the project EDMS. Tribal copies on a laptop are not available during later investigations.
Feed FAT lessons into the next identical skid. Repeat packages should get shorter FATs because previous punches were designed out — not because checks were skipped.
Takeaway
Our delivery model includes FAT and a documentation pack sized to your quality requirements before dispatch. A practical checklist turns witness day into controlled evidence instead of theatre. Close mechanical, functional, and document gates in the shop, and site commissioning can focus on integration rather than rediscovery.
Next step
Need a skid scoped to your URS?
Share process duty, capacity, and standards. We respond with a clear engineering and fabrication path for modular packages.
Keep reading
