A factory acceptance test proves equipment works as specified before it leaves the manufacturer. How to write a FAT procedure, what to test, how FAT differs from a site acceptance test, and how to close the punch list.
A factory acceptance test (FAT) is a structured test of equipment — a skid, control panel, packaging line, switchgear, a machine built to order — carried out at the manufacturer's premises before shipment, usually with the buyer present. Its purpose is simple: find the problems while the equipment is still next to the people who built it, rather than on site where every fix costs travel, downtime and schedule. A factory acceptance test is only as useful as the procedure behind it, agreed in advance and executed line by line.
The FAT and the site acceptance test (SAT) are two halves of the same process, often written together as "FAT and SAT". The FAT checks the equipment in isolation at the factory, where simulated inputs replace the real plant. The SAT repeats the critical tests after installation, connected to real utilities, real process conditions and the systems it has to integrate with. Passing the FAT does not remove the need for an SAT; it reduces how much can go wrong during it. Reuse the FAT procedure as the basis for the SAT so the results can be compared line for line.
Do not accept "we tested it internally" in place of a witnessed FAT on critical equipment. The value of the test is that the buyer sees the failures and agrees the fixes before the equipment is crated.
Ettex Records keeps the test and the punch list in one place: one row per FAT step with result, witness and photos, and a linked table of punch items with owner, category and closure date. The same structure carries over to the SAT, so the site team starts with the open items from the factory instead of a blank sheet. When the equipment ships, the signed report sits alongside the certificate of conformance for the order.
FAT stands for factory acceptance test: testing equipment at the manufacturer's site against an agreed procedure before it is shipped to the customer.
The FAT itself is normally included in the equipment price and defined in the contract. The buyer usually pays for its own staff or third-party inspectors to attend.
From half a day for a simple panel to several weeks for a complex integrated system. The procedure should estimate the duration so both sides can plan attendance.
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