Prepare FAT documentation that records what actually happened
Factory acceptance test documentation should help the responsible team record agreed checks and their outcomes. A tidy template cannot replace an agreed test scope, approved acceptance criteria or the people authorised to conduct and review the work.
Clear information. Confident next steps.MONTHLY KNOWLEDGE SERIES
May 2026 · CDX1 / 8
CDXCAD & Documentation Expertise
01 / UNDERSTAND
Start with a clear foundation
Agree the test basis
Identify the equipment, configuration and applicable specification. The responsible technical team should supply or approve the test steps, conditions and acceptance criteria. Leave unresolved criteria visible until they are agreed. Do not fill gaps with generic pass values merely to complete a form.
Design fields for real results
Provide space for the measured result or observation, the applicable criterion, the disposition and the person recording it. A simple pass/fail field may be insufficient where the actual reading is important. Identify the supporting instrument or record where the approved test process requires it.
May 2026 · CDX2 / 8
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THE DOCUMENTATION BRIEF · EDITION 09
Prepare FAT documentation that records what actually happened
Factory acceptance test documentation should help the responsible team record agreed checks and their outcomes. A tidy template cannot replace an agreed test scope, approved acceptance criteria or the people authorised to conduct and review the work.
Agree the test basis
Identify the equipment, configuration and applicable specification. The responsible technical team should supply or approve the test steps, conditions and acceptance criteria. Leave unresolved criteria visible until they are agreed. Do not fill gaps with generic pass values merely to complete a form.
Design fields for real results
Provide space for the measured result or observation, the applicable criterion, the disposition and the person recording it. A simple pass/fail field may be insufficient where the actual reading is important. Identify the supporting instrument or record where the approved test process requires it.
Keep exceptions attached to the record
Link outstanding items to a punch list with clear ownership. Corrections, retests and final dispositions should remain traceable. When the documentation team compiles the pack, its role is to organise supplied results, not to retrospectively certify that the equipment passed.
Evidence must reflect the actual test
A factory acceptance test pack can be well formatted and still fail to show what happened. Identify the equipment, applicable procedure, test conditions and actual results supplied by the test team. Keep acceptance criteria distinct from observations. Do not prefill results to make a pack look complete. Where a test was not performed or a result remains unresolved, make that status visible. The documentation preparer compiles and checks records; it does not become the test authority.
Prepare the record before the activity
Review the form with the people responsible for testing so it captures the required readings, instrument references and approvals. Confirm units and space for exceptions. After testing, reconcile the completed records against the agreed plan and track missing signatures or attachments. Any retest should be linked to the earlier finding and its authorised disposition. This structure helps a reviewer follow the evidence without mistaking a planned step for a completed and accepted activity.
A practical team exercise
Use one small, approved example from your own organisation. Nominate a document owner and a reviewer, then apply the checklist below. Record the initial problem, the proposed improvement and the evidence needed to confirm it. Keep the exercise separate from any live equipment activity or production change until the appropriate authority approves it. Discuss what became clearer, which inputs were missing and whether the same approach can be repeated. A modest improvement that your team actually uses is a stronger starting point than an ambitious system with no agreed owner.
How CDX can support the next step
CDX can help organise the source material, prepare a representative layout, produce the agreed CAD or documentation outputs and maintain a comment register through review. Offshore production is coordinated by Australian management under a defined scope. We do not provide engineering sign-off or create evidence of inspections that have not occurred. Bring the approved source information, your intended audience and the required deliverable list to the discussion. We will identify the preparation work, unresolved questions and review responsibilities before agreeing the production scope.
Your practical checklist
Confirm equipment and test scope.
Obtain approved criteria and test steps.
Allow actual observations to be recorded.
Connect exceptions to a punch list.
Retain review, retest and final disposition records.
One useful action this month
Review a test sheet before the next FAT. Ask whether it can capture an unexpected result clearly, including the action taken and the person responsible for closing it.
Original educational collection, published 22 September 2026. General documentation guidance; equipment-specific content requires technical approval.
