Distinguish Requirements from Unconfirmed Statements
A requirement states what the buyer needs. An assumption states something being relied on without complete confirmation. An open question identifies information still missing. These entries can appear together during a machinery enquiry, but treating them as equivalent makes an offer look more settled than it is.
For example, a requested container range is a requirement; believing that existing format parts will suit it is an assumption until the relevant review supports that conclusion. The project decision is which unknowns must be resolved before the buyer commits to the affected equipment or activity.
Keep the Origin of Each Assumption
Record whether the statement came from a catalogue, an earlier installation, a preliminary discussion or a document awaiting approval. Attach the exact reference and identify the configuration to which it applies. A useful assumption has a source that another reviewer can examine.
The bottle-filler catalogue makes final range and rate dependent on approved samples and operating conditions. A reference description therefore does not settle an unreviewed pack's suitability. Keep the underlying statement separate from the additional conclusion the project team has drawn from it, so the supplier can address the actual uncertainty.
Connect Uncertainty to a Specific Decision
State what would change if the assumption proved wrong. The consequence might concern a selected format, a layout boundary, a planned trial or a document requirement. Describe that effect plainly without assigning an invented cost, delay or technical limit.
Use the decision link to establish review priority. An uncertainty that prevents machine selection needs attention before a later handover detail, but the responsible owners must judge the actual project sequence. Avoid labelling every item urgent; explain what approval or activity depends on each confirmation and which work can proceed independently.
Define Evidence and a Responsible Owner
Ask what evidence could confirm or revise the statement: approved samples, a supplier response, a drawing review or another project-specific reference. Name the person or organization responsible for obtaining it, and distinguish that role from whoever will decide its effect on the project.
Keep target dates as agreed planning information rather than inventing a universal deadline. If evidence is unavailable, record the unresolved question and its decision consequence. A repeated assumption in several documents is still one unconfirmed statement; repetition does not make it an approved fact.
Use an Assumption-to-Evidence Register
Enter one assumption per row. Preserve its source and the question the evidence must answer. The table is deliberately blank so it cannot be mistaken for a completed project review.
| Assumption | Source | Affected decision | Consequence if wrong | Evidence needed | Owner | Status or reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
When a response arrives, record the reference and whether it confirms, revises or leaves the assumption open. This preserves the reasoning behind the eventual scope instead of merely crossing an item off a list.
Carry Confirmed Findings into the Approved Scope
Once reviewed, place the accepted requirement or limitation in the appropriate offer, drawing or document index. Keep the original assumption and response references so later reviewers can understand why the scope changed. Identify any downstream document that still contains the earlier unsupported statement.
The quotation comparison guide is useful after the comparison baseline is agreed. This register works earlier, while unknowns still shape that baseline, and remains useful when a new uncertainty appears later. Close each item against actual evidence; an optimistic status label does not establish machine capability or site readiness.
Buyer Questions
Is a catalogue value automatically an approved project requirement?
Retain its published context and ask how it applies to the proposed configuration. Any additional project assumption needs its own confirmation.
Can an assumption be closed without the requested evidence?
Record the actual response and remaining uncertainty. The appropriate decision owner must review the limitation rather than mark an unanswered question as confirmed.
How is this register different from an approved drawing change log?
It tracks unknowns and the evidence needed before they become an approved scope. A drawing change log tracks revisions to an already identified document.
Related Equipment and Guides
Primary References
Review these published machine and support pages alongside the approved configuration, actual samples and project documents.
Discuss Your Machine Requirement
Share the machine duty, actual samples, required result and relevant site information with H M Pharma Machines for a technical review.
Request a Technical Review