From Witnessed FAT to Dispatch: Reconcile the Final Machine Condition

Identify the witnessed machine and evidence baseline

A witnessed factory review describes a machine in a particular configuration and under particular conditions. The later dispatch package may not look identical: assemblies may be prepared for transport, agreed work may be completed or an unresolved item may have a recorded response. The buyer needs a link between those two conditions rather than an unexplained statement that the machine is “as tested.”

Start with the equipment identity and the evidence baseline used during the witnessed review. Identify the configuration references and the relevant open items. The washing machine FAT guide supports preparation of that earlier review. Keep its agreed scope with the record when asking how a later condition relates to the evidence.

List changes after the witnessed review

Ask for a list of relevant changes made after witnessing. A row should identify the previous condition, the changed condition and the reason, using actual references rather than a broad completion percentage. Record “no change reported” only where the responsible party has supplied that basis; an absent response is not evidence of an unchanged machine.

Keep agreed corrections distinguishable from new scope requests. Where an item has been closed, retain the reference that supports closure and the person or team that reviewed it. A photograph may answer one visual question while leaving a functional question open, so describe what each reference actually establishes.

A completion note and an evidence reference serve different purposes. Record who says the work is complete, then identify what supports the relevant question being closed. Where the witnessed record contains comments rather than a final decision, preserve that status instead of copying the word “accepted” into the dispatch list.

Keep changes in the document package visible as well. If a supplied setup reference, drawing or instruction was revised after witnessing, identify the new revision and its applicability. That does not by itself establish a functional change, but it prevents the receiving team from using an earlier reference without knowing that it was replaced.

Separate agreed transport disassembly from functional changes

Treat the documented transport arrangement separately from a functional change. If the agreed packing plan includes removing an assembly, ask for the applicable identity, restoration reference and receiving responsibility. Do not label every difference in a packing photograph as a defect, or assume that disassembly has no relevance to later checks.

This record is not an unpacking or reassembly procedure. Use the supplier’s applicable instructions and the site’s assigned review process. The handover guide supports retaining assembly and document references; it cannot replace the selected transport and restoration scope.

Ask what earlier evidence remains applicable

For each substantive change, ask how it relates to the evidence already witnessed. The question may be whether the earlier evidence still applies, whether additional evidence was obtained or whether an item remains for a separately agreed review. Keep the answer with the changed reference instead of treating the original FAT record as a universal approval.

Avoid deciding equivalence from a changed part name alone. The buyer and supplier should identify the relevant effect and its review basis. This article does not select substitute components or promise that any change requires a particular retest; it makes the evidence question visible for the actual agreed scope.

Use a dispatch-condition reconciliation record with unresolved items visible

Use a dispatch-condition reconciliation sheet to collect the change status and unresolved items. Record the applicable review authority and the actual accepted reference. Where a question remains open, identify it explicitly with the agreed next action; do not rewrite it as a successful result simply because dispatch is approaching.

Keep the resulting sheet with the packing and handover references. The format-specific parts guide can help identify supplied assemblies, but the dispatch sheet has a different purpose: showing how the final supplied condition relates to the witnessed evidence, without inventing acceptance or shipping obligations.

Blank planning worksheet — complete it with your own references. No observations or results are supplied.

Buyer Questions

Related Equipment and Guides

• Prepare the witnessed FAT baseline
• Retain handover references
• Rotary Gripper Vial Washing Machine

Primary References

Review these published machine and support pages alongside the approved configuration, actual samples and project documents.

• Prepare the witnessed FAT baseline
• Retain handover references
• Rotary Gripper Vial Washing Machine