A factory acceptance test should verify the product and configuration being delivered against an agreed schedule. It complements site commissioning; it cannot prove the final tunnel's lighting performance or installation compliance on its own.
Freeze the acceptance basis before production
List the exact models, voltages, section lengths, terminations and mounting interfaces. Define which checks apply to every delivered item and which use an agreed sample. Sampling should follow the purchase agreement and relevant requirements, rather than a percentage chosen casually during the inspection.
Identify the documents required with the shipment: drawings, labeling schedule, test records and applicable compliance evidence. Include how deviations are handled and who can authorize a concession. This prevents a failed check from being quietly reclassified as acceptable because shipment is urgent.
Test representative assembled sections
Use the intended connection arrangement and operating conditions for the tests being evaluated. Record supply voltage, current or input power, measurement setup and relevant temperature conditions. For color or optical comparisons, keep the measurement method consistent and use equipment appropriate to the agreed criteria.
Check physical dimensions, identification and terminations alongside operation. Verify that package labels identify the sections the installer expects to receive. Where environmental or certification evidence is required, review the relevant reports and scope; a quick factory demonstration does not replace a defined type test or approval.
Make results traceable to the shipment
A useful record links results to model, batch or item identifiers and the drawing revision. Record instruments and any limitations. Photographs can support the record, but a photograph of an illuminated coil should not be the only evidence of electrical or optical performance.
After corrective work, repeat the affected checks and document the outcome. Keep factory acceptance and site acceptance as separate milestones. Feeder losses, final mounting, obstructions and system controls can still change the result on site, even when every delivered section passed the factory plan. Handover should preserve both sets of records.
Suggested acceptance-plan headings
- Product identity and approved drawing revision.
- Inspection scope and agreed sampling basis.
- Electrical, dimensional and optical acceptance criteria.
- Test conditions, instruments and traceability.
- Deviation approval, retest and shipment-document requirements.
Questions buyers ask
Does a factory aging test prove ten years of life?
No. It can support a defined production check, but it does not demonstrate a fixed installed lifetime by itself.
Can FAT replace site commissioning?
No. The installed power distribution, positioning and controls require their own checks against the project design.
Related engineering guides
- Tunnel strip lighting: the system design overview
- Tunnel LED Strip Voltage Drop: A Feeder Calculation Buyers Can Check
- Retrofitting Tunnel LED Strip Lighting During Short Work Windows
Technical references
Use the following source alongside the project specification; it does not certify a ZBL product or replace site engineering approval.
