Installation and Commissioning FAQ

1. What to prepare before arrival

Before the line arrives, the buyer prepares: a clean hall with the layout marked, power, water, drainage and compressed air connected, labour for unloading and assembly, and the product and packaging materials for the test run. The supplier provides the layout drawing and the utilities spec with the order — use them, because the hall is prepared to the drawing, not to memory.

Prepare the materials too: the bottles, caps and product for commissioning, agreed with the supplier so the test runs on the real format, not an approximation.

A readiness checklist signed by both sides before the technician travels is the cleanest way to keep the schedule honest.

2. The installation timeline

A typical sequence: day 1–2 mechanical assembly and alignment; day 3–4 utilities connection and electrical checks; day 5 dry run (no product); day 6–8 product run and adjustment; day 9–10 acceptance test and operator training. The total is one to two weeks depending on line size and automation.

The timeline is a joint schedule: the technician works while the site is ready, and the site is ready because the buyer prepared it. Miss the preparation and the schedule slides regardless of the technician's skill.

3. Utilities and site conditions

The line needs power (confirmed capacity and phase), water at the right flow and pressure, drainage for the product and CIP paths, and compressed air where the blow moulder or pneumatics demand it. The numbers are in the supplier's spec sheet — the buyer's job is to confirm the hall can deliver them before the line arrives.

Hall conditions matter too: level floor for alignment, temperature for electronics, and space around the machine for access and maintenance. A cramped hall passes inspection once and costs you every day after.

4. The supplier's technician

The technician installs, aligns, runs the machine, trains the operators and signs the acceptance report with you. The cost and logistics (travel, accommodation, visa where applicable) are agreed in the contract — either included in the package price or quoted separately, never improvised.

Use the technician's time fully: have your operators and maintenance person working beside them from day one. The knowledge transfer during installation is worth more than any manual.

5. The acceptance test

Acceptance is a test with numbers: the line runs at the rated output on the agreed bottle for an agreed period, with the agreed product quality, and no unresolved leaks or faults. The criteria are written in the contract before shipment, and the acceptance report is signed at the end.

If the test fails, the contract defines the remedy: the supplier fixes it within a period and the test is rerun. Acceptance is not a ceremony; it is the point where the risk passes from supplier to buyer, so it deserves definition.

6. Operator training

Training covers operation, changeover, cleaning and basic fault-finding, delivered during installation by the technician. The buyer's operators should be on site from the start of the product run — the training is hands-on, and it cannot be compressed into the last day.

Train more than the minimum crew, because the people who learn the line are the people who leave for better jobs. A second trained shift is cheap insurance.

7. Common delays

The repeated delays are: hall not ready (power, water, floor), product or packaging not available for the test, operator absence, documentation missing for customs, and acceptance criteria undefined. All five are controllable before the technician arrives — and all five are cheaper to fix in planning than in waiting.

The installation of a filling machine or a combiblock follows the same discipline; the line size changes the days, not the logic.

Frequently asked questions