A well-conducted FAT (Factory Acceptance Test) guarantees that industrial equipment will arrive on site compliant with contractual specifications. Yet behind protocols and checklists lies expertise that is not written in standards.
What an API inspector looks at
An API certified inspector doesn't just check dimensions. They analyze coherence between material certifications (3.1 EN 10204), NDT reports (UT, PMI, dye penetrant), and equipment behavior under test. A centrifugal pump that passes its hydrotest but shows vibration drift at 80% nominal speed often signals a balancing defect that will only reveal itself in operation.
Common traps
- Incomplete material certificates on critical parts (shaft, rotor)
- Pump curves taken in non-representative conditions
- Uncalibrated FAT instrumentation (vibration transducers out of tolerance)
- Last-minute cosmetic corrections (paint, marking)
The owner's role
An informed client demands an independent inspector at critical hold points. That's the added value of a player like TASNII Engineering: our API certified inspectors represent the owner's interest, not the supplier's.
