Delivering a machine has never been a matter of getting it to the site. For a cross-border project it is even more so: a set of papers that crosses languages, time zones and habits of acceptance, and a single point where they do not match becomes something that has to be clarified during counting or acceptance, which costs far more than aligning the three sets of documents before the machine leaves the factory.
Three sets of documents, three jobs
Separated from each other they are not complicated. The nameplate is the identity document and answers the question of which machine this is. The manual answers how the machine is used and which parameters must not be touched. The delivery file answers what state the machine was in when it left and whether it has been tested. They refer to one another, so a change in one has to be carried into the other two.
The problem usually comes from the three being written separately, checked separately and finally put together for delivery. A model number written with one character wrong, a set of parameters in another version, a test record carrying a number that does not match the nameplate, all look like small matters but become line by line questions on the acceptance sheet.
What the nameplate has to state
- Model and main parameters. The flow rate of the ZYD-100 is 6000 L/h, the working vacuum is -0.08 ~ -0.0999 MPa, the filtration accuracy is ≤1 μm, the water content is ≤3 ppm (GB/T 7600), the breakdown voltage is ≥65 kV (GB/T 507), the cleanliness is NAS 1638 class 5 and the gas content is ≤0.01% (GB/T 423). These figures have to be identical in the contract, the manual and the quotation.
- Electrical parameters. The total power is 72 + 5 kW, the supply is three phase 380V / 50Hz, the overall dimensions are 1200×1400×1800 mm and the weight is approx. 720 kg.
- Equipment number. The number is the unique identifier used for service calls, traceability and spare parts enquiries, and the number on the nameplate has to be traceable on its own.
For an export project there are two further points to confirm about how the voltage and the frequency are stated: the nameplate, the manual and the contract annex have to use the same units, and one cannot say 380V where another says 400V, or say 50Hz in one of them and leave it blank in another.
What the delivery file has to contain
Judged from how the documents are actually used on site, this file has to carry at least: the certificate of conformity, the factory test record, the spare parts list, the manual, and the instructions needed for installation and commissioning.
The factory test record is the most important of them. It records the commissioning work done on this machine before it left; the no-load test verifies that the systems start and run normally, and the load test verifies their behaviour under load. The two have different meanings and should be written down separately. Without this record the machine arrives on site one document short of the evidence about its own state.
| Document | The question it answers | What to check |
|---|---|---|
| Nameplate | Which machine this is | Model, parameters and number agree with the contract |
| Manual | How it is used and which parameters must not be touched | The version of the parameters matches this configuration |
| Factory test record | What state it was in on leaving the factory | The number agrees and the no-load and load items are complete |
| Spare parts list | Which parts travel with the machine | Name, specification and quantity agree with the physical parts |
| Certificate of conformity | Whether it passed the factory inspection | The date corresponds with the test record |
The spare parts list carries a practical function on site as well: which parts travel with the machine, which have to be ordered separately and which are wear parts worth stocking in advance. Writing that down means the site is not looking for a part the first time it has to be changed.
Keeping the language and the units consistent
Two things have to be consistent in the delivery papers of an export: the language and the units of measure. On language, the Chinese and the English versions should come from the same content and keep the same parameters and the same wording, so that no clause appears in one version and not in the other. On units, give the metric figures and leave it at that; mixing different systems between the two versions only makes them harder to match.
The final check is simple: put the nameplate, the manual, the contract annex and the delivery file side by side and go through the model and the parameters one by one. The same number in all four has to be exactly the same, down to the decimal places. Half an hour in the factory can cost several weeks on site.
The delivery papers are not several documents completed on their own but a set of interlocking information: once one point does not match, the site has to confirm it all again.
