Acceptance Testing of Construction Equipment

Four acceptance test programs and delineation of responsibilities for determining acceptability of construction equipment prior to shipment from the factory are discussed. The four test programs are referred to as Preproduction Acceptance Tests (performed on preproduction prototype units), Product Evaluation Tests (performed on initial production units of new models), Quality Conformance Inspection (performed on each production unit), and Customer Acceptance Test (performed on random sample units from production). They are four of many procedures by which the quality manager manages product quality by detection, correction, and prevention of defects. Machines are looked at from the positive viewpoint of acceptability-not just defects-and must pass these tests before they can be shipped from the factory. The quality manager has full responsibility for the quality of products shipped and for customer acceptance of products. The need for these four test programs, their objectives, and, in general, their differences are described.