Commissioning and validation – the final stages of building a new plant or production line – are critical to long-term success. These final steps ensure everything performs as expected and sets the foundation for reliable operations. We take full responsibility for meeting our commitments, but success depends on your contribution too.
Success in commissioning is never achieved alone
We work side by side with you, combining our technical expertise with your operational insights.
At this point in the process – so close to the end of a project – precision, collaboration and experience come together to ensure everything performs as expected.
Our approach combines deep technical expertise and collaboration. Together, we solve challenges quickly, validate performance rigorously, and secure a smooth transition to full operations – delivering quality and efficiency that reduce total cost of ownership (TCO).
This collaborative approach is built into the project structure, which often consists of joint steering teams, regular check-ins, and open communication channels. We establish these platforms and ways of working early in the project process and rely on them throughout. This creates an environment where problems can be dealt with both quickly and efficiently.
Our project structure and methodology focus on alignment between our teams to power a smooth process for all parties involed
“The type of collaboration we strive for with our customers is one where potential issues are shared as openly and quickly as the good news,” says Whelan. “This allows us to solve things jointly and keep the project on track.”
During one factory build, there was a sudden and unexpected need to fit more equipment into a space that wasn’t dimensioned for it. Instead of delays or finger pointing, our teams worked together to explore possible solutions, including building alterations. By problem solving as a team, we found a more time- and cost-efficient solution that involved re-planning pipework, while keeping the operational flow safe and efficient.
“There wasn’t any blaming when the problem arose,” says Whelan. “We just worked together and found our way to a positive outcome.”
These types of surprises don’t faze Whelan. He and his team expect commissioning and validating to reveal issues to solve – it’s the nature of the process. Their work is focused on fulfilling the contractual obligations that are agreed to at the beginning of a project. This involves iterative testing until everything performs as required.
Griffin, who works with our customers in the US, stresses the importance of diligence and collaboration in these final project phases. “We need to demonstrate that the equipment is operating as designed and is meeting our customer’s expectations when it comes to performance requirements and final product,” he says. “And we only move on when the customer agrees and signs off on a requirement being met to their satisfaction.”
Quality is in the details
To ensure food safety, product quality is of particular importance in food and beverage production. That’s one reason the commissioning and validation phases are vital. Our more than 70 years of experience in the industry have taught us where diligence matters most in a food-grade production line. One example is welds.
“If you have a bad weld, it can cause really big microbial problems,” says Whelan. “So, we have an enormous focus on weld quality.”
We can inspect welds using borescope cameras to ensure our workmanship meets the proper standards and to mitigate potential issues swiftly. These inspections allow corrective actions with the welder responsible. We embrace accountability that allows for quick resolution when issues arise.
Our digital commissioning tool adds another layer of assurance.
“It can record every test, every result and every validated requirement – creating a transparent, auditable trail that supports a confident handover to operations and services,” Whelan explains.
Providing complete documentation and transparency throughout the commissioning and validation process secures quality results.
In many projects, the completion of commissioning and validation marks the start of a new phase – one where collaboration continues to drive success. Our start-up solutions team works closely with you and your team to ensure consistent, reliable production from day one. Here, collaboration and transparency play an important role in a smooth handover.
We can provide different types of support depending on a customer’s need. We do this by combining our start-up offer with our services offer, which includes production support, training, critical spare parts stocks and consumables. There’s a lot of flexibility in our offer, so we can put together a service package tailored to your needs and set-up.
One proven solution is our spare parts or start-up parts (SuP) offer – a stocked collection of critical components. With the right set of spare parts on site, downtime is minimised, and performance is protected.
“Our customers understand the value of maintaining the performance that’s secured during project implementation,” says Gentileschi. “There’s been a clear shift towards prioritising performance and efficiency, because it’s a smarter long-term investment.”
Performance directly impacts TCO – the higher the performance and efficiency of a processing line, the lower the TCO over its lifetime. A robust start-up solution, supporting both the operation and mechanics of a processing set-up, is a proven way to secure performance and protect your investment.
“We collaborate with you to help your teams become confident and competent with their new operations,” says Gentileschi. “It’s important work that can only be done properly together.”
