Pre-Shipment Inspection in China: What to Check on a Machine

A pre-shipment inspection is your last practical chance to find problems with a machine while it is still in China, the supplier still has its tools and engineers beside it, and you still hold the balance payment. This guide sets out what a useful inspection of a single machine or a full production line covers, how it differs from a factory acceptance test, and ends with a checklist you can copy into your purchase contract.

If you are earlier in the process, start with our guide on how to import machinery from China and the steps to verify a Chinese machinery supplier.

What is a pre-shipment inspection for machinery?

For consumer goods, a pre-shipment inspection usually means pulling random samples from finished cartons. A machine is different: you are inspecting one unit, or one line made of several units, against a written specification. The question is simple. Does what is sitting in the factory today match, in every point, the order you signed and the drawings you approved?

That means the inspection is only as good as the documents behind it. If the contract says "packaging machine, 220V", the inspector has nothing to hold the supplier to on speed, materials or control system. Before production starts, make sure the order fixes the model, capacity, motor and component brands, materials of product contact parts, control system, voltage, frequency and phase, the accessory list, and the acceptance tests.

Factory acceptance test vs pre-shipment inspection: what is the difference?

The two are often confused, and on a production line you normally want both.

A factory acceptance test (FAT) proves that the equipment performs to its specification before it leaves the maker. In the process industry, the international standard IEC 62381 sets out requirements and checklists for the FAT and the later site acceptance test (SAT), so that owner, buyer and vendor agree the scope of testing in advance. For a filling, bottling or forming line, the FAT is where the line runs your product, at your target speed, for an agreed period.

A pre-shipment inspection (PSI) looks at the goods as a shipment. It confirms the same machine that passed the FAT is the one being packed, that every accessory, spare part and document is present, and that the packing will survive the sea voyage.

The checklist: what the inspection should cover

1. Documents against the order

Start at the desk, not the machine. Lay the contract, technical annex, approved drawings and proforma invoice side by side and check that model numbers, quantities and descriptions agree. Then compare them with the draft commercial invoice and packing list. Differences found here (a changed model, a missing item) are much cheaper to fix now than at the destination customs office.

2. Nameplate and serial numbers

Photograph the nameplate of every main unit and the main motors, pumps and control cabinets. Check that model, serial number, rated voltage, frequency and power match the order and the documents. Record the serial numbers in the report: they link the machine you inspected to the machine that arrives.

3. Dimensions and materials

Measure the main dimensions that matter for your site: footprint, height, the position of inlets and outlets, and the connection points to other machines in the line. Check the materials of parts that touch your product. If the contract asks for a specific stainless steel grade, ask for the material certificates and check that the parts in front of you are the ones the certificates describe.

4. Electrical: voltage, frequency and phase

Buyers in the region can easily get this check wrong. China's three-phase supply is 400 V at 50 Hz. The UAE, Egypt, Iraq, Kuwait, Oman, Bahrain and Jordan also use 400 V at 50 Hz, but Saudi Arabia uses 400 V at 60 Hz, and Qatar is listed at 415 V and 50 Hz. A motor built for 50 Hz runs at a different speed on a 60 Hz supply, which changes the output of pumps, fans and conveyors.

Confirm on the nameplates and in the electrical drawings that motors, inverters, transformers and the control cabinet are built for your supply, not only "adjustable later". Check cable sizes, earthing and the language on the control panel and HMI. Check the current rules for electrical equipment in your country with the relevant authority. For Saudi Arabia, product and shipment conformity certificates are handled through SASO's Saber platform.

5. Test run with your own product sample

A machine that runs empty proves little. Send your own product, packaging film, bottles, caps or raw material to the factory in good time, and have the test run use them. Agree in the contract what will be measured: output per hour, reject rate, fill weight accuracy, seal quality, or whatever matters for your product. Record the run on video from start to finish, including any stops.

For packaging machines in particular, small differences in film thickness or bottle shape can change results, so testing with real packaging materials is worth the shipping cost of the samples.

6. Safety guards and emergency stops

Check that all guards shown in the drawings are fitted, closed and fixed. ISO 14120 sets general requirements for the design and construction of fixed and movable guards on machinery, and it is a reasonable reference when discussing guards with the supplier. Press every emergency stop and confirm it stops the machine. Check that door interlocks work and that warning labels are present and in a language your operators read.

7. Spare parts, tools and consumables

Count the spare parts kit against the list in the contract, item by item. Check the tool kit and any special tools needed for changeovers. Wear parts such as seals, blades, belts and heating elements are the ones you will need first, and they are the ones most often short.

8. Manuals and technical files

Check that the operation manual, maintenance manual, electrical diagrams, pneumatic or hydraulic diagrams, parts list and PLC programme backup are included, in the language agreed. A line without electrical diagrams is hard to repair once the supplier's engineer has gone home.

9. Packing and fixing for sea freight

Machines travel for weeks in containers that are lifted, stacked and moved at sea. Check that:

• heavy units are bolted or braced to a base and cannot slide;
• electrical cabinets, screens and sensors are protected against moisture and impact;
• bare steel surfaces are protected against corrosion;
• each crate is marked with its contents, gross weight, lifting points and centre of gravity where relevant;
• wooden crates and pallets meet ISPM 15, the international standard on wood packaging material in international trade.

Ask for photos of the loading and lashing inside the container before it is sealed, and record the container and seal numbers.

10. Photo and video evidence

The report should let someone who was not there understand what was checked. Ask for dated photos of each item on the checklist, the nameplates, the test run video, the packed crates and the sealed container. Keep the record: if there is a dispute later, or damage on arrival, this is your evidence of the condition at loading.

Pre-shipment inspection checklist (copy into your contract)

Who should do the inspection?

Someone who reads the contract and the drawings, speaks with the factory's engineers in Chinese, and has no interest in the shipment leaving early. That can be your own engineer, an independent inspection company, or a sourcing partner on the ground. We-World checks goods before shipment as part of its sourcing and export work, confirms specifications with the factory in writing, and works in Arabic, English and Chinese.

Next step

If you have a machine or line in production in China, or are about to place an order, send us the specification and contract annex through the contact page. We will tell you which checks and tests should be written into the order before production starts.