Nothing is accepted until it passes a test that was written before it was built.

Specification down the left arm, verification up the right, joined by the Traceability Matrix

A marking programme is written as a V. Every requirement is stated on the way down and closed by a named test on the way up, and the Requirements Traceability Matrix is the document that holds the two arms together.

The six documents a programme is built and accepted against

Each one is named, each one has stated contents, and each one is issued at a point in the programme you can put in a plan. The set runs the same way on a single line and on a group rollout.

Three worked rows from a Requirements Traceability Matrix

Written the way they appear in the document. The identifier ties the requirement to its source, the verification method names the standard it is graded against, the test reference names where it is closed, and the threshold is the number that has to be met before the gate moves. The speed and grade figures below are a worked example: every figure published on this site is a typical envelope from our own testing, and the binding number is the one written into your acceptance criteria after the Marking Process Capability Study on your own material.

Payment is released against the gates

Money moves as the work is proved, and each stage produces a signed artefact before the next one is invoiced. Payment is released against five gates, your exposure at any point in the programme is capped at the value of the stage in progress, and the final release is tied to the Site Acceptance Record signed on your line. The split across the stages is set per programme and stated in the written proposal, before anything is ordered.

From a part in a courier bag to a group standard

Each rung is scoped, quoted and accepted on its own, and each one leaves the plant holding something usable whether or not the next rung is approved.

1. Step 1

   Marking Process Capability Study

   Send a part in the material and surface condition it actually arrives in, and tell us what happens to it afterwards: the wash, the chemistry, the abrasion, the years outdoors, the scanner class your operation carries. You receive a numbered report stating the substrate and surface condition as received, the parameter set, the verification grade against the applicable standard, the durability result against the conditions you name, and the determined process window on your own material.

   Why it matters: The acceptance thresholds written into the Traceability Matrix come off this report, so the numbers the programme is signed against are measured on your material rather than projected.

2. Step 2

   Pilot station on one line, chosen on difficulty

   The pilot line is chosen on difficulty rather than convenience: the worst material, the busiest shift, the oldest ERP instance and the most awkward part presentation. Commissioning is measured on your parts, on your line, with your own scanners, and the result is signed as a Site Acceptance Record. Instead of one large commitment approved on a projection, the group holds a smaller commitment with a measured result at the end of it, and the numbers for the rollout come off your own line rather than out of a proposal.

   Why it matters: A pilot chosen for how easy it is proves nothing about the lines you actually worry about.

3. Step 3

   Reference design, then controlled replication

   The signed-off line is documented as a reference design: marking parameters per material, fixture and rig drawings, the interface specification at a version number, safety and extraction layout, operator procedure, maintenance schedule and spares list. Before rollout the reference design is split into what stays fixed across the group, marking parameters, the interface specification, identifier standards, safety design and support tier, and what each site sets for itself, line rate, part presentation, power, extraction routing and scanner fleet.

   Why it matters: Site two starts from an issued reference design and an interface specification at a known version, so its Traceability Matrix is the same document with the local rows changed.

4. Step 4

   Controlled replication across the group

   Each further site gets its own survey, its own trials where the material differs, its own commissioning pass on its own parts and its own signed acceptance record. Group standard, group documentation, group support tier, local proof, and sites go live on their own schedule rather than waiting for the whole programme to finish. Where an operation needs several lines commissioned at once, it is scoped that way and what that changes about the sequence is stated in writing.

   Why it matters: Head office needs one standard. The plant manager needs their line to run on their parts. The rollout has to satisfy both.

The Operational Handover Pack, item by item

Handover is a defined deliverable with a list attached, not a handshake at the end of install day. Every item on it is resident on your site and belongs to you.

• A documentation pack for the system as built: layout and mounting, electrical and pneumatic connections where they apply, equipment make, model and serial numbers, the distributor the equipment came through, and the safety, guarding and interlock arrangement.
• The marking parameters and machine profiles for every material and mark type in scope, saved on the system and written into the documentation, so a setting can be recovered rather than rediscovered by trial and error.
• The integration specification as built: the interface to your PLC, ERP or MES, the fields exchanged in each direction, the confirmation back on completion, and what the system does when the upstream system is unavailable.
• Operator procedures for daily running: start up, job selection, changeover, what a good mark looks like, what to do when a code fails to verify, and shut down.
• Operator training on your site, on your jobs, with the people who will actually run the line, continuing until they can run it without us standing beside them. Training for a second shift or a later intake can be scoped in as well.
• A maintenance schedule with stated intervals covering optics cleaning, extraction, cooling and the checks that keep mark quality stable over time.
• A recommended spares list covering the parts that stop a line if they fail, with lead times noted, so you can decide what to hold on site before a stoppage rather than during one.
• A written support arrangement stating what is covered, how a fault is raised, who answers it, what is handled remotely and what triggers a site visit.
• Warranty documentation for the equipment from the manufacturer and distributor, alongside our own terms covering the software, the integration and the workmanship on anything we built.

The qualification pack, and when each document is issued

Lift this straight into your supplier approval process. Every row is a document we send. Client prequalification is completed as part of onboarding, including SiteWise, Impac Prequal, Tōtika, Avetta and ISNetworld, and it is started in parallel with the technical evaluation rather than after it.

Commercial terms, set before the build

Each term is settled in the written proposal and carried into the contract, so the commercial shape of the programme is known at the same time as the engineering shape.

Support is committed by severity tier

The tier definitions are written in plant language. What is handled remotely, what triggers site attendance and the escalation ladder are fixed. The committed times are set against your site location, shift pattern, on-site spares holding and whether the line can run degraded, priced in the proposal you approve, and written into the support agreement before commissioning.

Questions asked before the first gate is approved

Where your process needs an answer that is not on this page, ask for it in writing and you get it in writing.