12.1 Field Test Reports and Pass/Fail Language

12.1 Field Test Reports and Pass/Fail Language

Quick Answer: A complete field test report lists when/where/what you tested (date, location, assembly type, make, model, size, serial), line pressure, each test-element reading, pass or fail, tester name and certification number, and gauge ID with calibration date. Write measured values, not guesses—e.g., Failed — check #1 held 3.2 psid (min 5.0). On the practical exam you must complete a student Field Test Report from your own work. Never alter readings to force a pass.

Why the report is half the job

ASSE 5110 is not only about opening shutoffs and reading a differential gauge. The report is how water purveyors, building owners, and regulators learn whether an assembly still protects potable water. A perfect test procedure that produces a blank, illegible, or “creative” report is a failed professional product. In many jurisdictions, your signature and cert number on the form are what make the annual compliance event real. Treat report writing with the same seriousness as hose hookup and bleed order.

What belongs on every field test report

Local forms differ in layout—some are multi-part carbon copies, some are electronic portals—but the data elements are consistent. If a blank is on the form, fill it from observation or measurement. If the form lacks a field your purveyor later demands, keep a complete personal log so you can reproduce the facts.

Identity first. Wrong serial numbers create phantom compliance: one assembly “passes” on paper while its twin remains untested. Photograph nameplates when safe and permitted if the stamping is hard to read; still write the numbers on the form yourself.

Line pressure is not optional fluff. Static line pressure helps interpret borderline relief or air-inlet results and documents the hydraulic condition of the day. Record it from a reliable connection point per the procedure you were taught—typically after confirming shutoffs and before or as part of the initial hookup, depending on the manual sequence you follow.

Readings for each test element. An RP is not “a single number.” You record check #1 (psid), the relief opening point (psid), and check #2 as tight or leaked — the RP report form has no psid blank for check #2 (and any other readings your adopted USC/ASSE procedure requires). A DC records both checks. A PVB/SVB records check and air-inlet opening. Write the value you saw on the gauge after a solid-water, bled connection—not the value you “usually get” on that brand.

Objective language: measured values, not speculation

The report is a measurement document, not a repair invoice or a theory essay. Prefer language that another tester or an inspector could verify:

• Good: “Check #1 held 3.2 psid (minimum 5.0 psid). Fail.”
• Good: “Relief valve opened at 1.4 psid (minimum 2.0 psid). Fail.”
• Good: “Air inlet opened at 1.2 psid above atmospheric; check held 1.1 psid. Pass.”
• Bad: “Check seemed weak.”
• Bad: “Probably debris under the seat.”
• Bad: “Almost passed—OK for now.”

If the form has a remarks line, use it for facts: missing shutoff handle, flooded vault, frozen gauge port, customer refused isolation, assembly installed backward relative to flow arrow, no air gap under relief. Do not diagnose internals you did not open, and do not promise a repair date unless you are also the qualified repairer and the customer authorized that work.

Pass/fail phrasing that survives audit

State the result, the measured value, and the criterion when space allows. That single habit defeats most “he said / she said” disputes:

Overall Fail if any required element fails its minimum, even if other elements look excellent. Do not invent a “conditional pass” or “pass pending repair.” Those phrases confuse purveyors and owners.

Practical exam: student Field Test Report

Most ASSE 5110 practical exams require you to complete a Field Test Report (or series of reports) for the assemblies you test. Graders look for:

1. Correct assembly identification (type and, when provided, make/model/size/serial).
2. Readings that match what you actually produced on the gauge—not memorized “pass” numbers.
3. Correct pass/fail decisions against USC-style criteria you were taught.
4. Complete tester/gauge fields so the form looks like a real compliance document.

If the proctor introduces a known fail mode, your report must show the failed reading and Fail. Writing a full set of passing numbers when the assembly failed is an automatic integrity problem—even if your hose work was perfect.

Practice report writing in class the same day you practice procedures. Slow students often lose time not on the last hose move but on rewriting messy numbers. Use clear digits, consistent units (psid vs psi), and the same order of elements every time so muscle memory matches the form layout.

Integrity rule: never alter readings to force a pass

Altering a gauge reading, “rounding up” a 4.8 to 5.0, or re-running only the failing element while quietly erasing the first result is falsification. Consequences include:

• Immediate practical exam failure and possible program discipline.
• Loss of certification or employment after a purveyor audit.
• Civil and regulatory exposure if a failed assembly is paper-passed and later contributes to a contamination event.
• Personal ethics damage—your name and cert number are on the form forever.

If a reading is borderline, re-bleed, re-hook, and re-test carefully per procedure. If it still fails, report the fail. The customer may be unhappy; the purveyor and the public depend on the truth. Repair is a separate skill path (ASSE 5130)—your 5110 duty ends at accurate test and honest report unless you hold additional qualifications and are hired to repair.

Common report mistakes that still fail good testers

• Leaving serial or gauge calibration blank because “everyone knows my gauge.”
• Mixing psid and psi labels on air-inlet vs check lines.
• Recording only an overall Pass without element readings when the form requires each value.
• Using yesterday’s date or the wrong site address when testing multiple assemblies in one day.
• Signing a form for work a helper performed while you were at the truck.
• Writing Pass when one element failed but “the water looks fine.”

Build a personal checklist you run before you leave the vault: identity → pressure → element readings → pass/fail → tester → gauge. That 20-second scan prevents most callbacks.

From report quality to career quality

Purveyors notice testers who submit complete, consistent, timely forms. They also notice patterns of every assembly always reading exactly the same “perfect” numbers—an audit red flag. Be accurate, be complete, and be boring on paper. The drama belongs in the vault when a relief dumps; the report should read like engineering notes.

Mastering report language also prepares you for written-exam items that ask what must appear on a test report, how to document a fail, and why gauge identification belongs next to your certification number. Those items are not trivia—they are the administrative half of protecting potable water.