What constitutes the acceptance criteria in tightness testing documentation?

• A. The predefined threshold or criteria used to judge pass/fail
• B. The operator's opinion
• C. The time-of-day
• D. The presence of a supervisor

Answer: (A)

Acceptance criteria are the objective limits defined before testing that determine whether the test passes or fails. In tightness testing, you specify a maximum allowable leakage rate or a permissible pressure drop over a given period. The documented result is then compared to that predefined limit. If the measurement stays within the limit, the item meets the acceptance criteria and is accepted as within tolerance. If it exceeds the limit, it fails and requires corrective actions and retesting, with all steps and results recorded for traceability. The other factors—opinion, time of day, or supervisor presence—do not set or determine pass/fail; they’re about process execution, not the acceptance threshold.