موارد

“Approved” does not always mean “ready for production.”

A terrazzo color may have been accepted. A finish sample may have been signed. The latest wall or floor layout may look correct. The purchase order may even have been issued. Yet the factory may still be working with an outdated size list, an unclear drawing revision, a different product code or approval comments that were never formally closed.

Before terrazzo production starts, project buyers need more than a collection of separate approvals. They need a consistent and traceable production-release package that tells the supplier exactly what can be produced, which documents control the order, who has authority to approve it and what remains on hold.

The purpose of production release is not to repeat every technical discussion about terrazzo. It is to confirm that the decisions already made about the material, finish, application, drawings and quantities now refer to the same product and the same current document set.

Sample Approval Is Not the Same as Production Release

A terrazzo sample may be approved for several different reasons.

It may confirm:

· General matrix color

· Aggregate colors

· Approximate chip size and density

· Surface finish

· Overall material character

· Suitability for further design development

That approval does not automatically confirm:

· Final product code

· Final production formula

· Full-slab or full-panel variation

· Finished thickness

· Cut-to-size dimensions

· Edge details

· Openings and cutouts

· Quantity

· Area allocation

· Packing sequence

· Installation-dependent processing

A sample can be approved while the final order is still not ready for production.

The approval record should therefore explain what the sample approves and what it does not approve. Statements such as “sample approved” or “looks good” are too vague when the factory needs an exact instruction.

A useful approval should be traceable to a sample reference, product name, date, finish and intended application.

Define the Exact Terrazzo Product Being Released

Before production starts, the project team should be able to identify the exact product without relying only on a visual description such as “white terrazzo with large chips.”

The production release should record:

· Product name or code

· Binder or terrazzo type where relevant

· Approved sample reference

· Matrix color

· Aggregate character

· Surface finish

· Finished thickness

· Backing or reinforcement where applicable

· Intended application

· Approved variation range

· Any written limitations

This matters because terrazzo products that appear similar in photographs may differ in composition, thickness, finish, fabrication method or application limits.

The approved sample, quotation, purchase order, drawings and production documents should all point to the same product identity.

When the sample reference cannot be matched to the order, the factory may be forced to make assumptions. Production should not begin until that uncertainty is removed.

Make Sure the Approval Documents Agree With Each Other

Many production errors do not begin with poor workmanship. They begin with two documents giving different instructions.

A project may have:

· One thickness in the quotation and another in the drawing

· A honed finish in the sample approval and a polished finish in the purchase order

· A revised wall elevation but an old size list

· Updated quantities without updated area codes

· A changed countertop opening that has not reached the factory

· A mock-up comment that was never added to the final production drawing

· Several drawing files marked “latest”

Each document may look reasonable when reviewed alone. The problem appears only when they are compared.

Before production release, the project buyer should complete a document consistency check.

A production release should not be issued simply because each document has been reviewed at some point. The documents must also agree with one another.

Freeze the Drawing Revision Before Cutting Starts

Terrazzo production becomes increasingly difficult to reverse after slabs, tiles or cut-to-size pieces have been selected, cut, finished, drilled, reinforced or packed.

For that reason, the factory should know exactly which drawing revision controls production.

The release record should include:

· Drawing title or number

· Revision number

· Revision date

· Approval status

· Name or role of the approving party

· List of superseded drawings

· Areas or items covered by the approval

· Any remaining exclusions or conditions

Old drawings should be clearly marked as superseded or removed from the active production file.

Sending a revised drawing does not automatically cancel every earlier document. The project team should state what changed, which pieces are affected and whether production can continue on unaffected items.

Terms such as “latest drawing,” “final version” or “please follow the new one” are risky when several files are circulating between the buyer, designer, contractor, supplier and factory.

A revision is useful only when everyone knows which earlier version it replaces.

The Size Schedule Must Match the Drawings

For cut-to-size terrazzo, the size schedule is not just an ordering list. It connects design intent to cutting, numbering, quality control and packing.

Before release, the project team should check:

· Piece number

· Finished dimensions

· Thickness

· Quantity

· Finish

· Edge treatment

· Openings and cutouts

· Material direction where relevant

· Area or room allocation

· Drawing reference

· Packing group

· Spare-piece status

The dimensions in the size schedule should be checked against the corresponding drawings rather than treated as an independent source.

Where site dimensions are still provisional, the affected pieces should remain on hold. A factory should not be asked to decide whether a drawing dimension, site measurement or size list is more reliable.

If one area is approved while another is still being measured, the order can be divided into controlled production packages. That is safer than releasing the entire project with unresolved dimensions hidden inside the order.

Confirm Quantities, Area Coding and Spare Pieces

A correct piece size does not prevent a project shortage if the quantity or area allocation is wrong.

The production-release package should confirm:

· Total ordered quantity

· Quantity by room, level or installation area

· Repeated pieces

· Left-hand and right-hand pieces

· Special shapes

· Spare-piece quantity

· Replacement strategy

· Piece numbering method

· Packing sequence

· Delivery phase where relevant

Spare pieces should not be added as an unexplained percentage.

The project team should consider:

· Which pieces are difficult to replace

· Whether future batches may vary visually

· Whether shaped pieces require additional production setup

· Whether spare pieces need the same area code

· Where spare pieces will be stored

· Whether the installation sequence requires phased packing

For large projects, area coding should be established before labels and packing lists are prepared. Changing area codes after production may create avoidable confusion even when the terrazzo itself is correct.

Record Finish, Tolerance and Acceptance Limits

Approving a finish name is not always enough.

Terms such as honed, polished, brushed or textured may be understood differently unless they are connected to an approved physical reference or written requirement.

The release package should state:

· Finish name

· Approved finish sample

· Surface sheen or texture expectation

· Edge finish

· Visible-face requirements

· Back-face requirements where relevant

· Dimensional tolerance

· Thickness tolerance

· Acceptable visual variation

· Repair or filling expectations

· Inspection method

· Any project-specific acceptance limit

The purpose is not to promise that every terrazzo piece will be visually identical. Terrazzo contains aggregates and may show natural or production-related variation across different areas.

The project team should distinguish between:

· Normal variation within the approved material character

· A change in product formula

· An incorrect finish

· A manufacturing defect

· An unacceptable concentration or absence of particular aggregates

If the expected variation has not been discussed, the factory and buyer may evaluate the same production from different assumptions.

Approval Comments Must Be Closed or Carried Forward

Not every approval is unconditional.

A drawing may be marked:

· Approved

· Approved with comments

· Revise and resubmit

· Approved for one area only

· Approved except for listed details

· Approved subject to site verification

A conditional approval should not be treated as a full production release unless the remaining conditions have been closed or clearly isolated.

For every approval comment, the release record should show:

· What needs to change

· Who is responsible

· Which pieces are affected

· Whether the change affects material already produced

· Whether a revised drawing or sample is required

· Whether the issue blocks production

· When the comment was closed

Comments should not remain buried in long email threads, messaging apps or marked-up screenshots that the production team may never see.

An unresolved comment is still an unresolved production instruction.

Define Who Reviews, Who Approves and Who Releases

Terrazzo projects often involve several participants:

· Buyer

· Architect

· Interior designer

· Main contractor

· Installer

· Project manager

· Quantity surveyor

· Terrazzo supplier

· Fabrication factory

· End client

Several people may review the same sample or drawing, but that does not mean they all have authority to release production.

The project should distinguish between four roles:

· Prepared by: creates the sample, drawing or schedule

· Reviewed by: checks technical or project information

· Approved by: accepts a specific material or document

· Released by: authorizes production to begin

A typical responsibility structure may look like this:

The exact structure depends on the contract. What matters is that the factory knows whose written instruction is final.

Shared review does not mean shared release authority.

Use a Green, Amber and Red Release Status

A practical way to control production is to assign each release item a clear status.

Green

The item is approved, recorded, internally consistent and ready for production.

Examples:

· Product and sample reference match

· Drawing and size schedule match

· Finish is recorded

· Quantity is confirmed

· Approval authority is identified

Amber

A minor clarification remains, but the affected scope can be separated from approved work.

Examples:

· Packing sequence for one area remains open

· A small group of special pieces awaits site dimensions

· Labels for a later delivery phase are not finalized

· One room remains under design review

Amber does not mean “start everything and solve the problem later.”

It means that unaffected items may proceed only when they can be clearly isolated from the unresolved scope.

Red

The issue affects product identity, dimensions, quantity, fabrication, responsibility or an irreversible production action.

Examples:

· Sample reference is unclear

· Drawing revision is disputed

· Drawing and size list conflict

· Finish is not recorded

· Cutout dimensions depend on missing equipment information

· Final quantity is not approved

· Conditional approval comments remain unresolved

· Different approvers have issued conflicting instructions

Red items should not enter production.

Terrazzo Production Release Matrix

The table does not need to be complicated. Its purpose is to make missing approvals visible before they become production problems.

Production Hold Points

Production should pause when:

· The approved sample cannot be traced to the order.

· The product code differs between documents.

· The factory has more than one active drawing revision.

· The drawing and size schedule show different dimensions.

· The approved finish is not recorded in the order.

· Quantity or spare pieces remain provisional.

· A cutout depends on an unconfirmed equipment model.

· Back processing or reinforcement details remain unresolved.

· A mock-up was approved with conditions that have not been closed.

· Area codes do not match the packing plan.

· Site measurements remain provisional for affected pieces.

· The final approving authority is unclear.

· A buyer requests a change after production release without issuing revised documents.

Production pressure does not turn incomplete information into an instruction.

The cost of waiting for one clarification is usually easier to control than the cost of remaking material that was produced from conflicting documents.

Changes After Production Release Need Formal Control

Project changes can still happen after production has been released. The important point is to treat them as controlled changes rather than informal clarifications.

A change request should record:

1. What is changing

2. Why it is changing

3. Which drawings, areas and pieces are affected

4. What has already been produced

5. Whether new samples or mock-ups are required

6. Whether old documents must be cancelled

7. Cost and lead-time impact

8. Who approves the revised information

9. When a new production release becomes effective

A change requested after production release is not simply a new comment. It may affect purchased raw material, production planning, cutting, finishing, labels, packing and delivery.

The factory should not continue using the old instruction while waiting for the buyer to confirm whether the change is important.

Where possible, affected production should be isolated until the revised scope is approved and recorded.

Before Production Is Released

A terrazzo project is ready for production when the supplier and buyer are working from the same product reference, the same approved sample, the same drawing revision, the same size schedule and the same quantity.

The project team should also know which items remain on hold, who owns the final approval and how later changes will be managed.

This does not require every project participant to approve every detail. It requires each decision to have an owner and each production instruction to be traceable.

The safest production release is not the one with the most signatures. It is the one that leaves the least room for conflicting interpretation.

RFQ

Is an approved terrazzo sample enough to begin production?

No. A sample may confirm appearance and finish, but production also depends on the final product reference, thickness, drawings, dimensions, quantities, fabrication details and approval authority.

What is the difference between drawing approval and production release?

Drawing approval confirms a specific drawing or design package. Production release confirms that the approved drawing matches the sample, order, size schedule, quantity and other instructions required by the factory.

Who should issue the final production release?

The authorized person depends on the contract and project structure. The responsibility should be assigned in advance so that the supplier knows whose written instruction is final.

Can production start when some details are still under review?

Only when the unresolved scope can be clearly separated from approved work. Items affected by unclear dimensions, material, finish, fabrication or responsibility should remain on hold.

What happens when drawings change after production starts?

The project team should identify affected pieces, review what has already been produced, issue revised documents, cancel superseded versions, confirm cost and schedule impact and formally release the revised scope.

Should approvals be collected in email or messaging applications?

Email and messaging records may support the approval process, but the final production instruction should be consolidated into a clear release record. Important decisions should not remain scattered across unrelated conversations.

If a terrazzo