A remote virtual site audit can help an overseas warehouse prepare for a Chinese AGV project before the engineering team travels to the site. Instead of waiting until the vehicles arrive, the buyer and supplier can review warehouse drawings, 3D data, pallet dimensions, rack clearances, traffic routes, charging locations, and software requirements remotely.
For a customized AGV project, this process can identify many design problems before manufacturing or shipment. It does not eliminate the need for physical commissioning, but it can reduce the number of engineering decisions that have to be made after the vehicles arrive.
A useful virtual audit therefore combines warehouse data, engineering drawings, live video, software demonstrations, and measurable site information rather than relying on a video call alone.
The most useful format depends on what the engineering team needs to verify. There is no requirement that every Chinese AGV supplier use one specific CAD or 3D-scanning platform.
For warehouse planning, common engineering formats can include DWG, DXF, STEP, IGES, STL, OBJ, and point-cloud formats, depending on the source software and the supplier's engineering workflow.
The buyer should ask the supplier which formats it can import before exporting the complete project file. If direct import is not supported, a simplified 2D drawing or converted 3D model may be sufficient for the particular audit.
| Data Type | Useful Information | Virtual Audit Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| 2D CAD | Walls, racks, columns, aisles, doors and docks | Layout and route planning |
| 3D Model | Building height, beams, mezzanines and equipment | Clearance and high-lift feasibility |
| Point Cloud | Actual surveyed geometry | Compare real site conditions with drawings |
| Photos / Video | Floor conditions, obstacles and traffic | Identify conditions not visible in drawings |
| Pallet Data | Length, width, height, weight and fork-entry geometry | Vehicle and fork configuration |
One important distinction is that a CAD drawing is not automatically the same thing as an AGV navigation map. Engineering drawings describe the physical facility, while the final navigation system may use a map generated or configured from the vehicle's sensors and localization technology.
Therefore, the virtual audit should use CAD or 3D scanning data to validate the engineering environment, while the supplier separately defines how that information will be converted into the final navigation and fleet configuration.
Sending a single CAD file is rarely enough for a serious AGV feasibility review.
A more useful package should contain:
Current warehouse floor plan with scale and units.
Rack locations, rack dimensions and beam elevations.
Column positions and major structural obstacles.
Clear ceiling height and overhead obstructions.
Aisle widths measured at representative locations.
Door, dock and elevator dimensions where applicable.
Charging and staging areas.
Pedestrian and manual forklift traffic areas.
Pallet dimensions and load characteristics.
Typical travel distances and hourly workload.
Floor transitions, ramps, expansion joints and damaged areas.
Photos and videos of representative operating areas.
The revision date should also be visible. A three-month-old warehouse drawing can be misleading if racks, staging areas, offices, barriers or equipment have already changed.
Remote software testing is most useful when the supplier has access to a representative test environment or a software simulation environment. The engineering team can then demonstrate how the configured fleet system handles tasks before the physical vehicles are deployed.
For example, a supplier may demonstrate:
Creation and assignment of AGV missions.
Pickup and delivery station logic.
Traffic priorities at intersections.
Restricted zones and temporary exclusion areas.
Vehicle charging rules.
Battery-related task restrictions.
WMS task transmission and acknowledgement.
PLC or warehouse-equipment handshakes.
Alarm and exception handling.
Task recovery after an interrupted mission.
Fleet dashboard and historical event records.
The buyer should ask the supplier to demonstrate the actual customized workflow, not only a standard software demo.
For example, if the warehouse requires a pallet to move from an inbound dock to a high-bay storage zone, the supplier should demonstrate the complete task sequence: task creation, vehicle assignment, route selection, pickup confirmation, travel, storage operation, completion confirmation, and exception handling.
A screen recording or test report is more useful than simply saying that the software “worked.”
The buyer can create a remote test checklist containing the test ID, input condition, expected behavior, actual result, software version, configuration version, date, and responsible engineer.
This creates a baseline for the later FAT and SAT. If the system behaves differently after deployment, the engineering team can compare the production configuration with the previously approved virtual configuration.
Remote engineering is only as reliable as the physical measurements provided by the local team. A highly detailed 3D model cannot compensate for incorrect dimensions.
For a reach AGV or high-lift application, several measurements deserve particular attention.
| Measurement | Why It Matters |
|---|---|
| Actual aisle width | Vehicle clearance and maneuvering |
| Rack opening | Fork and pallet entry |
| Rack beam height | Lift-height planning and clearance |
| Clear building height | Mast and overhead clearance |
| Column-to-rack distance | Turning and navigation clearance |
| Door openings | Vehicle passage between areas |
| Pallet dimensions | Fork configuration and pallet handling |
| Load weight and center | Vehicle capacity and stability |
| Floor transitions | Traction, ride quality and localization |
| Travel distance | Cycle-time and fleet-sizing calculations |
For high-bay applications, the local team should not measure only the nominal rack height. The engineering review should consider clearances at the actual storage positions, the pallet and load height, mast configuration, overhead structure, sprinkler or other building systems, and the vehicle's operating envelope.
Critical dimensions should ideally be measured at multiple representative locations rather than assuming that every aisle is identical.
For example, if a warehouse is designed around a narrow aisle, measure the narrowest actual clearance, not only the dimension shown on the original drawing. If several pallet types are used, record the dimensions and weights of each important pallet profile.
Photos should include a measurement reference where practical. This gives the Chinese engineering team visual confirmation of what the numerical data represents.
A live video walkthrough can reveal conditions that are difficult to capture in CAD drawings.
The local team can walk the engineering team through the actual AGV travel path while showing:
Aisle entrances and exits.
Rack-end conditions.
Columns and protective barriers.
Floor joints and transitions.
Pedestrian crossing points.
Manual forklift traffic.
Pallet staging behavior.
Charging locations.
Dock interfaces.
Elevators or doors that the AGV must use.
The engineering team should not simply watch the video. They should use it to compare the physical warehouse against the submitted drawing and identify discrepancies.
Virtual audits can reduce on-site adjustment work when the issues being addressed are related to planning, configuration, documentation, and known site conditions.
For example, the engineering team can often identify before delivery that a charging location is inconvenient, an aisle is too narrow for the proposed vehicle configuration, a pallet entry condition is different from the original specification, or a WMS workflow requires an additional software handshake.
These discoveries are valuable because changing the project design before shipment is generally easier than discovering the same issue after several AGVs have arrived at the warehouse.
However, a virtual audit cannot fully reproduce the physical environment. Actual commissioning can still reveal issues involving floor conditions, sensor performance, wireless coverage, pallet variation, lighting, reflective surfaces, dynamic obstacles, mechanical tolerances, or interactions with other warehouse equipment.
Therefore, the realistic objective should be “reduce avoidable on-site engineering changes,” rather than “eliminate on-site commissioning.”
A well-organized project can use a virtual audit as a pre-commissioning gate.
Before engineers travel, the buyer and supplier should ideally have confirmed:
The latest warehouse drawing and revision.
Critical aisle and rack dimensions.
Pallet dimensions, weights and load characteristics.
Vehicle configuration and required lift height.
Charging and staging locations.
Pedestrian and manual-forklift traffic rules.
WMS, ERP or PLC integration requirements.
Network coverage and connection requirements.
Restricted areas and traffic rules.
FAT results and unresolved issues.
Site readiness requirements for commissioning.
The result should be a documented list of open issues, responsible parties, required actions, and deadlines. This is much more useful than a meeting note saying that the virtual audit was completed.
| Audit Area | Evidence to Provide | Decision |
|---|---|---|
| Building | CAD, dimensions, photos and 3D data | Layout feasible? |
| Racking | Rack drawings and measurements | AGV clearance acceptable? |
| Pallets | Dimensions, weight and entry photos | Fork configuration confirmed? |
| Traffic | Video and route drawings | Traffic concept accepted? |
| Software | Live demo and test records | Workflow accepted? |
| Integration | API/PLC/WMS specifications | Interface ready? |
| Infrastructure | Power, network and charging data | Site ready? |
| Open Issues | Issue register and responsibilities | Closed before delivery? |
The strongest approach is to treat the virtual audit as a pre-delivery engineering review, not as a replacement for site commissioning.
First, the local team provides controlled and measurable warehouse data. The Chinese engineering team then reviews the facility, vehicle configuration, routes, pallet handling requirements and software interfaces. The two teams document discrepancies and make configuration decisions before shipment.
The supplier can then arrive on site with a defined commissioning plan instead of spending the first several days discovering basic warehouse information.
For an overseas buyer, this is particularly valuable when the Chinese engineering team must travel internationally. The objective is not to eliminate the engineers' on-site work. It is to make sure that their on-site time is spent on physical commissioning, validation and optimization rather than correcting preventable design or information gaps.
A remote virtual site audit should answer one practical question before the AGVs arrive: “What can we verify now instead of discovering it during commissioning?” CAD and 3D data can validate the facility layout, local measurements can confirm critical clearances, live software testing can verify customized workflows, and video walkthroughs can reveal site conditions missing from drawings. The remaining physical commissioning can then focus on conditions that can only be validated with the actual AGVs in the warehouse.
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