From sample approval to batch reference

A loose piece can lose its meaning once it moves between a showroom, design office and workshop. Attach the model, finish and sample reference, then note whether it is a general design sample or tied to a particular batch. Retain images of both its face and identifying label.

• Keep the approval date and decision maker.
• Separate accepted and rejected references.

A small sample may approve the base tone and surface feel without approving a full slab composition. State which decisions remain open, such as vein position, adjoining faces or panel sequence. This lets the supplier respond to the outstanding visual question instead of repeating an already accepted step.

• Describe acceptable variation in words as well as images.
• List the views required for a full-layout approval.

If future additions are likely, ask how the supplied material will be identified. Retaining extra approved material may be worth discussing, but quantity and storage remain project decisions. A saved model name alone cannot ensure that a later piece will appear identical beside an installed surface.

• Retain labels from the received packages.
• Connect spare material to its original room or installation zone.

Imagine a buyer approves the warm base tone and matte feel of a small sample for a two-part reception desk. Later, full-slab photographs show a pronounced dark vein crossing the proposed joint. The earlier sample approval does not necessarily resolve that composition. Keep the existing acceptance for base tone and finish, then create a separate open item for the vein position at the joint. Ask for a labelled proposed layout showing both finished parts on the selected full-piece images. Have the authorised reviewer confirm whether the visual transition is accepted, requires different face placement or remains unresolved. Record the response against that layout revision rather than overwriting the original sample note. This invented exercise illustrates how a single “approved” status can conceal several different appearance decisions. It is not a completed project or a promise that a matching face or alternative batch is available.

• Write exactly which attributes the sample approved and which require a larger view.
• Retain the accepted full-layout revision with the sample identifier and later package references.