Engineering change management: The process

Engineering change management refers to the change in the functionality of a product by means of careful request, evaluation, implementation and control when production of the product has already started. The change can be either total or partial and related to an item (component, assembly or material) whose content has already been validated at various stages of its design, corresponding to milestones process or program, by the actors to whom this responsibility has been assigned.

Changes are an integral part of development of modern products. They can also provide an interesting opportunity for the organization to generate benefits and to innovate.

There are 6 phases that makes up a generic engineering change management process:

Request for engineering change

A formal request which is known as an engineering change request is made and will help define clearly the changes that are needed.

Alternatives to the requested change are evaluated

Alternatives to the ECM are evaluated and the best one is normally taken.

Alternatives are evaluated in terms of costs and benefits

All the alternatives should be evaluated in terms of cost and benefits in relation with the other department affected by the change.

Solution approval

Once a solution seems favorable it needs to be approved by the appropriate managerial department,

Implementation stage

Once approval has been granted the change request becomes a change order and needs to be propagated across the whole organization. Either the changes are done straight away or in some cases the change is made over small phases.

The review stage

The change process is monitored to make sure that everything went out as planned and all the necessary information is documented for use in the future.

The steps are the most generic ones but can vary in some situations.

Written by Robert Bellarmine for www.visitask.com

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