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. Depending on the product and the items the changes can be either total or partial. For instance there might be a change only in component, assembly or material.
Changes form part of most products nowadays especially the ones that consist of rapidly evolving technologies. Changes also provide an opportunity for an organization to get more benefits and also to foster some innovation across the whole organization.
There are 6 phases that makes up a generic engineering change management process:
Request for engineering change
The first thing that will take place is that a formal request for engineering change must be made to help clarify the problem clearly.
Alternatives to the requested change are evaluated
Alternatives to the ECM are evaluated and the best one is normally taken.
Risk evaluation of the alternatives
The alternatives should be evaluated in terms of risk and benefits on other department that will be affected by the change.
Approval of Solution
The chosen solution needs to be approved by the managers of the concerned departments
Implementation stage
Once the approval from top management is obtained the change order needs to be circulated throughout the whole organization. Changes can be made in a single phase or in some cases in various small phases.
The review stage
The change process is reviewed carefully to make sure that everything went out as planned and everything 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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