Challenges of informal engineering change control
Many small- to mid-sized organizations follow the same engineering change
process: an engineering change notice (ECN) is manually created using a
Microsoft Word template, the BOM is an Excel spreadsheet, copies of the documents are attached, and the whole
package is either routed through office mail or hand-carried from one
reviewer to the next.
Change forms often reference wrong part numbers,
attachments are lost, the entire package can be misrouted or
sit on a vacationing engineer's desk... the process is
expensive and inefficient.
Then there are the productivity-stealing variations: a
deviation or waiver process that provides insufficient
detail or inadequate review; engineering change proposals
that are never acted upon, and therefore represent wasted
effort; change orders that don't follow your company's
documented process.
The solution is PLM software
A change form can be an effective vehicle for describing
proposed or actual modifications to affected items. At a
minimum, change forms list the affected parts and documents,
the justification or rationale for the change, the
instructions for how to implement the change, and the people
who reviewed the change.
PDXpert PLM offers a host of features that simplify your
engineering change process:
- Create an unlimited number of different change forms,
such as Change Request, Change Order, Deviation, Waiver,
Stop Ship.
- Specify whether each form releases and/or cancels items
(ECO/ECN/ECP), or provides information about an item (such
as a change request or stop ship)
- Design custom review workflow for each change form
- Easy drag-and-drop of the affected parts and documents
onto the change
- Disposition each released or canceled item including:
physical part counts; one-time rework, NRE and tooling
expenses; and recurring costs
- Attach electronic files, such as rework instructions and
cost impact assessments; include URLs pointing to vendor web
pages
These functions translate directly into verifiable ROI by
offering increased sales revenue through faster product
releases; lower product costs by using more accurate
documentation; and lower administrative overhead by
including important supporting information (such as rework
instruction files) to your engineering change forms.
Learn more about PDXpert PLM
PDXpert PLM has been specifically designed for growing
companies that are making the transition to computerized
change management. Our original concept, and on-going
objective, has been to make PDXpert PLM simple, so you don't
have to invest in an expensive IT infrastructure. And, we've
made PDXpert PLM affordable, you don't have to settle for
your current manual document control system.
Discover the value of PLM in our video presentation
"Why PLM? Managing product data to improve financial performance".
Then
download PDXpert PLM software to see the full benefits of a simple, flexible, and
secure PLM solution.