Engineering Change Management

Engineering change management is a general term for the engineering change request (ECR) and ECO processes. Engineering change management is sometimes called engineering change notification (ECN).

The ECR process defines and tracks requested product changes. An ECR is created, reviewed, and approved. It then becomes an engineering change order. You use engineering change management to create, plan, review, approve, and implement product changes. New designs or products can be included in the ECO process or go through a similar process called engineering creation order. ECOs usually include changes or enhancements to existing products. ECOs can also include process specifications. For example, the engineering department might specify a product assembly method that must be followed. Changes are generally made to products to resolve quality and safety issues, or to improve product performance.

Use engineering change orders to:

• Control item changes from a single source.

• Incorporate approved changes to bills of material automatically.