Configuration Management template or db wanted

C

chuckhardy

I recenlty inherited CM (yeah) in our small manufacturing company. I was initially planning to manage CM via our ERP, however our ERP is not capable of handling rev levels for components or sub-tier items, so it does me no good. I am looking for a simple database or even a master configuration template form that I can use in Excel to assist me until we can afford a new ERP. We will be controlling external documents as well, and some of our customers have unique DWG rev vs. PL revs, so having a master config record is imparative. If anyone has something for me to look at to use/modify, please pass it along. I would appreciate that.
 

Wes Bucey

Prophet of Profit
I recenlty inherited CM (yeah) in our small manufacturing company. I was initially planning to manage CM via our ERP, however our ERP is not capable of handling rev levels for components or sub-tier items, so it does me no good. I am looking for a simple database or even a master configuration template form that I can use in Excel to assist me until we can afford a new ERP. We will be controlling external documents as well, and some of our customers have unique DWG rev vs. PL revs, so having a master config record is imparative. If anyone has something for me to look at to use/modify, please pass it along. I would appreciate that.
Before you try to reinvent the wheel, tell us:

  1. how many documents are you controlling?
  2. how frequently do revisions arise?
  3. How many different customers?
  4. How many different products?
  5. How many suppliers?
  6. Do you employ "continual improvement" in your manufacturing processes so that a process may change even though the product doesn't?
Have you read my screed on Configuration Management? Do you have a process in place for systematic evaluation of a change as it arises so you can decide on the Associated Documents which also have to be reviewed and evaluated to determine if they, also, have to be updated?

The situation with a database for CM is that, in many cases, the number of fields (Associated Documents, Customers, suppliers, materials, secondary processes, etc., etc.) is variable for every product. The changes (revisions) don't always occur in only the primary document (usually the engineering drawing for the product), but in some of the Associated Documents. Do you employ "continual improvement" in your manufacturing processes? (do you change suppliers for a commodity? do you get a new production machine? does tooling change? etc. etc.)

Because the changes and revisions can occur in any of the documents, it's usually better for folks to use a relational database to track them than a spreadsheet like Excel.
 
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