Change Management, Configuration Management or Other Process?

[Notnimdab2009]

Hello Experts :

I am from a manufacturing company which manufacturing and designs our own products. I am just actually searching the forum and net for some valuable readings materials about the new process that our company is introducing so i can have a better understanding since i will be the process owner in our local site.

The new process is "product evolution process". it is a process to manage change requests made to our "released" or " mass-produced" products. When a product is still in the development stage (R&D), the process to manage we used the NPD process but once the product is released to sales and already stable in the line any changes to the product will now be manage by the new process " product evolution process".

The scope of this new process includes:
form, fit and function change
tweak or derivatives of the released products.
EX: existing released product is for North America market and marketing would like to create a tweak product that will cater to Japan market.
Quality improvement, value engg, etc...

What is nearest generic process that is similar to the one that we are introducing?

From what i am reading Change management is more of organizational change management and configuration management somehow is similar but what about derivates and tweaks new products? Does config management handles this changes (creating new products as derivative or tweak of existing products?)

Appreciate your help.

Thank you,
Nea

 

[Notnimdab2009]

By the way, the new product evolution process use Stage Gates process also.

 

[v9991]

I guess you might receive more relevant/precise response...if you indicate the specific product/market domain,

in the meanwhile...
since the change-scenario indicates the transition of upgrade/modification of product, I believe that it should include management of 'change' and 'configuration'...both.

typically for an QS in regulated environment... both aspects are handled through the change control process.
Wherein the configuration management would be part (basis) of proposal for implementing the change.
and configuration management would be triggered through our internal phase gate review/approval process.

here's quick reference. http :// apic. Cefic .org/pub/Guideline Technical Change Control final 20 Sept04.pdf- DEAD 404 LINK UNLINKED

 

[isoalchemist]

Check the Engineering Change Notification (ECN/ECR) process for the tweaks small improvements. You are correct Change Management is generic term that in the literature is usually aimed at organizations. Config Management tends to be focused on software, or on specific part changes. Not hard and fast rules as everyone uses language in slightly different ways based on their industry or background.

I hope the new process works for your organization! At first glance based on your commnets it appears they are rolling all change into a single process which may be at odds with their intent. I don't know enough to go beyond that statement, but I'd be looking closely at the details if I had responsibility for them.

 

[Notnimdab2009]

Thank you all for your responses. We are designing and manufacturing our own power protection equipment.

We are already using both engineering change order (for mass produced products) and engineering change notice (for products still in development) for our BOM control.

Before this new process, we are only using ECO for any changes that we do for our existing steady-state products. Changes to form, fit function on the components for the product.

And for any new products that is a derivative or a tweak of an existing products, we use our NPD process to manage this, since a NEW MODEL number is mandatory for these types.

In the new product evolution process, both the ECO form fit fucntion changes of any existing product and the creation of new products (if tweak or derivative) we will now use the new process.

Only new platform design will be use for our NPD process.

And my concern now is some functions are reluctant to accept since the new process is an additional activity on top of the current ECO process that we do for existing products. The deployment team of the new process is telling that the ECO process is only an execution tool for the change and that the new process is on the management of the change that involves more on the front end of the ECO process activity until the closure of the project.

The deployment team is putting all types of changes now in the scope of this new process and the rule is before we do our existing legacy process like ECO process, Component Qualification process, Part Spec creation process and any other related processes, we have to create a change request first in the tool of the new processs.

This is where our teams are finding difficulty to accept this new process as it is really an additional activity.

I hope i can find answers in this forum that can help me understand both sides of our teams. I am now in the middle of the deployment team and the users of the new process.

Thank you.
Nea

 

[Notnimdab2009]

I guess you might receive more relevant/precise response...if you indicate the specific product/market domain,

in the meanwhile...
since the change-scenario indicates the transition of upgrade/modification of product, I believe that it should include management of 'change' and 'configuration'...both.

typically for an QS in regulated environment... both aspects are handled through the change control process.
Wherein the configuration management would be part (basis) of proposal for implementing the change.
and configuration management would be triggered through our internal phase gate review/approval process.

here's quick reference.

Hi v9991,
thank you for the quick reference. I have checked the process flow in the file and actually i am trying to suggest same thing to the deployment team that not all changes needs to be in the new process. Some changes if low risk, repetitive in nature and uses some work instructions and guidelines. Examples of these changes is our component qualification process. It is repetitive in nature and follows some guidelines in the qualification process and we have the reviewers and approvers in the configuration of the process.

We do so much qualification processes in a year and if we create a change request for these types of changes then we are only doubling the work of the department.

I can't seem to win a discussion on this point with the deployment team. Their point is that we may have been doing many qualification work in the past that we may not be needed at all or the benefits are not that high. I am talking about qualification of components for localization of parts or dual sourcing.

 

[Steve Berian]

We have a similar situation:
Many of our customers are requesting ?No Change Notices? including [our not changing] manufacturing plants and processes, and we are trying to push back those requirements and not accept them, in order to run our business efficiently with respect to a variety of reasons.

What clause/s either in ISO-9001-2008, or in TS-16949-2009 are customers contending that these ?No Change Notice? rules fall under?

 

[qusys]

We have a similar situation:
Many of our customers are requesting ?No Change Notices? including [our not changing] manufacturing plants and processes, and we are trying to push back those requirements and not accept them, in order to run our business efficiently with respect to a variety of reasons.

What clause/s either in ISO-9001-2008, or in TS-16949-2009 are customers contending that these ?No Change Notice? rules fall under?

It should fall under 7.1.4 of ISO TS and it is part of all 7.1.
APQP blue booj gives guideline to follow and they could be the procedure to follow in agreement with customer

 

[qusys]

Hello Experts :

I am from a manufacturing company which manufacturing and designs our own products. I am just actually searching the forum and net for some valuable readings materials about the new process that our company is introducing so i can have a better understanding since i will be the process owner in our local site.

The new process is "product evolution process". it is a process to manage change requests made to our "released" or " mass-produced" products. When a product is still in the development stage (R&D), the process to manage we used the NPD process but once the product is released to sales and already stable in the line any changes to the product will now be manage by the new process " product evolution process".

The scope of this new process includes:
form, fit and function change
tweak or derivatives of the released products.
EX: existing released product is for North America market and marketing would like to create a tweak product that will cater to Japan market.
Quality improvement, value engg, etc...

What is nearest generic process that is similar to the one that we are introducing?

From what i am reading Change management is more of organizational change management and configuration management somehow is similar but what about derivates and tweaks new products? Does config management handles this changes (creating new products as derivative or tweak of existing products?)

Appreciate your help.

Thank you,
Nea

As contribute I would suggest to consider it under the activity of APQP in the phase 5.

 

[somashekar]

The scope of this new process includes:
form, fit and function change
tweak or derivatives of the released products.
EX: existing released product is for North America market and marketing would like to create a tweak product that will cater to Japan market.
Quality improvement, value engg, etc...

What is nearest generic process that is similar to the one that we are introducing?

Design and Development process ~~~

Why ?

99% existing design + 1% new design = 100% new design ~~ New product
A new part reference, a new variant in your product catalog.

If in this process per your example., your existing released product for north america also undergoes a change for the better, then here it is design and development change. No new product, and nothing changes in final part number or product catalog.