General Questions on Documentation Control

R

recados

#1
Hi,

I am new to the manufacturing world and I have basic questions. Hopefully I can get some answers from all the experts here.

1) When you assign an ECR or ECO, what number does it make more sense to use? Intelligent number or Regular one (e.g. MMDDYYY001 X 001)

2) As I understand, ECOs are for manufactured parts that need to be changed or will be introduced to the market. Now, if I purchase a part from someone else to resell, how does it work? Do I need an ECO for that? Why?

3) What's the true job of a Documentation Manager in regards to the ECO process?
a) Is he responsible to complete the ECO form?
b) Is he responsible to approve the request?
c) Does he serve as liasion/mediator?

4) What are the biggest chanllenges on the documentation process?


5) How do you measure success?

6) How do you make sure people do their jobs without getting burned out?

7) Hw do you work with the ECO/ECR turnaround time? What the turnaround time should be?

8) How do you determine turnaround time?

9) Is there an uncomplicated XL spreasheet to help me manage the ECR/ECO workflow?

10) There are some ECOs that can be completed faster (new products) versus the ones that need changes to be done to them + scrap.
How do you deal with those 2 different types of requests? How is it supposed to be prioritized?
 
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Jim Wynne

Staff member
Admin
#2
Welcome to the Cove, recados! :D

I am new to the manufacturing world and I have basic questions. Hopefully I can get some answers from all the experts here.
Not only can you get direct answers; you can also search the Cove, and you'll find a ton of information on the subject. Now to your questions...

1) When you assign an ECR or ECO, what number does it make more sense to use? Intelligent number or Regular one (e.g. MMDDYYY001 X 001)
The numbering system that works best is the one that makes the most sense in your operation. If so-called "smart" numbering serves a useful purpose, then go ahead and use it.

2) As I understand, ECOs are for manufactured parts that need to be changed or will be introduced to the market. Now, if I purchase a part from someone else to resell, how does it work? Do I need an ECO for that? Why?
There are different strategies used by different companies. The "C" in ECO usually indicates that an existing part has changed, and many companies use different nomenclature to describe authorization or release of new parts, whether manufactured internally or purchased from the outside. Some call it an Authorization Notice, or a Release Notice. Whatever you call it (which doesn't matter much) it serves as a record of approval of the new part for production use. Another class of document that's often used is an Engineering Change Request, which, as its name suggests, is used to start the process of making changes. Sometimes this function is incorporated into the ECO document/process itself.

3) What's the true job of a Documentation Manager in regards to the ECO process?
a) Is he responsible to complete the ECO form?
b) Is he responsible to approve the request?
c) Does he serve as liasion/mediator?
Perhaps all of those things, and perhaps none. Your company has to decide who "owns" the doc control process, and whether anyone is dedicated to it full-time. Generally, ECO forms are completed by the person responsible for initiating the change, and it's approved by someone else, usually more than one person.

4) What are the biggest chanllenges on the documentation process?
Answering questions like these. :lol: But seriously, challenges differ depending on the size of the company, the number of changes processed, etc. Usually the biggest challenges are designing the system and then making sure that it's used consistently in accordance to design intent.

5) How do you measure success?
One change at a time. Success is the absence of failure, so you have to define what constitutes failure in order to measure success. One example that I often see is in explicating and articulating the rationale for the change. There should be a succinct explanation for why the change is being made, so that others can understand why it's (allegedly) necessary, and to serve as an historical record that can be used in designing similar parts. This bit is often overlooked and under-appreciated.

6) How do you make sure people do their jobs without getting burned out?
This is a mighty big question, and doesn't apply just to document control. One way to detect burnout is seeing an otherwise inexplicable downturn in the quality of people's work. What you do to solve the problem depends on the extent of it, and a lot of other factors that vary from company to company.

7) Hw do you work with the ECO/ECR turnaround time? What the turnaround time should be?
The turnaround time should be the minimum necessary, given known constraints, which we don't know in your case. Sometimes these things can get done in a matter of a few hours, and in others it might take much longer. The best way to keep tabs on it is to designate a period of time after which some form of review takes place in order to insure that nothing falls through the cracks or gets bogged down. Setting an arbitrary time limit is usually not a good idea, though.

8) How do you determine turnaround time?
Rationally, I hope.

9) Is there an uncomplicated XL spreasheet to help me manage the ECR/ECO workflow?
Try doing a search of post attachments. Look up at the top of the screen for "Post Attachments List," and maybe someone here has something that they can share.

10) There are some ECOs that can be completed faster (new products) versus the ones that need changes to be done to them + scrap.
How do you deal with those 2 different types of requests? How is it supposed to be prioritized?
You can't make generalizations about priorities. Sometimes there'll be a need to get a new part online ASAP, and in other cases a change to an existing part will need to be made "on the fly." You determine priorities on a case-by-case basis. That's what managers are for. :cool::D
 

CarolX

Super Moderator
Super Moderator
#3
Hi,
I am new to the manufacturing world and I have basic questions. Hopefully I can get some answers from all the experts here.
We will be able to guide you a little better if we can get some more information. What does your company do, what are the primary products manufactured? What is the size of your company?
1) When you assign an ECR or ECO, what number does it make more sense to use? Intelligent number or Regular one (e.g. MMDDYYY001 X 001)
I would opt for the intelligent number. Do you have a reason why you need to number them?
2) As I understand, ECOs are for manufactured parts that need to be changed or will be introduced to the market. Now, if I purchase a part from someone else to resell, how does it work? Do I need an ECO for that? Why?
I’m not sure what the question is. If you are buying a part for resale, why would you need to involved your engineering change process?
3) What's the true job of a Documentation Manager in regards to the ECO process?
a) Is he responsible to complete the ECO form?
b) Is he responsible to approve the request?
c) Does he serve as liasion/mediator?
I think this is a question best answered by your employer. What do they expect you to do? If you work for a very small company, you might be asked to do this.
4) What are the biggest chanllenges on the documentation process?
Are you referring to implementing an ECO system, or a QMS, etc. Could you clarify.
5) How do you measure success?
“Are you achieving your goal” is the best answer I can give.
6) How do you make sure people do their jobs without getting burned out?
Have them buy in to the system and then hold them accountable (usually easier said than done).
7) Hw do you work with the ECO/ECR turnaround time? What the turnaround time should be?
Again, this depends on your business. I work for a sheet metal job shop. Our system is set-up to address the ECO next time the part is ordered. This may be tomorrow, or never. Depends on what works for you.
8) How do you determine turnaround time?
Identify your needs, review your capacity, and set a goal.
9) Is there an uncomplicated XL spreasheet to help me manage the ECR/ECO workflow?
An uncomplicated spreadsheet would be very easy to create yourself. Anything available for purchase would most likely not fit your system.
10) There are some ECOs that can be completed faster (new products) versus the ones that need changes to be done to them + scrap.
How do you deal with those 2 different types of requests? How is it supposed to be prioritized?
Again, that depends on your business.

I know my answers might sound vague, but every company is unique. Different needs, culture, size, etc. These questions are hard to answer based on general information. Give us some more details and I bet we can help further.
 
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