Change management is the management of engineering change, ensuring that the latest version of modifications, drawings, modeling, and specifications are in the right place at the right time. Engineering change may include the change in product configuration, part definitions, product data, data relationships, and data versions and revisions.
Engineering change can never be eliminated. Late engineering change will lead to a waste of money. With the use of a PDM system, the change is minimized, especially at the design stage.
A PDM system should be capable of raising and tracking Engineering Change Requests (ECRs), raising and circulating Engineering Change Notes (ECNs).For example, the ECR require that a drawing be changed, the latest released version would be revised and the change code and status modified accordingly. The procedure described in Document status flag will then be followed. By utilizing such a PDM change management, the number of unauthorized changes can be controlled.