Engineering changes with approval, BOM versions from a date and where used
A change to an item's components, steps or drawing is raised as an engineering change order. It makes a new version of the bill of materials to edit and goes through approval. It takes over from the date you choose, with the old version kept.
PLANSScale only
The problem it solves
- Someone edits the bill of materials directly, and the next order is made with a part the customer has not approved.
- The shop floor works from drawing revision C while design has issued D.
- Nobody can say why a component was changed last year, or who agreed to it.
- Before changing a part you do not know which products use it.
How it works
- Open Engineering Changes and add one: the item, the bill of materials now, and what changes. Changes are Components, Steps, Components and Steps, or Drawing / Document Only. Add why, from which date and the new drawing revision. Attach the drawings.
- Press Start Change. A new version of the bill of materials is made from the current one, numbered one up and kept out of use. Edit New Version to change it.
- Press Send for Approval. The change waits in your Engineering change approval chain; with no set-up a manufacturing manager decides.
- Approved, press Apply. If the From date is later, it is applied on that date by itself.
- On applying, the new version comes into use, the old one is archived, and the item's drawing revision is updated.
Everything it does
The change order
- Numbered ECO/year/ by itself
- What Changes, Item, Bill of Materials Now, New Version, kind (Components to start with), Why, From, New Drawing Revision, Drawings and Documents, Asked By
- States Draft, To Approve, Approved, Applied, Rejected, Cancelled
- A reason given when rejecting through the approval chain shows on a Decision tab
- Cancel removes the unused new version; an applied change is undone only by a new change
- List filter Not Applied; group by status or item; chatter on every change
BOM versions
- Each bill of materials has a Version (1 to start with), the change that made it and the Version Before
- The new version's reference reads like Gear Box v2
- From empty: applied as soon as you press Apply; a later date: a daily job applies it that day
- Item: Drawing Revision in use
Where used
- Where Used on an item lists every bill of materials that has it as a component
Approval
- Approval chain Engineering change, one per Entity: manufacturing managers with no set-up, or your levels (design, quality, purchase, plant head)
- Approvers get a to-do; the levels show on an Approval Levels tab
- Whoever raised a change may approve it at a level they hold, unless you switch that off on the chain
Who uses it
Planner or design engineerRaises the change, edits the new version and sends it for approval.
Production ManagerApproves or rejects, and applies the change.
Approvers on your chainQuality, purchase or the plant head decide at their level.
SupervisorChecks Where Used and the drawing revision before a job.
Where you use it
- Web: Manufacturing > Products > Engineering Changes; Where Used on the item form
- Approvers: My approvals in any SmartMy app
- Not in the SmartMy Manufacturing app as a screen of its own
What you control
Settings
- Engineering change chain: manufacturing managers to start with, or your levels; Requester May Approve on
- The daily job that applies changes on their date: on
Approvals
- Engineering change: manufacturing managers with no set-up, or your levels, before the change can be applied
Notifications
- Request Waits for Your Approval: to the approvers of the current level, in the app inbox and by email, with a to-do
- Each person can switch off a channel, such as email, for themselves; in-app notices always arrive
Questions
What happens to orders already made with the old version?
They keep the bill of materials they were made with. Orders created after the change is applied take the new version.Can a change take effect on a later date?
Yes. Set From. An approved change with a later date is applied by itself on that day.Can we change only the drawing?
Yes. Choose Drawing / Document Only. No new bill of materials is made; on applying, the item's drawing revision changes.Who approves?
A manufacturing manager with no set-up, or the levels of your Engineering change chain, for example design, quality and the plant head.Is it in Growth?
No. Engineering changes start in Scale. Growth has order revisions for production orders.Related features
PRODUCTION AND JOB WORKBills of materials, production orders and work ordersKeep each item's bill of materials with its components and the steps on your machines. A production order reserves the material, lays out the work orders step by step and puts the finished goods into stock at cost.PLANNING, QUALITY AND COSTProduction order revisions, comparedBefore you change a confirmed production order, save it as a revision with the reason. Each revision keeps the item, quantity, start date and every component with its planned cost, and compares with the order as it is now.PLANNING, QUALITY AND COSTAs-built record of a lotPrint a record of exactly how a lot or serial number was made. It has the order and bill of materials, each component with its lot, and each step with its machine and time. It also has the operators, the rejects and the quality checks with their values.ACROSS SMARTMY MANUFACTURINGApproval chainsDecisions that cost money or change how you build go to the right people in order before they take effect. They cover failed goods, engineering changes, corrective actions, store requests and asset changes. With no set-up the usual managers approve; you add levels without code.DESIGN FILES AND QUOTESDrawings and CAD files measured and shown in 3DKeep a buyer's drawings and CAD files with the estimate or the lead. STEP, IGES and STL models are measured for size, volume, surface and weight; DXF flat drawings for sheet size, cut length, pierces and holes. Anyone can turn the part in 3D and measure it in the browser, with nothing to install.
See your shop floor on it.
Tell us what you make, how many machines and people you run, and how production is recorded today. We will set up a line with you and run a job on the terminal.