Title: A framework for managing engineering change propagation

Authors: Krishna R. Reddi, Young B. Moon

Addresses: Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Institute for Manufacturing Enterprises, Syracuse University, 149 Link Hall, USA. ' Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Institute for Manufacturing Enterprises, Syracuse University, 149 Link Hall, USA

Abstract: Engineering Changes (ECs) are facts of life for any company developing and introducing new products, despite a commonly held notion that they are distractions from normal operation. Companies can become more innovative by utilising ideas from the ECs or by learning how to handle the ECs. This paper presents a framework to manage the ECs effectively, particularly the issue of EC propagation. An EC seldom confines itself to a single change, but triggers other changes in different components. The framework is designed to identify the affected components automatically, capture the required knowledge during the design phase of the product life cycle, and use it during the Engineering Change Management (ECM) process.

Keywords: engineering change management; ECM; change propagation; learning; object-oriented concepts; product design; design process.

DOI: 10.1504/IJIL.2009.025060

International Journal of Innovation and Learning, 2009 Vol.6 No.5, pp.461 - 476

Published online: 11 May 2009 *

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