Engineering Change Request
Form - Capture Problems &
Proposed Solutions
Filed under: Change and Revision Control, New Product
Development
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What is an engineering change request form?
An engineering change request (ECR) form is used to describe a suggested
enhancement or problem with a product. The form initiates the change
process it promotes discussions within the organization to help
determine the impact of a change and the best possible solution. The ECR
form is circulated and reviewed among key stakeholders. It is the
predecessor for an engineering change order (ECO), which describes the
details of a change and may specify how a change should be
implemented.
Examples of change requests
A change request originates from customer complaints, field failures,
non-conforming materials, audits, product enhancement ideas and other
various sources. Depending on the basis for the change, a change request
can be categorized as one of the following:
Engineering change request (ECR) A change request listing
proposed improvements or problems with components or assemblies.
Manufacturing change request (MCR) A change request
specifying changes to the manufacturing process or equipment.
Document change request (DCR) A change request detailing
changes or problems with documents, specifications or SOPs.
Corrective action request (CAR) A change request documenting
a critical problem with a product.
Field failure request (FFR) A change request detailing a problem
with the product as observed in the field.
Supplier corrective action request (SCAR) A change request
describing something that is wrong with a part, process, or component
from a supplier.
What an engineering change request form should
capture
Whether an employee, supplier or contract manufacturer creates a
change request by documenting information on a piece of paper or
entering change details via an electronic system, a change request should
include the following:
A description of the problem encountered
The reason the change is needed
A proposed change (optional)
The part number(s) affected by the problem
The part descriptions
The request originators name
The change request submission date
The key stakeholders names and roles
The stakeholders opinion on the change request
The disposition action chosen to resolve the original issue
Example ECR forms available to download
As mentioned above, companies may manually circulate paper ECR forms
for review and approval. If your organization doesnt have an ECR
template, or you would like an example what one might look like,
download the free ECR documents below. Arena Solutions has created
these templates based on our years of experience working with
manufacturers.
Free ECR templates and examples for
download
The zip below includes a blank ECR form that can be edited and
additional engineering change templates.
Download ZIP
The role of the ECR form and why its important
As a standard form for employees to review and understand a problem or
make a suggested change to a product or process, the ECR form helps
facilitate business decisions. It provides a method to document problems,
raise issues, capture responses, propose solutions and define
consequences when deferring issues. It captures the action the group
wants to take on a particular problem or suggested change. And unlike an
ECO, which documents an actual change, an ECR shows the origins of an
issue, discussions of options and thoughts behind the action chosen. The
information captured on the ECR can often be helpful in the future when
looking at past modifications.
How you can manage ECRs in Arena PLM
Arena PLM, a cloud-based solution for bill of materials (BOM) and change
management, bridges the gap between design, engineering and
manufacturing with a controlled, centralized way to manage changes to
product data. See how to collect, evaluate, track and disposition product
and engineering change requests in the Arena PLM ECR screenshots
below.
Arena PLM enables companies to:
Capture change requests like ECRs, MCRs, DCRs, CARs and SCARs
electronically
Share change requests with internal employees, suppliers and
partners
Streamline ECR review, evaluation and sign-off with a fully
automated system
Example of an ECR in Arena PLM
ECR Evaluations in Arena PLM. The evaluation view of a change
request in Arena PLM captures comments about a problem and the
requested action, including recommendations, raised issues and responses
to those issues.
ECR Status in Arena PLM. The status view of a change request in Arena
PLM shows where the request is in the workflow and what actions it will
take to move the request to the next stage.
