Processus de modification de l'ingénierie 3DEXPERIENCE : Demandes, ordres et actions

The 3DEXPERIENCE Platform encompasses many aspects of the engineering change process and can be easily implemented into your current processes.

Depending on how formalized your approach to engineering change is, you may have multiple stages already in place to get an idea from initiation to delegation, to actualization. Integrating those stages with the 3DEXPERIENCE Platform could encompass some or all of the following: Change Requests, Change Orders, or Change Actions. Let’s break down the different change options and where each would be used.

3DEXPERIENCE Change Actions

Change actions are going to be the “final” step in the engineering change process. These will represent the individual, trackable changes to the model. They provide instructions for the change, any affected documents, as well as keep track of the changes made to make the approval process easier.

3DEXPERIENCE Realized Changes

When used correctly, change actions can manage revisions of the model and even be routed through a formalized approval process to include all stakeholders. Without a trackable change action in place, documents can be locked so only approved changes are made. Any authorized user is able to create a change action as long as they have relevant permissions on the affected documents. A standalone change action is typically done for limited-scope projects or for those that introduce a low amount of risk to the system.

3DEXPERIENCE Change Orders

For those with a larger scope or could have the potential to introduce more risk, incorporating Change Orders can better track and align interests for an engineering change. Change orders can help take change actions to the next level by having a higher level of visibility to a group of changes. For example, if we wanted to modify a sub-assembly to change mounting hole sizes (and hardware) there would be multiple changes needed to be tracked. We would have to update the size of the holes, replace the hardware to the correct size, update the Bill of Materials to reflect the hardware change, make sure manufacturing can accommodate, and even update documentation for the sub-assembly.

Typically, a lot of those changes need to be made by different teams or groups within the company. Trying to keep track of standalone change actions for the overall update project would be almost impossible. Wrapping up the entire project into a single change order that has the individual changes tracked as change actions provides full visibility into the overall change and helps monitor the different activities across domains or teams. Change orders can even have change orders nested underneath them to track and even more detailed level of detail!

3DEXPERIENCE Change Orchestration

3DEXPERIENCE Change Requests

Change Requests can live in an area not necessarily required to implement change orders or actions but can help to prove the feasibility of request change. Anyone with at least Reader access to a collaborative space is able to create change requests (think of these like an additional layer to issues). The added benefit to using a change request to kick off the change process is that it allows all stakeholders to be involved, throw out ideas, and get all necessary information to make an informed decision.

With the creation of a change request, an impact analysis is typically completed as well. This takes into account the benefits and costs related to the project and takes into account areas like risks, effort to implement changes, and the validation effort. Similarly, change orders can be spun up right from inside of a change request to give more context to all of the expected changes required to implement the requested idea. The purpose of a change request is to document the entire scope of a proposed change and also to verify the impact to many aspects of the business.

Change Requests, Orders, and Actions can not only all live in harmony in a formalized change process on the 3DEXPERIENCE Platform but also complement each other. A change request can start the entire change process by allowing almost any team member propose a change. All stakeholders can review the requested change and based on proposed change orders and the completed impact analysis. With a change request accepted, a change order can kick off. Within a change order, a designated change coordinator has the power to create and assign individual change actions to the responsible groups or users.

The change order gives broader visibility to all of the changes taking place. The individual change actions are going to provide the instructions needed for the assignee to understand, complete, and submit the changes for review. The requested changes are being tracked by the change action, the change order, and in turn the change request. By combining all three types of change tools, we can have a vertically integrated engineering change process that formalizes our typical processes into a single trackable workflow.

Get help with your Change Process

Learn more about the engineering change process with ENOVIA on the 3DEXPERIENCE Platform. Contact our Enterprise Team to get help with defining your change management.