Notifications for Managing an Extended Engineering Change?

[Former Member]

Hi Gurus!

We are looking into using the Document Management System, and Engineering Change Management. We've been on SAP for ten years (now on 4.7), but haven't used this module yet. Most of the functionality looks straightforward.

However, we have a business process for more extensive changes to assemblies, which aren't quite a full project. The business process is as follows:

1. Start project, set target date. Assign resources.

2. Re-design the assembly.

3. Order prototypes, on a non-inventory PO.

4. Perform extended inspection and testing.

5. If good, cut it into the system. (Ideally, we would put the change into the bill of material earlier, so that we plan the material / components appropriately).

I'm interested in some comments on the best way to manage this process in SAP. I was thinking about a custom notification type, with these elements as notification tasks or notification items.

Any suggestions?

Thanks,

Jeff Knowlton

[Former Member · Accepted solution]

Obviously first prize is Eng Change Management but you can use notifications as an alternative and there are the options to run workflow around both to automate the process.

We've used Notifications as a version of ECR/ECO light on a number of occasions, it is not quite as rigid as the ECR/ECO process and probably a little easier to use so it really comes down to how much control you want to enforce around the process.

[Former Member]

Thank-you for the quick response.

With the standard ECR/ECO process, how would you model activities related to the purchase order, both its creation and off-system testing (we don't use QM)? Is there a way to set up sub-tasks within the ECO?

Thanks,

Jeff

[Former Member]

ECM has status networks similar to Doc Management.

You should be able to use various statuses as a means to manage the sub tasks. I.e. create a different status for each major task to be completed and then use classification in ECM as a means to assign the workflow recipients for each task and use a status to kick off a workflow task to the relevant person.

[Former Member]

Hi, just for introduction - we have the same conquest on that area.

Im am live with a PDM-integration with CATIA V5 and right now

I try to set up a very easy integration with notification and change master.

Unfortunately we are only right at the beginning with workflow and so on....

I heard at the sapphire in Vienna that some companies started with Records-

Management in order to implement the "whole view of a ECM-process" ==>

I saw a demo from the company brose and it was not bad!

Everything which is not included in the standard-customizing towards

notification and change master can be done over this solution (connection

to delivery schedules, purchasing orders, plant-maintenance-orders etc.)

What do you think about this?

br

Gerhard Robausch

[Former Member]

This could probably work quite well, although most of the people I have seen implementing RMS have been limited to government sector so I have not seen extensive implementation of this at private sector level, particularly around scenarios relating to ECM.

The beauty of RMS is the ability to group transactional and master data and store this as a single record, something which ECM and change masters do in a less fluent and integrated manner.

We have two RMS implementations on the go now, unfortunately, neither at private sector level now so no opportunity to investigate it further at the moment.