Planning and Controlling of Multiple, Parallel Engineering Changes in Manufacturing Systems

Due to changing customer demands and increasing competition, manufacturing companies have to adapt existing factories to these developments with a multitude of engineering changes in manufacturing systems. The coordination of several engineering changes in manufacturing systems is a key factor for the efficiency of the planning and execution. With an optimal planning, duplication of work is avoided and synergy effects are achieved in parallel projects. In this paper, the development of a method for planning and controlling multiple, parallel engineering changes in manufacturing systems is introduced. The method provides information on the interdependence of engineering changes and their impact on the execution.