Who's job anyway? 1

[MadMango]

I guess I'll try to get this Forum going by posting a question. Who's job is it to handle Configurations, and exactly what type of products are we talking about?

My company looks at Configuration Management as a means to reduce costs. If we can build an entire product line from one core product, by changing certain aspects of the product to fit different consumer needs, then we are one step ahead of our competitors. Our R&D engineering department determines the intitial configuration for our products, then once it is released, it is the job of Production engineering to maintain the system. "Happy the Hare at morning for she is ignorant to the Hunter's waking thoughts."

 

[jlatta]

It looks like different folks will have different definitions for the term "configuration management." I work at a nuclear electric generating facility. Here, Configuration Management is the process we use to keep the drawings up to date and keep the plant configuration in accordance with the drawings at the same time. Ideally, physical changes and the associated drawing changes should happen concurrently.

Do other definitions have anything in common?

 

[DesignControl]

Configuration Management is also a software category. For manufacturers that can mix and match components, a rules-based configurator can be programmed to allow a Sales Engineer, or even a customer, to configure a desired product through a web-site or software application. The BOM of a custom Bicycle can be generated this way because it can be predetermined, for instance, which tires, wheels, forks, handle bars, and seats are compatible with each other and the frame that they are mounted on. These types of manufacturers are categorized as Configure-to-Order.

More complex assemblies may require actual engineering design and review. These are Engineer-to-Order manufacturers. For ETO manufacturers, configuration management could mean the process of maintaining the Bills of Materials.

 

[MadMango]

Like I mentioned in my first post, who's job is it to handle Configurations, and exactly what type of products are we talking about?

From my experiences, "Product Configuration" can mean a mmany different things to many different people, based on industry, job function, ect. I was trying to convey that I thought this was a very vague Forum. "Happy the Hare at morning for she is ignorant to the Hunter's waking thoughts."

 

[jlatta]

OK, so we've explored a few different meanings for "Engineering Configuration Management" and I've learned a little about the meanings other than my own narrow experiences at a nuclear power plant. Maybe the next post will be able to pick a specific area to talk about. I remain interested.

 

[DesignControl]

The primary responsibility of Configuration Management lies with the owners of the Design Control. I believe this to be true regardless of the industry.

Depending on the industry, there may be others that play a smaller roll in Configuration Management. For instance, an Engineer-to-Order manufacturer may have a production manager that is authorized to make material substitutions of equivalent items. Ex: Replace 3" x 9" x 1/2" Flame Cut Steel with a 3" x 1/2" HRS Bar cut to 9".

In an Engineer-to-Order environment, modifications to the As-Designed BOM are a commonly accepted practice. These changes are typically (or, should be) captured in the As-Built BOM. Quite often, the As-Built BOM is simple a marked-up copy of the As-Designed BOM. This usually gets stored in a file when the job is complete, and is forgotten about until a similar job comes along a year or two later. Then all the same mistakes/substitutions are recreated because the primary owners of the design control never reviewed and processed the As-Built changes.

In a Repetitive manufacturing environment, modifications to the As-Designed BOM are not permitted. Still, production personel play a roll in Configuration Management -- especially in regulated industries, like Medical or Nuclear. Because every step of the manufacturing process must be documented, these documents become an element of the configuration. Maintenance of these documents and their ralationship to the products that they describe are often the responsibility of the owners of the documents -- Quality, Marketing, R&D, Packaging, Production, Service...

Its all about DesignControl ; )

 

[MadMango]

I'll agree that as long as the design intent is documented correctly, then anyone in the organization should be able to manage the configurations. This all ties together with ISO procedures, and other related documents. "Happy the Hare at morning for she is ignorant to the Hunter's waking thoughts."

 

[davidjh]

I agree with the comment that configuration management should be with the "design control" organizational element. This needs to be a well accepted part of any project/program managment plan and funded accordingly. My experience was with commercial jet transports as they were assembled and tested. The biggest problem "back then" was the fact that the basic premise was to have a configuration definition at the time the airplane was deliverd to the customer. There was a "philosophy" that the goal was just to have a collection of information. but no real way to readily access and use it. There was no planned provision for obtaining a status prior to delivery such as during engineering flight test. The advent of powerful, readily accessible computers has heped a great deal. The biggest problem now is that so much of the design is now delegatd to the "suppliers" (old term, now "partners", with in some cases no requirment for a detailed configuration definition to be available at the end manufacturer, just a "functional decription".