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4M change management sheet (change point)
4M change management, or change point management, is the practice of logging every change to the four things a process depends on (Man, Machine, Material and Method) and checking the product more closely until the change is proven safe. Some plants write 4M1D and add Design changes; Toyota-style plants call a change point henkaten. This sheet logs each change by date and shift: which M changed, from what to what, planned or unplanned, the risk to quality, the extra checks (first piece, more frequent checks, the number of parts to check), the time they must be done by, the result and when normal checks resume. Page 1 is the shift log and a change point board laid out by station. Page 2 lists common change points under each M, example check levels by risk and a worked example week. The Excel version is a change log that fills in the parts to check from the risk, flags changes past their check-by time and counts changes, checks done and defects found by M.
Free to use: print it, copy it and edit it for your team. Enter your name and work email once to download.
When to use it
When to use a 4M change management sheet
- On any line where a relief operator, a repaired machine, a new material lot or a revised instruction can change the product without anyone noticing.
- When defects keep turning up after shift changes, repairs or supplier changes.
- When a customer asks how changes in production are controlled and checked.
- As a standing item in the start-of-shift huddle, so every team leader knows today's changes.
How to fill it in
- 1
Log the change before the first part runs
Write the date, shift and station, which M changed and what changed from and to. Unplanned changes, such as a repair after a breakdown, go in as soon as they happen.
- 2
Rate the risk to quality
High when the change touches a safety or critical characteristic or nobody has done it before; low when it is routine and has never caused a defect. The levels are yours to set with quality.
- 3
Set the extra checks and a check-by time
First piece, more frequent checks, how many parts to check and who signs. Give the checks a time they must be done by, so they do not slide into the next shift.
- 4
Put it on the change point board
Mark the change under the station it affects, so the team leader, quality and the next shift can see where to look.
- 5
Record the result
Parts checked and defects found. A defect keeps the change open: contain the parts, fix the cause and check again.
- 6
Resume normal checks and clear the board
Only when the checks are done and passed. Write the time normal checks resumed and take the change off the board.
What counts as a change
Common change points under each M on the 4M change management sheet
Three or four under each of Man, Machine, Material, Method and Design: a starting list to write your own from. On the sheet each change you log gets a risk, extra checks and a time they must be done by; gauges count under Machine.
Man
People
- 1New operator on the station
- 2Relief or cover operator for a break or an absence
- 3Operator back after a long absence
- 4New team leader or inspector on the shift
Machine
Equipment, tools and gauges
- 5Repair or adjustment after a breakdown
- 6Tool, die or fixture replaced outside a routine changeover
- 7New, moved or rebuilt equipment
- 8Gauge or measuring equipment replaced or recalibrated
Material
Parts and raw material
- 9First use of a new material lot
- 10New or different supplier
- 11Different grade, specification or source
- 12Stock that was on hold, reworked or stored a long time
Method
How the work is done
- 13New or revised work instruction
- 14Changed sequence, setting or program
- 15Temporary deviation or workaround
- 16Changed inspection method or frequency
Design
The D in 4M1D
- 17New drawing or specification revision in production
- 18Engineering change running for the first time
- 19Customer-requested change to the product
A filled-in example
Illustrative, not a benchmarkAn example: assembly line 2, one week in September (illustrative numbers).
- 8 changes: 2 Man (a relief operator, a new operator), 2 Machine (a torque gun replaced after a fault, a worn fixture pin), 2 Material (a new lot of housings, O-rings from a new supplier), 1 Method (a revised instruction) and 1 Design (drawing rev C). 6 planned, 2 unplanned.
- Parts to check by risk: High 10, Medium 5, Low 3. 53 parts were due for extra checks and 51 were checked.
- The new torque gun turned up one under-torqued joint, and the gun was recalibrated before normal checks resumed. The new O-rings had two undersize parts and the lot went on hold.
- The drawing change had 3 of its 5 parts checked by its 14:00 check-by time, so it was flagged past check-by.
Defects found after changes: 3, from 2 of the 8 changes, all caught at the line. At the end of the week 2 changes were still open: the O-ring change, with the lot on hold, and the drawing change, with 2 parts still to check.
Common mistakes
Logging only planned changes
Relief operators and repairs after a breakdown are the changes most likely to slip through. Log the unplanned ones the moment they happen.
Extra checks with no end
Without a number of parts and a time, extra checks fade out on their own. Write both, and write when normal checks resumed.
Resuming normal checks before the extra ones are done
A change that goes back to normal checks with parts still to check was never proven. The Excel log flags it.
Keeping the log in the office
The board at the line is what makes the next shift look. Review it in the start-of-shift huddle.
Download the template
Free to use: print it, copy it and edit it for your team. Enter your name and work email once to download.
Run this template in LeanSuite
In LeanSuite each huddle enters its KPIs, assigns actions and escalates problems on a live Lean Studio board, notes pinned to the board give the next shift the context, and an automated shift handover surfaces open issues and key events from the previous shift.
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FAQ
4M change management sheet (change point): common questions
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