Free template
Engineering change request (ECR) form
An engineering change request (ECR) is the form someone fills in to ask for a change to a part, a drawing, a process or a document. It describes the part as it is and as it should be, says why, lists everything the change touches, and goes to the people who have to approve it before anything changes on the floor. Once approved, an engineering change notice (ECN) tells everyone what changed and from when; many sites run both on one form. Page 1 of this template covers the part, the change type and reason, the change as it is and as it should be, the expected benefit, and a table of every affected part, drawing, BOM, work instruction, PFMEA, control plan, program or packaging item with the revision now and the new one. Page 2 rates the impact on quality, safety, cost, delivery, customer approval, validation, stock on hand, suppliers and training, then covers implementation (effective date or serial, old stock, first-off check) and approval by function. The Excel version is an ECR log that works out the status, days open and days late, with a summary by status and change type.
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 an engineering change request form
- For any change to a released drawing, specification, material, supplier, tooling, process or program.
- When a customer asks for a change, or a quality problem needs a design or process fix.
- When a change could affect fit, function, safety or a customer approval such as a PPAP.
- To keep one record of every change, who approved it and when it went in.
How to fill it in
- 1
Describe the change
Part number and revision, the change type and the reason. Write the part or process as it is now and as it should be, specific enough for someone else to carry out.
- 2
Say why
The problem it solves or the gain it brings, with numbers where you have them: defects, cost, cycle time, a safety risk.
- 3
List everything it touches
Drawings, BOM, work instructions, PFMEA, control plan, CNC programs, packaging, spare parts. Each item gets an owner, so nothing is left on the old revision.
- 4
Rate the impact and risk
Quality, safety, cost, delivery, customer approval, validation, stock on hand, suppliers and training: high, medium, low or none, with notes.
- 5
Get the approvals
Each function approves, rejects or asks for changes. Where the customer must approve or be told, do that before the change goes in.
- 6
Implement and check
Set the effective date, serial or lot, decide what happens to old stock, train the operators, withdraw the old revision and check the first parts. Log it and close the ECR once it is in production.
A filled-in example
Illustrative, not a benchmarkAn example: changing a bracket's hole size (illustrative).
- As it is: two 8.0 mm holes. As it should be: 8.5 mm, because the new fastener supplier's bolts bind during assembly.
- Affected: drawing rev C to D, the drill program, the inspection plan, the work instruction for assembly.
- Impact: fit high (the reason for the change), customer approval medium (the customer asked to be told), stock on hand: 400 brackets at 8.0 mm, reworked by re-drilling.
- Approved by engineering, quality and production; effective from lot 2291.
The first 20 brackets from lot 2291 were checked at 8.5 mm, the old drawing was withdrawn from the line, and the ECR closed ten days after it was raised.
Common mistakes
Changing the floor before the paperwork
A change made first and approved later leaves drawings, programs and instructions out of step with the parts.
Forgetting a document
The drawing changes but the control plan, the gauge or the packaging spec does not. List every affected item and give each an owner.
No plan for old stock
Decide whether parts on hand are used up, reworked or scrapped, or they get mixed with the new ones.
Closing on approval
An approved change is not a done change. Close it when it is in production on the new revision and the first parts are checked.
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 every SOP is versioned and routed to engineering, EHS and quality for e-signature, with an audit trail and revision history, and a changed process goes back out for re-approval.
In the lean glossary
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FAQ
Engineering change request (ECR) form: common questions
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