Glossary · Change, versions and configuration
Change control
German: Änderungssteuerung
In systems engineering, change control is a governed process for proposing, assessing, approving, implementing and verifying changes. It ensures that no change reaches an approved configuration without an assessment of its effects.
- Systems engineering
- Functional safety
- Technical documentation
In one sentence
Change control is the governed route from change request to verified implementation, including impact analysis and approval.
Example
A request to shorten the stopping time parameter of a press goes through change control: impact analysis, approval by the safety engineer, implementation, measurement of the new stopping time and update of the manual.
How it applies
- Process: Proposal, impact analysis, approval, implementation and verification. Each step leaves a record.
- Machine safety: Changes affecting safety functions, guards or parameters need an assessment against the risk assessment. The result may be that the change is a substantial modification requiring reassessment.
- Technical documentation: Documentation is not a follow-up task outside change control. Instructions, warnings and the technical file are among the items to be updated and verified.
- Evidence: The change record links the old and new configuration baseline and the evidence produced for the change.
Change control vs. management of change
Change control is usually applied to product and system configurations. Management of change (MOC) is used for technical and organizational changes in operations, such as new procedures or staffing. Both follow the same logic: assess before you change.