Lean product development point of view to current challenges of engineering change management in traditional manufacturing industries

Engineering change management causes many challenges in product development. For example, the impacts of a change can delay the whole product development project, and failed communication of changes can cause rework and scrap in production. Lean product development is one possibility to organize product development efficiently. We have conducted four case studies in heavy machinery, mechatronics and automotive industries in Finland and in Sweden to identify the current challenges in engineering change management. The challenges are categorized according to the lean product development principles they break. The results show that most challenges are related to processes and technology used in engineering change management. We suggest that implementing lean product development principles at the case companies could help in overcoming the challenges discovered.