A deviation is written permission, given before the work is done, to depart from a requirement for a limited quantity or a limited time. The requirement might be a drawing dimension, a material, a process setting or a procedure step. The deviation states what will be different, why, the risk review behind it and its limit, and it is approved by the right people, often including the customer. When the limit is reached, the original requirement applies again. A deviation does not change the drawing; a permanent change goes through an engineering change.
Example: The specified paint is back-ordered for three weeks. Quality and the customer approve a deviation to use an equivalent paint on the next 400 frames, with an adhesion test on each batch. Frame 401 goes back to the specified paint.
Without a formal deviation, temporary workarounds tend to become permanent without anyone deciding they should. A signed, limited deviation shows auditors and customers that the departure was reviewed for risk first, rather than discovered after shipment.
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