An engineering change notice, or ECN, is the record that announces an approved change to a product or its documents and tells everyone affected what to do about it. It names the part, drawing or document, the old and new revision, what changed and why, when the change takes effect, and what happens to existing stock and work in progress. Some companies use a separate change request and change order before the notice; the ECN is the part that reaches purchasing, production and quality.
Example: Engineering changes the seal material on a pump housing. The ECN lists the drawing and bill of materials at their new revisions, sets the effective point by work order, says to use up the old seals on open orders, and asks quality to update the inspection plan.
Many change-related defects come from someone who did not hear about the change: a buyer orders the old part, or a cell runs the old setup. A clear ECN with an effective point and a decision on old stock closes those gaps and gives auditors a traceable record.
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