Context Model Design for a Process-oriented Manufacturing Change Management

New production technologies, measures to increase productivity or continuous improvements - manufacturing has always been subject to a variety of changes. Concepts for continuous factory planning as well as first applications of engineering change management in manufacturing help to cope with such changes, but still lack a systemic and contextual view on the management of change in manufacturing. This paper presents a context model for a process-oriented Manufacturing Change Management (MCM), designed to support the understanding of the concept of MCM in academia and industry as well as to create a sound basis for a subsequent, more detailed design of the different MCM-related elements (e.g. MCM process). The context model comprises not only tangible elements (e.g. factory, product), but also intangible elements (e.g. change causes, MCM process) and their relations. Accompanying the context model design, requirements for a detailed design of MCM-related elements are formulated, while the element “change cause” as the starting point of any change in manufacturing is already further detailed and described. Concerning the context model design and the formulation of MCM requirements, both consider not only findings from a broad literature review, but also from different expert interviews and workshops.