The role of the bill-of-materials as a CAD/CAPM interface and the key importance of engineering change control

The BoM (bill-of-materials) which is essentially a structured parts list, is generated automatically by most modern CAD systems and is used by the CAPM system to explode the master production schedule (MPS) into both gross and net component requirements. The role of the bill-of-materials is central to the integration of computer-aided design and computer-aided production management systems. Increasingly specific customer demands often involve significant changes to the bill-of-materials. The authors explain the implications of engineering change control on the bill-of-materials and the CAD/CAPM interface. Case studies illustrate the success of introducing engineering change control to integrate manufacturing and design systems