Free Change Order Template - Download Now

What Is a Change Order?

A change order is a formal document used to request, review, approve, and implement changes to a product, process, or project.

In hardware manufacturing and product development, change orders help teams track modifications to items such as:

• Bills of Materials (BOMs)
• Parts and components
• CAD designs
• Manufacturing processes
• Documentation and specifications
• Approved manufacturers and suppliers
  
  

A change order creates a clear record of what changed, why it changed, who approved it, and when it was implemented. Without a documented change process, teams risk confusion, manufacturing errors, compliance issues, and costly rework.

Why Are Change Orders Important?

As products become more complex and teams become more distributed, informal communication methods like spreadsheets, emails, and chat messages are often not enough to manage engineering changes.

A formal change order process helps organizations:

• Maintain product quality
• Improve traceability
• Reduce manufacturing mistakes
• Meet regulatory requirements
• Keep teams aligned
• Create a historical record of decisions
  
  

For industries such as aerospace, medical devices, defense, robotics, and electronics, maintaining accurate change records is often a business requirement and not just a best practice.

What Information Should a Change Order Include?

A well-designed change order template should capture the essential details needed for review and approval.

Typical fields include:

Change Identification

• Change Order Number
• Date Created
• Requestor/Originator Name

Change Description

• Description of Proposed Change
• Reason for Change
• Problem Addressed

Affected Items

• Part Numbers
• Part Descriptions
• Assemblies

Impact Analysis

• Cost Impact
• Inventory Impact
• Manufacturing Impact
• Schedule Impact
• Compliance Impact

Approval Workflow

• Engineering Approval
• Quality Approval
• Operations Approval
• Purchasing Approval
• Final Release Approval

Implementation Details

• Effective Date
• Revision Information
• Rollout Plan
  
  

Capturing these details ensures that stakeholders have enough information to make informed decisions before changes are released.

What Is an Engineering Change Order (ECO)?

An Engineering Change Order (ECO) is a specific type of change order used to manage changes to a product’s design, documentation, or manufacturing data.

Engineering Change Orders typically govern:

• Design revisions
• Component substitutions
• BOM updates
• CAD changes
• Supplier changes
• Manufacturing instructions
  
  

The ECO process ensures that changes are reviewed and approved before they reach production. Many organizations use the terms “Change Order” and “Engineering Change Order” interchangeably, although ECOs are generally focused on engineering-related changes.

What Is the Difference Between an ECO and an ECN?

These terms are often confused:

Engineering Change Order (ECO)

The document used to propose and approve a change.

Engineering Change Notice (ECN)

The communication sent after a change has been approved to notify affected teams. A simple way to think about it:

• ECO = Request and Approval
• ECN = Notification and Communication
  
  

Many organizations generate an ECN automatically once an ECO reaches an approved state.

When Should You Use a Change Order?

A change order should be used whenever a change affects product data, manufacturing processes, quality requirements, or customer deliverables.

Common examples include:

• Replacing an obsolete component
• Updating a CAD drawing
• Revising a BOM
• Correcting documentation errors
• Changing suppliers
• Implementing quality improvements
• Responding to regulatory requirements
  
  

The earlier a change is documented, the easier it becomes to evaluate downstream impacts.

What Happens Without a Change Order Process?

Without a formal process, changes often become difficult to track. Organizations commonly encounter:

• Multiple versions of the same document
• Manufacturing using outdated revisions
• Missing approvals
• Incomplete audit trails
• Inventory mismatches
• Increased engineering rework
  
  

These issues become more common as product complexity and team size grow. That’s why a structured change management process can help prevent these problems before they affect production.

Can You Manage Change Orders in Excel?

Yes, but only up to a point. Many companies begin with spreadsheets because they are familiar and flexible. However, spreadsheet-based change management often creates challenges such as:

• Manual approval routing
• Version control issues
• Limited traceability
• Poor visibility across teams
• Difficulty scaling as products become more complex
  
  

As organizations grow, they often move to dedicated Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) systems that automate workflows, approvals, revision control, and audit trails.

What Is Included in Duro’s Free Change Order Template?

Our simple and free Change Order Template gives engineering teams a starting point for documenting and managing product changes. It’s flexible enough to be used for different situations where an ECO is necessary, but simple enough that all stakeholders can understand what the change order contains at-a-glance.

The Duro change order template includes sections for:

• Change request details
• Change descriptions
• Impact analysis
• Stakeholder approvals
• Implementation tracking
  
  

Whether you’re building your first formal ECO process or improving an existing workflow, this template can help create consistency across your organization. And it has best-practices built into the language and flow of the change order, built upon how real-world hardware teams log their changes across Duro’s years of customer experience.