My article, “Change and Risk-Based Thinking” describes management of change (MOC) as a safety-related phrase from the chemical process industry. MOC says that anything new, different, or nonroutine (such as repairs, equipment replacement, and process startups) creates a safety risk, but the same principle also applies to quality risks.

This concept is detailed in “Recognize Hazards to Recognize Change,” an article by Donald K. Lorenzo, Della Wong, and Mark Suyama in the April 2015 issue of Chemical Engineering Progress. Any change in any of the traditional cause-and-effect diagram categories (e.g., manpower, method, material, machine, measurement, and environment) entails the risk of unforeseen and unintended consequences. This is particularly true with supplied materials.

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