(54az) Emoc - Does the e in Emoc Mean Easy or Erroneous?

Many companies are using electronic Management of Change (eMOC's) systems now. These systems make the Management of Change (MOC) process easier to manage and route eMOC's. However, do these systems make it easier or does it lead to errors in the MOC process? Does the ease of an eMOC system lead to a passive review of difficult changes

In this paper, a typical eMOC process will be presented as a model for review. The strengths and weaknesses of an eMOC system will be thoroughly detailed. Typical weaknesses of an eMOC are failure to thoroughly review the change, miss important signatures for the approval, not perform a risk assessment if needed, miss doing a required field inspection of the change in the plant, failure to attach appropriate documentation and failure to ensure that the MOC is closed out. Many audits findings include MOC's not properly closed out. Some major incidents came about due to temporary MOC not permanently fixed or the failure to accurately assess the change in the field.

The author of this paper will make suggestions to handle the weaknesses of an eMOC system and offer detailed solutions. The purpose of the paper is not to stop eMOC system use but to provide insight to the creators and uses of such systems to properly use them.