At a Glance #

What GVA Lighting Reported #

According to GVA Lighting’s management team, ECx Manager helped support:

• Full traceability across engineering changes.
• Automatic commitment of approved changes to Epicor Kinetic ERP.
• Improved production planning accuracy.
• Better visibility throughout the engineering change process.
• Support for ISO 9001:2015 and ISO 14001:2015 management-system requirements.
• Stronger collaboration between engineering, quality, production planning, and ERP teams.
• A structured approach to managing engineering changes.
• Ongoing support and customization from QBuild Software.

These outcomes are based on statements shared by GVA Lighting personnel during their customer testimonial.

What Challenge Was GVA Lighting Solving? #

Engineering changes are a normal part of manufacturing. New product introductions, customer requirements, design improvements, quality initiatives, material substitutions, drawing revisions, and bill of material updates can all trigger changes that must be documented, reviewed, approved, and communicated throughout the organization.

For a company like GVA Lighting, which designs and manufactures sophisticated architectural lighting systems for projects around the world, engineering changes are often part of daily operations. Their products and projects require customization, coordination, and strong control over product information.

“The complexity of the projects demand really complex systems to be in place. It requires a lot of customizations and a lot of changes to be implemented. That’s why the ERP system Kinetic and ECx Manager help us address all these issues.”

Mikhail Bykov, Manager of the Kinetic Solution, GVA Lighting

Without a structured engineering change process, manufacturers may struggle with:

• Inconsistent documentation.
• Manual approval processes.
• Disconnected communication between departments.
• Limited traceability.
• Difficulty understanding the operational impact of changes.
• Production teams working from outdated drawings or bills of materials.
• Increased audit preparation effort.

A controlled engineering change process helps organizations ensure that engineering decisions are properly documented, approved, and communicated before they affect manufacturing operations.

How Did ECx Manager and Epicor Kinetic Work Together? #

GVA Lighting implemented ECx Manager, QBuild Software’s engineering change management solution, alongside Epicor Kinetic ERP.

Together, the solutions help create a connected process for managing:

• Engineering Change Requests, or ECRs.
• Engineering Change Orders, or ECOs.
• Engineering Change Notices, or ECNs.
• Approval workflows.
• Supporting documentation.
• ERP updates related to engineering changes.

For GVA Lighting, the implementation helped bring together three important areas of the business:

• SOLIDWORKS engineering design data.
• ECx Manager engineering change workflows.
• Epicor Kinetic ERP and manufacturing information.

This connected environment helped GVA Lighting manage engineering changes while keeping manufacturing and ERP information aligned.

How Did GVA Lighting Support Its ISO Compliance Efforts? #

One of the most important outcomes discussed by GVA Lighting was the role that traceability played within its quality and environmental management systems.

Alexey Petrov, Director of Quality, Reliability and Sustainability at GVA Lighting, stated that the QBuild engineering change management software integrated with the company’s ERP system played a crucial role in helping meet core requirements for ISO 9001:2015 and ISO 14001:2015.

“The QBuild Engineering Change Management software integrated with our ERP system played a crucial role in meeting the core requirements of ISO 9001:2015 and ISO 14001:2015 for Quality and Environmental Management Systems, QMS and EMS.”

Alexey Petrov, Director of Quality, Reliability and Sustainability, GVA Lighting

He also explained that the solution provided full traceability from start to finish.

“It provided full traceability from start to finish, maintaining a comprehensive record of all actions and automatically committed changes to our ERP system.”

Alexey Petrov, Director of Quality, Reliability and Sustainability, GVA Lighting

Petrov further reported that GVA Lighting achieved its ISO certifications without nonconformances.

Important distinction: ECx Manager does not certify an organization. Rather, GVA Lighting reported that ECx Manager supported its ISO requirements and certification process by providing the records, approvals, documentation, ERP updates, and traceability needed to support its quality and environmental management systems.

For manufacturers preparing for quality or environmental audits, engineering change records may help demonstrate:

• Who requested a change.
• Why the change was required.
• Who reviewed and approved the change.
• Which parts, drawings, documents, or processes were affected.
• When the change was implemented.
• Whether the ERP system was updated.
• How the organization maintained control over approved product data.

What Results Did GVA Lighting Report? #

Improved Production Planning Accuracy #

GVA Lighting reported improved planning accuracy after implementing the QBuild solution.

“We achieved more accurate planning in the production orders. The planning team started to pay more attention to certain dates and parameters and the planning techniques they use.”

Mikhail Bykov, Manager of the Kinetic Solution, GVA Lighting

Engineering changes can affect production orders, scheduling, inventory availability, customer commitments, and work-in-process. Better visibility into approved changes can help planning teams respond more effectively when product information changes.

Full Change Traceability #

Maintaining a complete record of engineering change activity was one of the strongest themes in the testimonial.

According to GVA Lighting, ECx Manager helped provide a comprehensive record of actions and automatically committed approved changes to the ERP system.

This type of traceability can help manufacturers answer important questions such as:

• What changed?
• Why did it change?
• Who requested the change?
• Who approved the change?
• When was the change implemented?
• Which ERP records were affected?

Support for Continual Improvement #

GVA Lighting also described ECx Manager as more than a compliance tool.

“More than a compliance tool, QBuild drives continual improvement, ensuring changes are implemented correctly, protecting product quality and enhancing customer satisfaction.”

Alexey Petrov, Director of Quality, Reliability and Sustainability, GVA Lighting

This is an important distinction. Engineering change management is not only about documentation. When implemented effectively, it can help manufacturers create repeatable processes that support product quality, operational consistency, and customer satisfaction.

How Does Engineering Change Management Support the Digital Thread? #

As manufacturers pursue digital transformation initiatives, maintaining a connected flow of information between engineering and operations becomes increasingly important. This connected flow of product and process information is often described as the Digital Thread.

A manufacturing digital thread may connect information across:

• Engineering design.
• Product data management.
• Document control.
• Quality management.
• Production planning.
• Manufacturing operations.
• ERP systems.

At GVA Lighting, engineering data from SOLIDWORKS, engineering change workflows from ECx Manager, and operational information from Epicor Kinetic work together in a connected environment.

When engineering changes occur, the goal is to ensure every stakeholder is working from the latest approved information. A connected digital thread helps improve visibility and coordination between teams while maintaining confidence in the accuracy of product data.

For manufacturers pursuing Engineering-to-ERP integration strategies, engineering change management serves as a critical link between product development and manufacturing execution.

What Did GVA Lighting Say About QBuild? #

Beyond the software itself, GVA Lighting highlighted the support provided by the QBuild team.

“The team at QBuild, we are happy with them. They are always responsive.”

Nick Makaranka, Manager of Product Data Management, GVA Lighting

GVA Lighting also noted that QBuild addressed issues promptly, proposed creative solutions, and accepted customizations required by the company’s processes.

For manufacturers with complex products or specialized workflows, implementation flexibility and responsive support can be important factors when selecting engineering change management software.

Who Can Benefit from ECx Manager? #

ECx Manager may be relevant for manufacturers that:

• Use Epicor Kinetic or another supported ERP platform.
• Manage frequent engineering changes.
• Need formal ECR, ECO, or ECN workflows.
• Require stronger approval and documentation controls.
• Need to connect CAD data with ERP data.
• Are preparing for ISO or other quality audits.
• Have experienced errors caused by outdated engineering information.
• Need better visibility into the production impact of design changes.
• Want to strengthen their product data digital thread.

The specific workflow, integrations, and compliance records required will vary by organization. Manufacturers should evaluate how ECx Manager fits their existing CAD, ERP, quality, and document-control processes.

Watch the GVA Lighting Customer Testimonial #

Hear directly from GVA Lighting’s Quality, Product Data Management, and ERP teams about their experience with ECx Manager and Epicor Kinetic.

Watch the GVA Lighting customer testimonial on YouTube

Read the GVA Lighting success story

Key Takeaways #

GVA Lighting’s experience demonstrates how a structured engineering change management process can help manufacturers:

• Create end-to-end traceability for engineering changes.
• Support ECR, ECO, and ECN workflows.
• Connect engineering design information with Epicor Kinetic ERP.
• Improve visibility into engineering changes.
• Support quality and environmental management-system requirements.
• Improve production planning accuracy.
• Strengthen collaboration across departments.
• Maintain more comprehensive records for audits.
• Build a stronger digital thread between engineering and manufacturing.

According to GVA Lighting’s leadership team, the combination of SOLIDWORKS, ECx Manager, and Epicor Kinetic provided a connected framework for managing engineering changes while helping ensure that engineering, quality, production planning, and ERP teams could work from trusted and traceable information.

Learn More About ECx Manager #

If your organization manages engineering changes through spreadsheets, email, or disconnected systems, ECx Manager can provide a structured framework for managing approvals, documentation, traceability, and ERP updates.

ECx Manager is designed to help manufacturers keep engineering and manufacturing information aligned so teams can work from the latest approved data.

https://www.qbuildsoftware.com/solutions/ecx-manager/Learn more about ECx Manager

Frequently Asked Questions #

What is ECx Manager? #

ECx Manager is QBuild Software’s engineering change management solution. It helps manufacturers manage engineering change requests, engineering change orders, engineering change notices, approvals, documentation, and ERP-related change information.

How did GVA Lighting use ECx Manager? #

GVA Lighting used ECx Manager with Epicor Kinetic to create a more structured and traceable engineering change process. The company reported improved production planning accuracy, full change traceability, and support for ISO management-system requirements.

Did ECx Manager certify GVA Lighting for ISO 9001 or ISO 14001? #

No. ECx Manager does not certify organizations. GVA Lighting reported that the solution supported its ISO 9001:2015 and ISO 14001:2015 requirements and certification process by providing traceability, records, approvals, and ERP updates related to engineering changes.

How does engineering change management support ISO compliance? #

Engineering change management can support ISO compliance by helping organizations document change requests, approvals, implementation details, affected records, and the history of engineering changes. These records can help demonstrate process control during audits.

What ERP system does GVA Lighting use? #

GVA Lighting uses Epicor Kinetic ERP.

What CAD system was mentioned in the GVA Lighting testimonial? #

GVA Lighting referenced SOLIDWORKS as part of its connected engineering and ERP environment.

What is the digital thread in manufacturing? #

The digital thread is the connected flow of product and process information across engineering, quality, planning, manufacturing, and ERP systems. Engineering change management helps strengthen the digital thread by ensuring approved changes are traceable and communicated across departments.

Who should consider ECx Manager? #

Manufacturers that manage frequent engineering changes, require formal ECR, ECO, or ECN workflows, need stronger traceability, or want to connect CAD and ERP data may benefit from ECx Manager.