Every engineering change has a change impact. See yours before you release.
The Impact Intelligence Verification Graph Engine (VGE) traverses your operational graph to surface impacts across:
- BOMs, assemblies, and sub-component hierarchies
- Work orders, routings, and production schedules
- Supplier certifications and quality gate approvals
- Cost models, tooling, and compliance documentation
Preview mode lets you ask 'what if?' before committing, with cost-of-change estimates and uncertainty bands.
Change impact map
Surface every impacted node across your full BOM hierarchy before approvals:
- Assemblies, sub-components, and alternates
- Work orders and open production runs
- Supplier certs and compliance nodes
Verification pack preview
Generate draft plans without committing changes:
- Engineering validation plans and quality gate checklists
- Supplier re-certification tasks
- Document packages and acknowledgement workflows
Cost-of-change estimate
Estimate total change cost with uncertainty bands (min/likely/max):
- Material cost deltas and engineering hours
- Tooling impact and schedule shifts
- Calibrated from your actual production data
Console preview
Change intelligence report
Seed change
Material substitution: 6061-T6 → 7075-T6 Aluminum
Change impact
58 of 310 nodes (19%)
across 5 domains
Severity hotspots
5
critical
NRE estimate
$114K – $191K
likely $142K
Schedule delta
+18d
critical path
Impact cascade / sample path
BOM explosion - 3 levels, 14 sub-components
via bom
5 quality gates require re-validation
via quality_gate
3 supplier certs invalidated
via procurement
12 open work orders affected
via execution
2 routing steps need parameter updates
via routing
2 other active ECOs overlap this blast radius
- ├─ ECO-5523 Surface finish spec tightening - Ra 0.8 → 0.4 4 shared nodes in review
- └─ ECO-5519 Fastener torque spec revision -assembly line 3 3 shared nodes approved, pending
Verification pack / draft
- 5 quality gate re-validations
- 3 supplier re-certifications
- 12 work order replans
- 2 routing parameter updates
Cost estimate: NRE $114K – $191K (likely $142K) · Recurring +$4.85/unit
- ├─ Tooling re-qualification: $28K – $42K (3 CNC programs + 2 fixtures)
- ├─ Supplier re-certification: $16K – $24K (tensile + hardness testing)
- ├─ Scrap risk: 480 units WIP at $36/unit if alloy fails fatigue spec
- ├─ Schedule penalty: +18d delays downstream assembly by 3 weeks
- ├─ Recurring: +$4.85/unit from 7075-T6 material premium
The problem
Change impact analysis lives in people's heads, not in your systems.
A customer requests a material substitution. Your engineer says 'just a simple BOM change.' Three weeks later, you discover it invalidated 4 quality gate approvals, requires re-certification of 2 supplier qualifications, impacts 23 open work orders, and the cost is 10x the original estimate.
Hidden cost of blind changes
- Invalidated quality gates discovered weeks after ECO approval.
- Supplier re-certifications triggered without budget or timeline.
- Open work orders disrupted by upstream BOM changes nobody tracked.
- Cost estimates off by an order of magnitude because BOM dependencies were invisible.
Key capabilities
Active intelligence for manufacturing changes.
BOM explosion traversal
Walk multi-level BOMs to surface every impacted assembly, sub-assembly, and raw material across your full product structure.
ECO cascade analysis
Trace engineering change orders through BOMs, routing sheets, quality plans, and supplier qualifications to reveal the full downstream impact before release.
Supplier re-certification triggers
Detect when a material or process change invalidates supplier qualifications and auto-generate re-certification task lists with evidence requirements.
Work order impact preview
Identify every open and planned work order affected by a proposed change, with lot-level granularity and replan recommendations.
Quality gate propagation
Map which quality gates, inspection plans, and acceptance criteria are invalidated by a change, before production discovers the gap.
Cost model delta estimation
Calculate material, labor, and tooling cost impacts with uncertainty ranges that calibrate from your actual time entries and operation durations.
Routing sheet dependency check
Verify whether routing changes affect work center capacity, tooling assignments, or scheduling constraints across production lines.
Compliance evidence generation
Generate audit-ready evidence packages linking every impacted node to its verification requirements, proof paths, and sign-off status.
How it works
From change signal to verified action.
Seed the change
A ChangeControl record identifies what's changing: SKU revision, BOM substitution, supplier swap, or routing update.
Traverse the graph
Domain providers walk the dependency graph across BOMs, documents, work orders, supplier qualifications, quality gates, tooling, and procurement relationships.
Score severity
Each impacted node receives a severity score (0.0–1.0) based on BOM depth, edge weight, criticality class, and effectivity status.
Detect collisions
Cross-change collision detection reveals when concurrent ECOs or BOM revisions create overlapping blast radii that require triage.
Generate verification packs
Generate draft validation plans, quality gate checklists, supplier re-certification tasks, and document packages. Preview them before committing.
Estimate cost of change
Material deltas, engineering hours, tooling costs, and schedule impact computed with min/likely/max uncertainty bands.
Act or iterate
Apply the change with idempotency keys to persist verification packs, or adjust parameters and re-run the analysis in preview mode.
Hybrid graph model
VGE traverses your existing operational schema with no data migration required. The engine analyzes dependencies across BOMs, work orders, quality plans, and supplier records.
Virtual edges
Dependencies automatically inferred from your existing BOMs and routings. No manual linking required.
Explicit edges
Tenant-defined dependencies with rationale and supporting context, e.g., linking a tooling fixture to specific BOM levels.
Policy edges
Rules mapping quality frameworks (ISO 9001, AS9100, IATF 16949) to required validation work for each change type.
Manufacturing impact scenarios
Real change scenarios in manufacturing.
Impact Intelligence adapts to your domain’s change patterns, compliance frameworks, and verification workflows. These are representative output examples from the VGE computation pipeline.
Manufacturing
Cost: $142K (range: $98K–$195K) · 12 work orders replannedTrigger
Material substitution on production BOM
Impact
Downstream BOM levels affected, 3 supplier qualifications invalidated, 12 open work orders require replanning, cost model delta across 4 product families.
Verification Pack
Supplier re-qualification plan, updated BOM sign-off package, work order replan schedule, cost impact report.
Metrics
Cost: $142K (range: $98K–$195K) · 12 work orders replanned
Manufacturing
Schedule: +18 days · 6 product lines affectedTrigger
Quality gate threshold revision
Impact
6 product lines with active lots affected, IQ/OQ re-validation required, 3 inspection plans outdated, 2 customer audit commitments impacted.
Verification Pack
Inspection plan updates, re-validation protocols, customer notification package, lot disposition review.
Metrics
Schedule: +18 days · 6 product lines affected
Manufacturing
Cost: $87K (range: $62K–$118K) · 15 POs re-sourcedTrigger
Supplier decertification or audit failure
Impact
Alternate source cascade across 8 BOMs, lead time impact on 15 open purchase orders, quality gate holds on in-process lots.
Verification Pack
Alternate supplier qualification plan, purchase order re-sourcing schedule, lot hold/release checklist.
Metrics
Cost: $87K (range: $62K–$118K) · 15 POs re-sourced
Manufacturing
4 lots replanned · T1 trial restart requiredTrigger
Routing revision on production line
Impact
Work center capacity recalculation, 4 production lots replanned, tooling assignment changes, T1 trial invalidated.
Verification Pack
Trial revalidation plan, capacity impact analysis, lot replanning schedule, tooling changeover checklist.
Metrics
4 lots replanned · T1 trial restart required
Manufacturing
47 nodes impacted · Schedule: +22 daysTrigger
ECO release across multi-level BOM
Impact
Full change impact spanning 47 nodes across 3 BOM levels, 5 document packages requiring update, 2 compliance submissions triggered.
Verification Pack
ECN document package, compliance submission bundle, quality plan updates, engineering sign-off matrix.
Metrics
47 nodes impacted · Schedule: +22 days
Impact Intelligence for Manufacturing
Operational scale that makes impact analysis possible.
VGE runs on tenant-owned data: schema depth, API breadth, and deterministic telemetry that keeps change reviews consistent.
Domain providers
15+
5 cross-industry baseline + 10 domain-specific providers (composition structures, compliance, verification, 3D/geometric, procurement, inventory, capital assets, execution chains), each self-describing with SemVer and cost tiers.
Sync analysis
≤2s
Typical graph traversal (≤1K nodes) with batch-first providers and per-request caching.
Async analysis
≤30s
Complex traversals (≤10K nodes) with optional Redis acceleration and per-provider timing.
Impact demo
Impact Intelligence for Manufacturing
Preview change impact, severity scoring, and verification packs before approvals.
Change impact
58 nodes
Projected change
Severity hotspots
5
Projected change
NRE estimate
$142K
Projected change
Schedule delta
+18d
Projected change
Sample finding
Surface every impacted node across your full BOM hierarchy before approvals:
Impact cascade
Seed the change
Virtual edges
Explicit edges
Policy edges
API preview
Schema-stable endpoints for impact intelligence.
Impact Intelligence is designed as a tenant-owned API surface with preview-first semantics, deterministic run snapshots, and export-ready results.
Preview vs apply
Every request can run in preview mode to generate impact results without mutating data. Apply mode uses idempotency keys to persist verification packs safely.
View developer docsPOST Create impact analysis run
Seed a new analysis for a BOM change, ECO, or supplier substitution. Preview mode is the default.
POST /api/v1/change-controls/{id}/impact/runThe ChangeControl record (created separately) carries the change details: housing assembly HSG-2847-REV-C material substitution from 6061-T6 to 7075-T6 aluminum, affecting BOM levels 0–3 across motor housing product family.
Request
{
"detect_collisions": true
}Response
{
"schema_version": "vge.graph_result.v1",
"run_id": 312,
"nodes": [
{
"node_ref": {
"resource_type": "bom_assembly",
"resource_id": 284701,
"display_name": "Motor Housing Assembly - HSG-2847-REV-C",
"display_code": "HSG-2847-REV-C",
"status": "Active - 3 BOM levels",
"tags": [
"Level 0",
"Motor Housing",
"Critical Component"
]
},
"severity": 0.95,
"depth": 0
},
{
"node_ref": {
"resource_type": "work_order",
"resource_id": 90415,
"display_name": "WO-90415 - Housing Machining Lot 2847-L12",
"display_code": "WO-90415",
"status": "In Process - 340 units",
"tags": [
"CNC Cell 4",
"Priority A"
]
},
"severity": 0.91,
"depth": 1
},
{
"node_ref": {
"resource_type": "quality_gate",
"resource_id": 7821,
"display_name": "QG-7821 - Tensile & Hardness Acceptance",
"display_code": "QG-7821",
"status": "Invalidated - spec mismatch",
"tags": [
"Incoming Inspection",
"ISO 9001 §8.6"
]
},
"severity": 0.93,
"depth": 1
},
{
"node_ref": {
"resource_type": "supplier_cert",
"resource_id": 3340,
"display_name": "Apex Metals - 6061-T6 Qualification",
"display_code": "SUP-CERT-3340",
"status": "Re-certification Required",
"tags": [
"Apex Metals",
"Material Cert"
]
},
"severity": 0.87,
"depth": 2
},
{
"node_ref": {
"resource_type": "routing_step",
"resource_id": 5580,
"display_name": "OP-30 Finish Machining - Spindle Speed & Feed Update",
"display_code": "RTG-5580-OP30",
"status": "Parameter Review Required",
"tags": [
"CNC Cell 4",
"Tooling Change"
]
},
"severity": 0.82,
"depth": 2
}
],
"edges": [
{
"source": {
"resource_type": "sku",
"display_code": "HSG-2847-REV-C"
},
"target": {
"resource_type": "bom_assembly",
"display_code": "HSG-2847-REV-C"
},
"edge_type": "CONTAINS",
"provider": "bom",
"label": "BOM explosion - 3 levels, 14 sub-components"
},
{
"source": {
"resource_type": "bom_assembly",
"display_code": "HSG-2847-REV-C"
},
"target": {
"resource_type": "work_order",
"display_code": "WO-90415"
},
"edge_type": "CONSUMED_BY",
"provider": "execution",
"label": "Active work order -340 units in CNC Cell 4"
},
{
"source": {
"resource_type": "bom_assembly",
"display_code": "HSG-2847-REV-C"
},
"target": {
"resource_type": "quality_gate",
"display_code": "QG-7821"
},
"edge_type": "VERIFIED_BY",
"provider": "quality_gate",
"label": "Incoming inspection -tensile & hardness per 6061-T6 spec"
},
{
"source": {
"resource_type": "bom_assembly",
"display_code": "HSG-2847-REV-C"
},
"target": {
"resource_type": "supplier_cert",
"display_code": "SUP-CERT-3340"
},
"edge_type": "SOURCED_FROM",
"provider": "procurement",
"label": "Apex Metals -qualified for 6061-T6 only"
},
{
"source": {
"resource_type": "work_order",
"display_code": "WO-90415"
},
"target": {
"resource_type": "routing_step",
"display_code": "RTG-5580-OP30"
},
"edge_type": "ROUTED_THROUGH",
"provider": "routing",
"label": "OP-30 finish machining -feed rates spec'd for 6061-T6"
}
],
"stats": {
"node_count": 58,
"edge_count": 94,
"provider_counts": {
"bom": 18,
"execution": 14,
"quality_gate": 10,
"procurement": 9,
"routing": 7
},
"truncated": false,
"collisions": {
"collision_count": 0,
"collision_severity": "NONE"
}
}
}GET Retrieve change impact
Get the full impact graph with severity scores, BOM depth, and affected work orders for a manufacturing change.
GET /api/v1/change-controls/{id}/impactResponse
{
"run_id": 312,
"summary": {
"node_count": 58,
"severity_hotspots": 5,
"max_bom_depth": 3,
"affected_work_orders": 12,
"invalidated_quality_gates": 5,
"supplier_certs_at_risk": 3
},
"top_severity_nodes": [
{
"node_key": "bom_assembly:284701:head",
"display": "HSG-2847-REV-C - Motor Housing Assembly (Level 0)",
"severity": 0.95
},
{
"node_key": "quality_gate:7821:head",
"display": "QG-7821 - Tensile & Hardness Acceptance (Invalidated)",
"severity": 0.93
},
{
"node_key": "work_order:90415:head",
"display": "WO-90415 - Housing Machining Lot 2847-L12 (In Process)",
"severity": 0.91
}
]
}GET Trace proof path
Explain why a specific work order, quality gate, or supplier cert is impacted, auditable at every BOM hop.
GET /api/v1/change-controls/{id}/impact/explain?node_key=quality_gate:7821:headResponse
{
"run_id": 312,
"target_node_key": "quality_gate:7821:head",
"path_node_keys": [
"sku:2847:head",
"bom_assembly:284701:head",
"quality_gate:7821:head"
],
"path_edges": [
{
"edge_type": "CONTAINS",
"provider": "bom",
"label": "BOM explosion - HSG-2847-REV-C Level 0 assembly"
},
{
"edge_type": "VERIFIED_BY",
"provider": "quality_gate",
"label": "QG-7821 incoming inspection references 6061-T6 tensile spec -material substitution to 7075-T6 invalidates acceptance criteria"
}
],
"notes": "2-hop path: part master → BOM assembly → quality gate. Tensile and hardness acceptance thresholds in QG-7821 are calibrated to 6061-T6 properties; 7075-T6 requires updated acceptance limits and re-validation of inspection fixtures."
}GET Detect cross-ECO collisions
Find where concurrent engineering changes create overlapping blast radii on shared BOM nodes or work orders.
GET /api/v1/change-controls/{id}/impact/collisionsResponse
{
"collision_count": 2,
"colliding_change_ids": [
308,
315
],
"collision_severity": "HIGH",
"top_overlapping_nodes": [
{
"node_key": "work_order:90415:head",
"severity": 0.91,
"change_ids": [
312,
308
],
"display": "WO-90415 - Housing Machining Lot 2847-L12 - overlaps with ECO-308 (routing change for CNC Cell 4 retooling)"
},
{
"node_key": "supplier_cert:3340:head",
"severity": 0.87,
"change_ids": [
312,
315
],
"display": "SUP-CERT-3340 Apex Metals - overlaps with ECO-315 (supplier audit corrective action on heat treatment process)"
}
]
}POST Generate verification pack
Generate draft validation plans, quality gate checklists, supplier re-cert tasks in preview or apply mode.
POST /api/v1/change-controls/{id}/verification-pack/generateRequest
{
"mode": "preview"
}Response
{
"proposed_validations": [
{
"validation_type": "inspection",
"validation_meta": {
"description": "Re-validate 5 quality gates referencing 6061-T6 material properties -update tensile, hardness, and fatigue acceptance criteria to 7075-T6 specifications",
"affected_nodes": [
"quality_gate:7821:head",
"quality_gate:7822:head",
"quality_gate:7825:head",
"quality_gate:7830:head",
"quality_gate:7834:head"
],
"characteristics": [
"Tensile strength (UTS ≥ 83 ksi)",
"Brinell hardness (HB 150 min)",
"Fatigue life at spec load cycle"
]
}
},
{
"validation_type": "inspection",
"validation_meta": {
"description": "Re-qualify Apex Metals, Trident Alloys, and Pacific Raw Stock for 7075-T6 supply -current certs cover 6061-T6 only",
"affected_nodes": [
"supplier_cert:3340:head",
"supplier_cert:3355:head",
"supplier_cert:3362:head"
],
"evidence_required": [
"7075-T6 material test reports",
"Process capability study (Cpk ≥ 1.33)",
"Updated Certificate of Conformance"
]
}
},
{
"validation_type": "checklist",
"validation_meta": {
"description": "Replan 12 open work orders on CNC Cells 4 and 7 -update machining parameters, tooling assignments, and routing steps for 7075-T6 material properties",
"affected_nodes": [
"work_order:90415:head",
"work_order:90418:head",
"work_order:90422:head"
]
}
},
{
"validation_type": "checklist",
"validation_meta": {
"description": "Update OP-30 and OP-45 routing steps -revise spindle speeds, feed rates, and coolant flow for 7075-T6 hardness; verify tooling wear limits with new alloy",
"affected_nodes": [
"routing_step:5580:head",
"routing_step:5595:head"
]
}
}
],
"proposed_external_acknowledgements": [
{
"target_type": "SUPPLIER",
"target_id": 3340,
"reason": "Apex Metals -material substitution requires updated CoC and 7075-T6 qualification test reports"
},
{
"target_type": "SUPPLIER",
"target_id": 3355,
"reason": "Trident Alloys -alternate source qualification for 7075-T6 billet supply"
}
]
}POST Estimate cost of change
Estimate NRE costs (tooling, doc updates, replanning) and recurring per-unit COGS delta (material cost changes, added inspection steps) with min/likely/max uncertainty bounds and schedule impact.
POST /api/v1/change-controls/{id}/cost-estimateResponse
{
"estimate_id": 2087,
"impact_analysis_run_id": 312,
"line_items": [
{
"cost_driver_type": "nre",
"description": "Re-validate 5 quality gates -update acceptance criteria, re-run IQ/OQ protocols, calibrate inspection fixtures for 7075-T6",
"quantity": 5,
"unit_rate": 6800,
"cost_phase": "nre",
"min_cost": 28000,
"likely_cost": 34000,
"max_cost": 45000,
"confidence": 0.85
},
{
"cost_driver_type": "nre",
"description": "Re-qualify 3 suppliers for 7075-T6 -material test reports, process capability studies, updated CoCs",
"quantity": 3,
"unit_rate": 12500,
"cost_phase": "nre",
"min_cost": 30000,
"likely_cost": 37500,
"max_cost": 52000,
"confidence": 0.78
},
{
"cost_driver_type": "nre",
"description": "Replan 12 open work orders -update routing parameters, reschedule CNC Cells 4 and 7, adjust tooling assignments",
"quantity": 12,
"unit_rate": 2200,
"cost_phase": "nre",
"min_cost": 21000,
"likely_cost": 26400,
"max_cost": 35000,
"confidence": 0.82
},
{
"cost_driver_type": "nre",
"description": "Retool OP-30 and OP-45 routing steps -new insert grades, updated feeds/speeds, coolant system adjustment for 7075-T6",
"quantity": 2,
"unit_rate": 9500,
"cost_phase": "nre",
"min_cost": 15000,
"likely_cost": 19000,
"max_cost": 26000,
"confidence": 0.8
},
{
"cost_driver_type": "nre",
"description": "ECO documentation, BOM revision sign-offs, routing sheet updates, and compliance evidence package preparation",
"quantity": 150,
"unit_rate": 165,
"cost_phase": "nre",
"min_cost": 20000,
"likely_cost": 24750,
"max_cost": 33000,
"confidence": 0.84
},
{
"cost_driver_type": "recurring",
"description": "Per-unit material cost increase -7075-T6 billet vs 6061-T6 billet pricing from qualified suppliers",
"quantity": 1,
"unit_rate": 4.85,
"cost_phase": "recurring",
"min_cost": 3.6,
"likely_cost": 4.85,
"max_cost": 6.2,
"confidence": 0.88,
"justification": "Weighted average supplier quotes: Apex Metals $4.70/unit, Trident Alloys $5.10/unit, Pacific Raw Stock $4.75/unit vs current 6061-T6 avg $0.00 baseline"
}
],
"nre_range": {
"min": 114000,
"likely": 141650,
"max": 191000
},
"recurring_range": {
"min": 3.6,
"likely": 4.85,
"max": 6.2,
"currency": "USD",
"description": "Per-unit recurring COGS increase from 6061-T6 to 7075-T6 material substitution"
},
"schedule_impact": {
"min_schedule_days": 12,
"likely_schedule_days": 18,
"max_schedule_days": 27,
"critical_path_nodes": [
"supplier_cert:3340:head",
"quality_gate:7821:head"
]
},
"confidence": 0.83,
"confidence_notes": "Estimate calibrated from your operational data. Supplier re-qualification lead time is the primary uncertainty driver.",
"justification_summary": "Material substitution 6061-T6 → 7075-T6 on housing assembly HSG-2847-REV-C drives $142K NRE (quality gate re-validation across 5 gates, 3 supplier re-certifications, 12 work order replans, tooling changeover on 2 routing steps, ECO documentation) plus $4.85/unit recurring material cost increase. Supplier re-qualification is the critical path at 18 days."
}GET Export impact graph
Export the full impact graph as JSON, CSV, or GraphML for integration with PLM systems, ERP change management, or compliance tooling.
GET /api/v1/impact-analysis-runs/{run_id}/export?format=graphmlPreview endpoints reflect the planned VGE surface. Final routes may adjust as the engine deploys to production.
FAQ
Common questions about Impact Intelligence for manufacturing.
How does VGE handle multi-level BOM explosions?
The engine traverses your full BOM hierarchy. Depth is configurable per analysis run.
Can Impact Intelligence preview ECO cascades before release?
Yes. Preview mode is the default. Seed an analysis with your proposed ECO and VGE computes the full change impact, verification work, and cost estimate without persisting any changes. Iterate as many times as needed before applying.
What happens when a supplier cert expires mid-production?
VGE detects the expiration as a change signal and computes the downstream impact: affected BOMs, open purchase orders, in-process lots requiring hold, and alternate supplier options. A verification pack auto-generates re-qualification tasks.
Does it integrate with our existing PLM or ERP system?
Impact Intelligence runs on your EquatorOps operational data. Results export as JSON, CSV, or GraphML for integration with PLM tools (Windchill, Teamcenter), ERP change management modules, and compliance portals.
How are concurrent engineering changes detected?
Cross-change collision detection compares blast radii of all active and in-review changes. When overlapping nodes are found, high-severity collisions automatically create triage queue entries with evidence paths for human resolution.
Are cost estimates reliable for manufacturing decisions?
Cost estimates produce uncertainty ranges (min/likely/max) with confidence scores, not false precision. They calibrate from your actual data: time entries, operation durations, material costs, and historical change outcomes.
Can we customize severity scoring for our quality framework?
Yes. Severity parameters are tenant-configurable to match your risk profile. Map them to your quality framework (ISO 9001, AS9100, IATF 16949) so scoring reflects your actual risk tolerance.
What about changes that affect tooling and fixtures?
Tooling providers traverse fixture-to-BOM-level relationships, maintenance schedules, and calibration records. A tooling change surfaces every product line, work center, and routing step that depends on that fixture.