Managing Change More Effectively with MOC Software

| Frontline Blog
A male and female engineer managing change with MOC software.

Managing change is a constant challenge in any operation. You don’t need to work in a high-risk industry to find it difficult to track and control what’s changing, how, and when. Whether you’re updating equipment, adjusting procedures, or modifying organizational structures, each change carries potential risks that your team needs to carefully evaluate and document.

MOC software is one of the best tools to simplify this complex process. It helps you plan, assess, and approve changes efficiently to reduce risk. Here are the top ways to manage change and get the most out of your software solution.

The MOC summary overview in Frontline MOC software, showing how you can add action items to changes to track progress.

Types of Changes You Can Manage with MOC Software

One of the biggest benefits of MOC software is that you can use it for all different types of changes. Don’t limit yourself to just the changes that you have to document for regulatory compliance.

Here are just some of the types of modifications you can manage with software:

Procedural Changes

  • Standard operating procedures (SOPs)
  • Maintenance procedures
  • Inspection checklists
  • Equipment operating procedures
  • Employee training
  • Onboarding and offboarding

Material Changes

  • Raw materials
  • Formulas or ingredients
  • Component substitutions
  • Chemicals

Equipment Changes

  • Production assets
  • Control settings
  • Operating manuals
  • Automation systems
  • Digital tools

Organizational Changes

  • Staffing levels
  • Organizational charts
  • Leadership roles
  • Pay structures
  • Reporting hierarchy

Process Changes

  • New sequence steps
  • Equipment, tools, and materials
  • Instruction manuals, signage, etc.

Facility Changes

  • Production area expansions
  • Machinery relocations
  • Workstation layouts
  • 5S requirements

Managing Change Across Departments

MOC software isn’t just for safety teams meeting OSHA’s PSM requirements or engineering teams managing complex modifications. It supports collaboration and control across the entire business. Consider these examples of how different departments can use MOC software for their specific needs.

Operations

If you have an MOC system, make sure your operations team is using it to stay efficient and on top of their projects. More often than not, managing operational changes involves more than one department, so it’s a highly cross-functional process:

  • Track modifications to equipment or systems before implementation.
  • Assess potential risks of new area layouts, 5S measures, and more.
  • Evaluate how proposed changes will affect production or throughput.
  • Maintain accurate documentation for audits and shift handovers.

Maintenance and Engineering

Managing technical changes is required for successful implementation. Doing this with MOC software can help your maintenance and engineering teams find risks and collect feedback from managers, frontline workers, and customers who are affected:

  • Plan and approve system upgrades, replacements, or shutdown activities.
  • Coordinate complex projects involving multiple teams or disciplines.
  • Keep asset records and reliability documentation up to date.

Health and Safety

EHS departments are often the top users of MOC software. That’s because managing change is the only way to prevent major safety incidents. Here are some of the ways to use MOC software for health and safety:

  • Meet the MOC element of OSHA’s process safety management (PSM) standard.
  • Identify potential hazards and mitigation measures before changes occur.
  • Ensure employees complete training and inspections before startup.
  • Track and document proper permits for changes.
  • Maintain compliance with OSHA, EPA, FDA, and ISO standards.

Free MOC Compliance Guide to Help You Get Started

Frontline Data Solutions Management of Change (MOC) Compliance Guide cover and sample pages, designed to help organizations meet OSHA process safety management requirements.

Quality Assurance

Managing change in the quality department is critical for maintaining brand integrity and customer satisfaction. Make sure your team is using MOC software for these quality-related reasons:

  • Review how supplier or material changes could impact product quality.
  • Approve updates to testing procedures or inspection requirements.
  • Track deviations and ensure corrective changes follow a consistent review process.
  • Document changes that come from customer complaints.

Procurement and Supply Chain

Unmanaged supply chain changes can devastate your business. It’s important to roll them out carefully to avoid production or delivery delays:

  • Carefully plan changes to transportation and delivery routes.
  • Manage supplier substitutions or specification updates.
  • Assess the risks of introducing new vendors or materials.
  • Communicate approved changes across departments to prevent misalignment.

Human Resources and Training

HR departments typically gravitate towards project management or workforce management software. But here are some ideas for using MOC software in HR processes:

  • Oversee organizational changes such as team restructuring or new job roles.
  • Manage training requirements tied to new procedures or equipment.
  • Ensure communication plans reach all affected employees.

Why MOC Software Improves Performance

When every department follows a structured process for managing change, you have better visibility, accountability, and risk control. MOC software like Frontline MOC allows you to:

  • Standardize reviews and approvals.
  • Maintain complete change logs for compliance and audits.
  • Improve cross-functional communication and collaboration.
  • Identify and mitigate risks before implementation.
  • Reduce downtime, rework, and compliance issues caused by untracked changes.
The workflow within Frontline MOC software showing it makes managing change easier through structured steps that teams can follow every single time.

Aside from lowering risks, software also improves efficiency. Because it handles documentation, notifications, reporting, and analytics, you don’t need to spend so much time on admin tasks. This allows you to process more changes while producing better documentation.

Simplify Your Process with Frontline MOC

Frontline MOC is a configurable software solution for managing change. It helps you coordinate and implement changes safely and efficiently across all departments. With automated workflows, collaboration tools, and centralized documentation, it ensures that your team properly reviews all changes before implementing them.

Book a demo to learn more about our Frontline MOC software solution or use our pricing calculator to get an instant quote!