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Failure Mode Effects Analysis (FMEA)

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Alsocalled:potentialfailuremodesandeffectsanalysisfailuremodes,effectsandcriticalityanalysis
(FMECA).

Training

Failuremodesandeffectsanalysis(FMEA)isastepbystepapproachforidentifyingallpossiblefailuresin
adesign,amanufacturingorassemblyprocess,oraproductorservice.

RelatedTopics

Failuremodesmeanstheways,ormodes,inwhichsomethingmightfail.Failuresareanyerrorsor
defects,especiallyonesthataffectthecustomer,andcanbepotentialoractual.

Processanalysis
toolsoverview
Benchmarking
Flowchart
Matrixdiagram
Mistakeproofing
Relationsdiagram
Spaghettidiagram

Effectsanalysisreferstostudyingtheconsequencesofthosefailures.

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Failuresareprioritizedaccordingtohowserioustheirconsequencesare,howfrequentlytheyoccurand
howeasilytheycanbedetected.ThepurposeoftheFMEAistotakeactionstoeliminateorreducefailures,
startingwiththehighestpriorityones.
Failuremodesandeffectsanalysisalsodocumentscurrentknowledgeandactionsabouttherisksof
failures,foruseincontinuousimprovement.FMEAisusedduringdesigntopreventfailures.Lateritsused
forcontrol,beforeandduringongoingoperationoftheprocess.Ideally,FMEAbeginsduringtheearliest
conceptualstagesofdesignandcontinuesthroughoutthelifeoftheproductorservice.
Beguninthe1940sbytheU.S.military,FMEAwasfurtherdevelopedbytheaerospaceandautomotive
industries.SeveralindustriesmaintainformalFMEAstandards.
Whatfollowsisanoverviewandreference.BeforeundertakinganFMEAprocess,learnmoreabout
standardsandspecificmethodsinyourorganizationandindustrythroughotherreferencesandtraining.

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When to Use FMEA

Whenaprocess,productorserviceisbeingdesignedorredesigned,afterqualityfunction
deployment.
Whenanexistingprocess,productorserviceisbeingappliedinanewway.
Beforedevelopingcontrolplansforanewormodifiedprocess.
Whenimprovementgoalsareplannedforanexistingprocess,productorservice.
Whenanalyzingfailuresofanexistingprocess,productorservice.
Periodicallythroughoutthelifeoftheprocess,productorservice

FMEA Procedure
(Again,thisisageneralprocedure.Specificdetailsmayvarywithstandardsofyourorganizationor
industry.)
1.Assembleacrossfunctionalteamofpeoplewithdiverseknowledgeabouttheprocess,product
orserviceandcustomerneeds.Functionsoftenincludedare:design,manufacturing,quality,
testing,reliability,maintenance,purchasing(andsuppliers),sales,marketing(andcustomers)
andcustomerservice.
2.IdentifythescopeoftheFMEA.Isitforconcept,system,design,processorservice?Whatare
theboundaries?Howdetailedshouldwebe?Useflowchartstoidentifythescopeandtomake
sureeveryteammemberunderstandsitindetail.(Fromhereon,wellusethewordscopeto
meanthesystem,design,processorservicethatisthesubjectofyourFMEA.)
3.FillintheidentifyinginformationatthetopofyourFMEAform.Figure1showsatypicalformat.
Theremainingstepsaskforinformationthatwillgointothecolumnsoftheform.

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Figure1FMEAExample(clickimagetoenlarge)
4.Identifythefunctionsofyourscope.Ask,Whatisthepurposeofthissystem,design,processor
service?Whatdoourcustomersexpectittodo?Nameitwithaverbfollowedbyanoun.
Usuallyyouwillbreakthescopeintoseparatesubsystems,items,parts,assembliesorprocess
stepsandidentifythefunctionofeach.
5.Foreachfunction,identifyallthewaysfailurecouldhappen.Thesearepotentialfailuremodes.
Ifnecessary,gobackandrewritethefunctionwithmoredetailtobesurethefailuremodesshow
alossofthatfunction.
6.Foreachfailuremode,identifyalltheconsequencesonthesystem,relatedsystems,process,
relatedprocesses,product,service,customerorregulations.Thesearepotentialeffectsof
failure.Ask,Whatdoesthecustomerexperiencebecauseofthisfailure?Whathappenswhen
thisfailureoccurs?
7.Determinehowseriouseacheffectis.Thisistheseverityrating,orS.Severityisusuallyratedon
ascalefrom1to10,where1isinsignificantand10iscatastrophic.Ifafailuremodehasmore
thanoneeffect,writeontheFMEAtableonlythehighestseverityratingforthatfailuremode.
8.Foreachfailuremode,determineallthepotentialrootcauses.Usetoolsclassifiedascause
analysistool,aswellasthebestknowledgeandexperienceoftheteam.Listallpossiblecauses
foreachfailuremodeontheFMEAform.
9.Foreachcause,determinetheoccurrencerating,orO.Thisratingestimatestheprobabilityof
failureoccurringforthatreasonduringthelifetimeofyourscope.Occurrenceisusuallyratedon
ascalefrom1to10,where1isextremelyunlikelyand10isinevitable.OntheFMEAtable,list
theoccurrenceratingforeachcause.
10.Foreachcause,identifycurrentprocesscontrols.Thesearetests,proceduresormechanisms
thatyounowhaveinplacetokeepfailuresfromreachingthecustomer.Thesecontrolsmight
preventthecausefromhappening,reducethelikelihoodthatitwillhappenordetectfailureafter
thecausehasalreadyhappenedbutbeforethecustomerisaffected.
11.Foreachcontrol,determinethedetectionrating,orD.Thisratingestimateshowwellthecontrols
candetecteitherthecauseoritsfailuremodeaftertheyhavehappenedbutbeforethecustomer
isaffected.Detectionisusuallyratedonascalefrom1to10,where1meansthecontrolis
absolutelycertaintodetecttheproblemand10meansthecontroliscertainnottodetectthe
problem(ornocontrolexists).OntheFMEAtable,listthedetectionratingforeachcause.
12.(Optionalformostindustries)Isthisfailuremodeassociatedwithacriticalcharacteristic?
(Criticalcharacteristicsaremeasurementsorindicatorsthatreflectsafetyorcompliancewith
governmentregulationsandneedspecialcontrols.)Ifso,acolumnlabeledClassification
receivesaYorNtoshowwhetherspecialcontrolsareneeded.Usually,criticalcharacteristics
haveaseverityof9or10andoccurrenceanddetectionratingsabove3.
13.Calculatetheriskprioritynumber,orRPN,whichequalsSOD.AlsocalculateCriticalityby
multiplyingseveritybyoccurrence,SO.Thesenumbersprovideguidanceforrankingpotential
failuresintheordertheyshouldbeaddressed.
14.Identifyrecommendedactions.Theseactionsmaybedesignorprocesschangestolower
severityoroccurrence.Theymaybeadditionalcontrolstoimprovedetection.Alsonotewhois
responsiblefortheactionsandtargetcompletiondates.
15.Asactionsarecompleted,noteresultsandthedateontheFMEAform.Also,notenewS,OorD
ratingsandnewRPNs.

FMEA Example
AbankperformedaprocessFMEAontheirATMsystem.Figure1showspartofitthefunctiondispense
cashandafewofthefailuremodesforthatfunction.TheoptionalClassificationcolumnwasnotused.
Onlytheheadingsareshownfortherightmost(action)columns.
NoticethatRPNandcriticalityprioritizecausesdifferently.AccordingtotheRPN,machinejamsand
heavycomputernetworktrafficarethefirstandsecondhighestrisks.
Onehighvalueforseverityoroccurrencetimesadetectionratingof10generatesahighRPN.Criticality
doesnotincludethedetectionrating,soitrateshighesttheonlycausewithmediumtohighvaluesforboth
severityandoccurrence:outofcash.Theteamshouldusetheirexperienceandjudgmenttodetermine

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appropriateprioritiesforaction.
ExcerptedfromNancyR.TaguesTheQualityToolbox,SecondEdition,ASQQualityPress,2004,pages
236240.

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