14/11/2015

BasicConceptsofFMEAandFMECA
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Issue46,December2004

ReliabilityHotWire

ReliabilityBasics
BasicConceptsofFMEAandFMECA
FailureModeandEffectsAnalysis(FMEA)andFailureModes,EffectsandCriticalityAnalysis(FMECA)aremethodologiesdesignedtoidentify
potentialfailuremodesforaproductorprocess,toassesstheriskassociatedwiththosefailuremodes,toranktheissuesintermsof
importanceandtoidentifyandcarryoutcorrectiveactionstoaddressthemostseriousconcerns.
Althoughthepurpose,terminologyandotherdetailscanvaryaccordingtotype(e.g.ProcessFMEA,DesignFMEA,etc.),thebasic
methodologyissimilarforall.ThisarticlepresentsabriefgeneraloverviewofFMEA/FMECAanalysistechniquesandrequirements.
FMEA/FMECAOverview
Ingeneral,FMEA/FMECArequirestheidentificationofthefollowingbasicinformation:
Item(s)
Function(s)
Failure(s)
Effect(s)ofFailure
Cause(s)ofFailure
CurrentControl(s)
RecommendedAction(s)
Plusotherrelevantdetails
Mostanalysesofthistypealsoincludesomemethodtoassesstheriskassociatedwiththeissuesidentifiedduringtheanalysisandto
prioritizecorrectiveactions.Twocommonmethodsinclude:
RiskPriorityNumbers(RPNs)
CriticalityAnalysis(FMEAwithCriticalityAnalysis=FMECA)
PublishedStandardsandGuidelines
ThereareanumberofpublishedguidelinesandstandardsfortherequirementsandrecommendedreportingformatofFMEAsandFMECAs.
SomeofthemainpublishedstandardsforthistypeofanalysisincludeSAEJ1739,AIAGFMEA4andMILSTD1629A.Inaddition,many
industriesandcompanieshavedevelopedtheirownprocedurestomeetthespecificrequirementsoftheirproducts/processes.Figure1shows
asampleProcessFMEAintheAutomotiveIndustryActionGroup(AIAG)FMEA4format.

BasicAnalysisProcedureforFMEAorFMECA
ThebasicstepsforperforminganFMEA/FMECAanalysisinclude:
Assembletheteam.
Establishthegroundrules.
Gatherandreviewrelevantinformation.
Identifytheitem(s)orprocess(es)tobeanalyzed.
Identifythefunction(s),failure(s),effect(s),cause(s)andcontrol(s)foreachitemorprocesstobeanalyzed.
Evaluatetheriskassociatedwiththeissuesidentifiedbytheanalysis.
Prioritizeandassigncorrectiveactions.
Performcorrectiveactionsandreevaluaterisk.
Distribute,reviewandupdatetheanalysis,asappropriate.
RiskEvaluationMethods
AtypicalFMEAincorporatessomemethodtoevaluatetheriskassociatedwiththepotentialproblemsidentifiedthroughtheanalysis.Thetwo
mostcommonmethods,RiskPriorityNumbersandCriticalityAnalysis,aredescribednext.
RiskPriorityNumbers
TousetheRiskPriorityNumber(RPN)methodtoassessrisk,theanalysisteammust:
Ratetheseverityofeacheffectoffailure.
Ratethelikelihoodofoccurrenceforeachcauseoffailure.

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BasicConceptsofFMEAandFMECA
Ratethelikelihoodofpriordetectionforeachcauseoffailure(i.e.thelikelihoodofdetectingtheproblembeforeitreachesthe
enduserorcustomer).
CalculatetheRPNbyobtainingtheproductofthethreeratings:
RPN=SeverityxOccurrencexDetection

TheRPNcanthenbeusedtocompareissueswithintheanalysisandtoprioritizeproblemsforcorrectiveaction.
CriticalityAnalysis
TheMILSTD1629Adocumentdescribestwotypesofcriticalityanalysis:quantitativeandqualitative.Tousethequantitativecriticality
analysismethod,theanalysisteammust:
Definethereliability/unreliabilityforeachitem,atagivenoperatingtime.
Identifytheportionoftheitemsunreliabilitythatcanbeattributedtoeachpotentialfailuremode.
Ratetheprobabilityofloss(orseverity)thatwillresultfromeachfailuremodethatmayoccur.
Calculatethecriticalityforeachpotentialfailuremodebyobtainingtheproductofthethreefactors:
ModeCriticality=ItemUnreliabilityxModeRatioofUnreliabilityxProbabilityofLoss
Calculatethecriticalityforeachitembyobtainingthesumofthecriticalitiesforeachfailuremodethathasbeenidentifiedforthe
item.
ItemCriticality=SUMofModeCriticalities
Tousethequalitativecriticalityanalysismethodtoevaluateriskandprioritizecorrectiveactions,theanalysisteammust:
Ratetheseverityofthepotentialeffectsoffailure.
Ratethelikelihoodofoccurrenceforeachpotentialfailuremode.
ComparefailuremodesviaaCriticalityMatrix,whichidentifiesseverityonthehorizontalaxisandoccurrenceontheverticalaxis.
ApplicationsandBenefits
TheFMEA/FMECAanalysisprocedureisatoolthathasbeenadaptedinmanydifferentwaysformanydifferentpurposes.Itcancontributeto
improveddesignsforproductsandprocesses,resultinginhigherreliability,betterquality,increasedsafety,enhancedcustomersatisfaction
andreducedcosts.Thetoolcanalsobeusedtoestablishandoptimizemaintenanceplansforrepairablesystemsand/orcontributetocontrol
plansandotherqualityassuranceprocedures.Itprovidesaknowledgebaseoffailuremodeandcorrectiveactioninformationthatcanbe
usedasaresourceinfuturetroubleshootingeffortsandasatrainingtoolfornewengineers.Inaddition,anFMEAorFMECAisoftenrequired
tocomplywithsafetyandqualityrequirements,suchasISO9001,QS9000,ISO/TS16949,SixSigma,FDAGoodManufacturingPractices
(GMPs),ProcessSafetyManagementAct(PSM),etc.
ReliaSoft'sXfmeasoftwarefacilitatesanalysis,datamanagementandreportingforfailuremodeandeffectsanalysis(FMEA)andfailure
modes,effectsandcriticalityanalysis(FMECA).Thesoftwaresupportsallmajorstandards(AIAGFMEA3,J1739,ARP5580,MILSTD1629A,
etc.)andprovidesextensivecustomizationcapabilitiesforanalysisandreporting,allowingyoutoconfigurethesoftwaretomeetyour
organization'sspecificanalysisandreportingproceduresforalltypesofFMEA/FMECA.
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