Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (FMEA)

AKSHAY .D. PAWAR

Learning Objectives
To understand what is FMEA and its history. To understand the use of Failure Modes Effect

Analysis (FMEA).
To learn the steps for developing FMEA. Example.

What is FMEA?
Failure Mode and Effects Analysis

(FMEA) is a systematic team driven approach to analyze and discover:

1. All potential failure modes of a system. 2. The effects these failures have on the system. 3. How to correct the failures or the effects on the

system. [The correction usually based on a ranking of the severity and probability of the failure]

History of FMEA
FMEA was formally introduced in US Army in the

late 1940s with the introduction of the military standard. By the early 1960s, contractors for the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) were using FMEA for avoiding failure in rocket and other space crafts. Ford Motor Company introduced FMEA to automotive in the late 1970s for safety and regulatory consideration after the disastrous "Pinto" affair.

"A large safety factor does not necessarily translate into a reliable product. Instead, it often leads to an overdesigned product with reliability problems." -Failure Analysis Beats Murphey's Law

Why to use FMEA?

Contributes to improved designs for products and

processes. Higher reliability Better quality Increased safety Enhanced customer satisfaction Contributes to cost savings. Decreases development time and re-design costs Decreases warranty costs Decreases waste, non-value added operations Contributes to continuous improvement. Improve internal and external customer satisfaction. Focus on prevention.

 Cost benefits associated with FMEA are

usually expected to come from the ability to identify failure modes earlier in the process, when they are less expensive to address. rule of ten If the problem costs Rs.100 when it is discovered in the field, then It may cost Rs.10 if discovered during the final test But it may cost Rs.1 if discovered during an incoming inspection. Even better it may cost Rs.0.10 if discovered during the design or process engineering phase

FMEA: A Team Tool

A team approach is necessary.

Team should be led by the Black Belt, a

responsible manufacturing engineer or technical person, or other similar individual familiar with FMEA. The following should be considered for team members:
Design Engineers Process Engineers Materials Suppliers Customers Operators Reliability Suppliers

Steps to conduct a FMEA

Identify components and associated functions. 2. Identify failure modes. 3. Identify effects of the failure modes. 4. Determine severity of the failure mode. 5. Determine probability of occurrence. 6. Assign detection rating 7. Calculate RPN. 8. Develop an action plan to address high RPNs. 9. Take action. 10. Reevaluate the RPN after the actions are completed.
1.

Step 1: Identify components and associated functions

The first step of an FMEA is to identify all of the

components to be evaluated. This may include all of the parts that constitute the product or, if the focus is only part of a product, the parts that make up the applicable sub-assemblies. The function(s) of each part within in the product are briefly described.

Step 2: Identify failure modes

The potential failure mode(s) for each part are

identified. Failure modes can include but are not limited to followings:
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.

7.
8.

complete failures intermittent failures partial failures failures over time incorrect operation premature operation failure to cease functioning at allotted time failure to function at allotted time

It is important to consider that a part may have

more than one mode of failure.

Step 3: Identify effects of the failure modes

For each failure mode identified, the

consequences or effects on product, property and people are listed. These effects are best described as seen though the eyes of the customer. Here the brainstorming is used to find the consequences.

Step 4: Determine severity of the failure mode

Definition: assessment of the seriousness of

the effect(s) of the potential failure mode on the next component, subsystem, or customer if it occurs Severity ranking varies from 1 = Not Severe to 10 = Very Severe

Severity Ranking
Effect None Very Slight Slight Minor Moderate Severe Rank 1 2 3 4 5 6 Criteria No effect Negligible effect on Performance. Some users may notice. Slight effect on performance. Non vital faults will be noticed by many users Minor effect on performance. User is slightly dissatisfied. Reduced performance with gradual performance degradation. User dissatisfied. Degraded performance, but safe and usable. User dissatisfied.

High Severity
Very High Severity Extreme Severity Maximum Severity

7
8 9 10

Very poor performance. Very dissatisfied user.

Inoperable but safe. Probable failure with hazardous effects. Compliance with regulation is unlikely. Unpredictable failure with hazardous effects almost certain. Non-compliant with regulations.

Step 5: Determine probability of occurrence

This step involves determining or estimating the

probability that a given cause or failure mode will occur. The probability of occurrence can be determined from field data or history of previous products. If this information is not available, a subjective rating is made based on the experience and knowledge of the cross-functional experts.

Occurrence Ranking
Occurrence Rank Criteria

Extremely Unlikely
Remote Likelihood Very Low Likelihood Low Likelihood Moderately Low Likelihood Medium Likelihood Moderately High Likelihood Very High Severity

1
2 3 4 5 6 7 8

Less than 0.01 per thousand

0.1 per thousand rate of occurrence 0.5 per thousand rate of occurrence 1 per thousand rate of occurrence 2 per thousand rate of occurrence 5 per thousand rate of occurrence 10 per thousand rate of occurrence 20 per thousand rate of occurrence

Extreme Severity
Maximum Severity

9
10

50 per thousand rate of occurrence

100 per thousand rate of occurrence

Step 6: Assign detection rating

The detection effectiveness rating estimates how

well the cause or failure mode can be prevented or detected. If more than one detection technique is used for a given cause or failure mode, an effectiveness rating is given to the group of controls.

Detection Ranking
Detection Extremely Likely Very High Likelihood Rank 1 2 Criteria Can be corrected prior to prototype/ Controls will almost certainly detect Can be corrected prior to design release/Very High probability of detection

High Likelihood
Moderately High Likelihood Medium Likelihood Moderately Low Likelihood Low Likelihood Very Low Likelihood Remote Likelihood Extremely Unlikely

3
4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Likely to be corrected/High probability of detection

Design controls are moderately effective Design controls have an even chance of working Design controls may miss the problem Design controls are likely to miss the problem Design controls have a poor chance of detection Unproven, unreliable design/poor chance for detection No design technique available/Controls will not detect

Step 7: Calculate Risk Priority Number (RPN)

RPN is the product of the severity, occurrence,

and detection scores.

Severity

Occurrence

Detection

RPN

Selecting the vital problems

RPN is used for selecting vital problem by setting

some threshold limit and working on all potential failures above this limit. Another approach is to arrange the RPN values in a Pareto plot and give attention to those potential failures with the highest ratings

 Compare failure modes A and B. A has nearly

four times the RPN of B, yet B has a severity of failure that would cause safety risk and complete system shutdown. Failure by A would cause only a slight effect on product performance. It achieves its high RPN value because it is not possible to detect the defect that is causing the failure. Certainly failure B is more critical than A and should be given prompt attention.

The FMEA Form

Identify failure modes and their effects

Identify causes of the failure modes and controls

Prioritize

Determine and assess actions

Example

Applications for FMEA

Process - analyze manufacturing and assembly

processes. Design - analyze products before they are released for production. Equipment - analyze machinery and equipment design before they are purchased. Service - analyze service industry processes before they are released to impact the customer.

THANK YOU