A Review: Implementation of Failure Mode and Effect Analysis

Abstract

failure modes and effects analysis (FMEA) is a procedure in product development and operations management for analysis of potential failure modes within a system for classification by the severity and likelihood of the failures. successful FMEA activity helps a team to identify potential failure modes based on past experience with similar products or processes, enabling the team to design those failures out of the system with the minimum of effort and resource expenditure, thereby reducing development time and costs. I. INTRODUCTION failure modes and effects analysis (FMEA) is a methodology in product development and operations management for analysis of potential failure modes within a system for classification by the severity and likelihood of the failures. successful FMEA activity helps a team to identify potential failure modes, based on past experience with similar products or processes. Failure modes are any errors or defects in a process, design, or item, especially those that affect the customer, and can be potential or actual. Effects analysis refers to studying the consequences of those failures. An example of this is the Apollo Space program. It was also used as application for Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) for the Apollo Space Program, and later the food industry in general. The primary push came during the 1960s, while developing the means to put a man on the moon and return him safely to earth. In the late 1970s the Ford Motor Company introduced FMEA to the automotive industry for safety and regulatory consideration after the Pinto affair. They applied the same approach to processes (PFMEA) to consider potential process induced failures prior to launching production. It is integrated into the Automotive Industry Action Group's (AIAG), Advanced Product Quality Planning (APQP) process to provide risk mitigation in both product and process development phases. Each potential cause must be considered for its effect on the product or process and based on the risk, actions are determined and risks revisited after actions are complete. Toyota has taken this one step further with its Design Review Based on Failure Mode (DRBFM) approach. The method is now supported by the American Society for Quality which provides detailed guides on applying the method. FMEA can provide an analytical approach, when dealing with potential failure modes and their associated causes. When considering possible failures in a design - like safety, cost, performance, quality and reliability - an engineer can get a lot of information about how to alter the development/manufacturing process in order to avoid these failures. The process for conducting an FMEA developed in three main phases, in which appropriate actions need to be defined. But, before starting with an FMEA, it is important to complete some pre-work to confirm that robustness and past history are included in the analysis. A. What is an FMEA? A systematic process for identifying potential design and process failures before they occur, with the intent to eliminate or minimize the risk associated with them FMEA procedures are based on standards in the reliability engineering industry, both military and commercial. (4)

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