FAILURE MODE AND EFFECT ANALYSIS

(FMEA)

1. Definition of FMEA
FMEA is a systematic analysis of potential failure modes aimed at
preventing failures. It is intended to be a preventive action process carried out
before implementing new or changes in products or processes.

Ideally,FMEAs are conducted in the product design or process

development stages, although conducting it on existing products and processes
may also yield benefits.

An effective FMEA identifies corrective actions required to prevent

failures from reaching the customer; and to assure the highest possible yield,
quality, and reliability

2. Function of FMEA
Historically, engineers have done a good job of evaluating the functions
and the form of products and processes in the design phase. They have not always
done so well at designing in reliability and quality. Often the engineer uses safety
factors as a way of making sure that the design will work and protected the user
against product or process failure.

FMEA’s provide the engineer with a tool that can assist in providing
reliable, safe, and customer pleasing products and processes. Since FMEA help
the engineer identify potential product or process failures, they can use it to:

a. Develop product or process requirements that minimize the

likelihood of those failures.
b. Evaluate the requirements obtained from the customer or other
participants in the design process to ensure that those requirements
do not introduce potential failures.
c. Identify design characteristics that contribute to failures and design
them out of the system or at least minimize the resulting effects.
d. Develop methods and procedures to develop and test the
product/process to ensure that the failures have been successfully
eliminated.
e. Track and manage potential risks in the design. Tracking the risks
contributes to the development of corporate memory and the
success of future products as well.
 f. Ensure that any failures that could occur will not injure or seriously
impact the customer of the product/process.

3. How to use/ Steps of FMEA

The process for conducting an FMEA is straightforward. The basic steps
are outlined below.

1) Describe the product/process and its function. An understanding of the

product or process under consideration is important to have clearly
articulated. This understanding simplifies the process of analysis by
helping the engineer identify those product/process uses that fall within the
intended function and which ones fall outside. It is important to consider
both intentional and unintentional uses since product failure often ends in
litigation, which can be costly and time consuming.
2) Create a Block Diagram of the product or process. A block diagram of the
product/process should be developed. This diagram shows major
components or process steps as blocks connected together by lines that
indicate how the components or steps are related. The diagram shows the
logical relationships of components and establishes a structure around
which the FMEA can be developed. Establish a Coding System to identify
system elements. The block diagram should always be included with the
FMEA form.
3) Complete the header on the FMEA Form worksheet: Product/System,
Subsys./Assy., Component, Design Lead, Prepared By, Date, Revision
(letter or number), and Revision Date. Modify these headings as needed.
4) Use the diagram prepared above to begin listing items or functions. If
items are components, list them in a logical manner under their
subsystem/assembly based on the block diagram.
5) Identify Failure Modes. A failure mode is defined as the manner in which
a component, subsystem, system, process, etc. could potentially fail to
meet the design intent. Examples of potential failure modes include:
Corrosion
Hydrogen embrittlement
Electrical Short or Open
Torque Fatigue
Deformation
Cracking
6) A failure mode in one component can serve as the cause of a failure mode
in another component. Each failure should be listed in technical terms.
Failure modes should be listed for function of each component or process
step. At this point the failure mode should be identified whether or not the
failure is likely to occur. Looking at similar products or processes and the
failures that have been documented for them is an excellent starting point.
7) Describe the effects of those failure modes. For each failure mode
identified the engineer should determine what the ultimate effect will be.
A failure effect is defined as the result of a failure mode on the function of
the product/process as perceived by the customer. They should be
 described in terms of what the customer might see or experience should
the identified failure mode occur. Keep in mind the internal as well as the
external customer. Examples of failure effects include:
Injury to the user
Inoperability of the product or process
Improper appearance of the product or process
Odors
Degraded performance
Noise

Establish a numerical ranking for the severity of the effect. A common

industry standard scale uses 1 to represent no effect and 10 to indicate very
severe with failure affecting system operation and safety without warning.
The intent of the ranking is to help the analyst determine whether a failure
would be a minor nuisance or a catastrophic occurrence to the customer.
This enables the engineer to prioritize the failures and address the real big
issues first.
8) Identify the causes for each failure mode. A failure cause is defined as a
design weakness that may result in a failure. The potential causes for each
failure mode should be identified and documented. The causes should be
listed in technical terms and not in terms of symptoms. Examples of
potential causes include:
Improper torque applied
Improper operating conditions
Contamination
Erroneous algorithms
Improper alignment
Excessive loading
Excessive voltage
9) Enter the Probability factor. A numerical weight should be assigned to
each cause that indicates how likely that cause is (probability of the cause
occuring). A common industry standard scale uses 1 to represent not likely
and 10 to indicate inevitable.
10) Identify Current Controls (design or process). Current Controls (design or
process) are the mechanisms that prevent the cause of the failure mode
from occurring or which detect the failure before it reaches the Customer.
The engineer should now identify testing, analysis, monitoring, and other
techniques that can or have been used on the same or similar
products/processes to detect failures. Each of these controls should be
assessed to determine how well it is expected to identify or detect failure
modes. After a new product or process has been in use previously
undetected or unidentified failure modes may appear. The FMEA should
 then be updated and plans made to address those failures to eliminate them
from the product/process.
11) Determine the likelihood of Detection. Detection is an assessment of the
likelihood that the Current Controls (design and process) will detect the
Cause of the Failure Mode or the Failure Mode itself, thus preventing it
from reaching the Customer. Based on the Current Controls, consider the
likelihood of Detection using the following table for guidance.
12) Review Risk Priority Numbers (RPN). The Risk Priority Number is a
mathematical product of the numerical Severity, Probability, and
Detection ratings:
RPN = (Severity) x (Probability) x (Detection)
The RPN is used to prioritize items than require additional quality
planning or action.
13) Determine Recommended Action(s) to address potential failures that have
a high RPN. These actions could include specific inspection, testing or
quality procedures; selection of different components or materials; de-
rating; limiting environmental stresses or operating range; redesign of the
item to avoid the failure mode; monitoring mechanisms; performing
preventative maintenance; and inclusion of back-up systems or
redundancy.
14) Assign Responsibility and a Target Completion Date for these actions.
This makes responsibility clear-cut and facilitates tracking.
15) Indicate Actions Taken. After these actions have been taken, re-assess the
severity, probability and detection and review the revised RPN’s. Are any
further actions required?
16) Update the FMEA as the design or process changes, the assessment
changes or new information becomes known.

4. The Example of Implementasion

The example of implementation of FMEA is in a case study: “A Process
FMEA Tool to Enhance Quality and Efficiency of Manufacturing Industry”.
The study has attempted to present an effective tool for solving the
problem of manufacturing process quality by executing process FMEA with
proposed process control practices. This paper aims to identify and
eliminate current and potential problems from a manufacturing process of
cylinder head in the company through the application of Failure Mode and
Effects Analysis (FMEA) for improving the reliability of sub systems in order to
ensure the quality which in turn enhances the bottom line of a manufacturing
industry. Thus the various possible causes of failure and their effects along
with the prevention are discussed in this work. Severity values, Occurrence
number, Detection and Risk Priority Number (RPN) are some
parameters, which need to be determined. Furthermore, some actions are
proposed which require to be taken as quickly as possible to avoid
potential risks which aid to improve efficiency and effectiveness of cylinder
head manufacturing processes and increase the customer satisfaction. The
prevention suggested in this paper can considerably decrease the loss to the
industry in term of both money time and quality.