Failure mode and effect analysis (FMEA) is a helpful tool to decide the necessary measures and take the corrective actions towards an identified root cause of a problem.

It also helps to improve systems and product design. This technique is also known as failure mode and critical analysis (FEMCA) or simply failure modes.

When to Use FMEA?

FMEA is useful for avoiding future errors and improving the reliability of the process and the product. You can use it in the following cases:

• During the development of a new product or process.
• Before you make changes to a product or process.
• After identifying an error in a process or product.
• When receiving numerous and consistent complaints from customers.
• When sale support costs are unusually high.
• When a company’s credibility is at stake.

This technique is not confined to any industry or technology.

FEMA process:

To implement FEMA effectively, it is important to include experts in your problem-solving team who can determine the critical factors and evaluate the severity of each one. This will help to prioritize the problems and make immediate actions to mitigate their impacts. That can be in accordance with other methods like (Pareto law).

1. Assemble a team:

The problem-solving team must include both experts and workers who are close to the problem because they see details more than anyone else in the organization does, and are able to provide helpful data to the decision-maker.

2. Define the problem:

Defining the problem is the most important step in any problem-solving technique. As it is the building block of the whole process.

3. Write down the identified problems in the following table:

SEV (Severity): This shows the level of threat of the defect on the system.

OCC (Occurrence): Prediction of how often the issue may happen.

DET (Detection): How likely can the problem be detected?

• For each potential cause, experts should assign a value from one to ten, as one is absolute unlikely and ten is absolute likely.
• Compile the causes and their values in the table.
• Multiply the severity, occurrence and detection to have the RPN (Risk probability number), which will provide the overall score of each cause.
• Finally put the list of causes in a descending order according to their RPN and divide them in three categories (low, medium and high priority).
• You will target the high priority causes and start taking actions to mitigate their impact and find a fundamental solution.

Example:

After defining the problem due to receiving complaints from customers. Two physical causes were determined (inefficient vehicles and inventory system failure). The problem-solving team conducted FMEA as the following: