Failure Mode and Effects Analysis
Failure mode and effects analysis
A 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. A 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. It is widely used in manufacturing industries in various phases of the product life cycle and is now increasingly finding use in the service industry. 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.
Basic terms
FMEA cycle.
Failure
The loss of an intended function of a device under stated conditions.
Failure mode
The manner by which a failure is observed; it generally describes the way the failure occurs.
Failure effect
Immediate consequences of a failure on operation, function or functionality, or status of some item
Indenture levels
An identifier for item complexity. Complexity increases as levels are closer to one.
Local effect
The failure effect as it applies to the item under analysis.
Next higher level effect
The failure effect as it applies at the next higher indenture level.
End effect
The failure effect at the highest indenture level or total system.
Failure cause
Defects in design, process, quality, or part application, which are the underlying cause of the failure or which initiate a process which leads to failure.
Severity
The consequences of a failure mode. Severity considers the worst potential consequence of a failure, determined by the degree of injury, property damage, or system damage that could ultimately
A 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. A 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. It is widely used in manufacturing industries in various phases of the product life cycle and is now increasingly finding use in the service industry. 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.
Basic terms
FMEA cycle.
Failure
The loss of an intended function of a device under stated conditions.
Failure mode
The manner by which a failure is observed; it generally describes the way the failure occurs.
Failure effect
Immediate consequences of a failure on operation, function or functionality, or status of some item
Indenture levels
An identifier for item complexity. Complexity increases as levels are closer to one.
Local effect
The failure effect as it applies to the item under analysis.
Next higher level effect
The failure effect as it applies at the next higher indenture level.
End effect
The failure effect at the highest indenture level or total system.
Failure cause
Defects in design, process, quality, or part application, which are the underlying cause of the failure or which initiate a process which leads to failure.
Severity
The consequences of a failure mode. Severity considers the worst potential consequence of a failure, determined by the degree of injury, property damage, or system damage that could ultimately