How to Get Better Results with FMEAs, in Less Time

Defining ‘time’ [taim, noun]

The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines “time” as “the measured or measurable period during which an action, process, or condition exists or continues.”

Common complaint about FMEAs

FMEAs have many well-known benefits when done properly. One of the challenges for FMEA teams is to conduct their assigned FMEAs within the time available during the product development process. FMEA is a team-based activity, and subject matter experts have many tasks competing for their limited time. Knowing how to run these sessions efficiently is itself a skill—learn more about facilitating FMEAs effectively to keep teams focused and productive.

As stated in the lead-in to this article, a common complaint about FMEAs is that they can take a long time to do. Most companies realize the importance of FMEAs and are committed to implementing FMEAs. However, time considerations are not trivial. Part of working smarter with FMEAs involves recognizing where teams go wrong—and converting FMEA mistakes into quality objectives is a practical way to turn those lessons into lasting improvement.

It is essential for successful FMEA implementation to ensure that the in-meeting time that involves the subject matter experts is utilized in the most efficient and effective manner, with no time wasted. Techniques to reduce in-meeting time, while improving the quality of results, should be pursued.

What are some strategies to reduce FMEA in-meeting time?

Over the years, many excellent strategies have been used to keep FMEA in-meeting time as short as possible, without reducing the quality of results. In fact, many of these strategies, if properly applied, will improve the FMEA outcomes. The following is a partial list of such strategies.

1. Make Sure the FMEA Team Fully Understands FMEA Definitions and Concepts

There is no substitute for learning and applying the fundamental concepts and definitions of FMEA. Even the most experienced FMEA practitioners should continue to improve their understanding of the basics. FMEA teams that are led by someone who has a rock-solid grasp of fundamentals will avoid lengthy discussions on trivial topics and wrong procedures.

2. Improve FMEA Facilitation Skills

FMEA facilitation is a different subject from FMEA methodology. Poorly led FMEA teams will not achieve excellent results. To be successful, FMEA leaders need to develop expert facilitation skills. FMEA teams led by a skilled facilitator will keep meeting discussions on topic and drive the FMEA process forward without wasting time.

3. Make Good Use of Past FMEAs and Field Data

Every FMEA does not need to start from scratch. Past FMEAs, if done well, can be an important time-saver, as long as each portion is reviewed for relevance before use. Prioritized field data is a critical input to for most FMEAs, specifically for similar applications. The FMEA team should ensure past field issues are not repeated.

4. Consider Using Generic FMEAs to Save Time

Generic FMEAs contain up to 80% or more of anticipated and known failure modes, effects, causes, and controls. This can save considerable time when a new or modified design or process is based on the current design or process. Change point analysis identifies the nature of the changes, and the FMEA team conducts the FMEA procedure on the changes to the generic FMEA.

5. Limit In-Meeting Discussion to Areas of Concern

It’s a good practice to limit failure modes to those of concern to at least one member of a properly constituted FMEA team. If one person has a concern, the issue is taken up by the team. But if no team member has a concern, the issue is not entered into the FMEA. This avoids in-meeting time on low-risk issues.

6. Do a Thorough Job of Pre-Meeting Preparation

Preparation tasks include defining the scope of the FMEA project, making the scope visible (FMEA Block Diagram, P-Diagram, etc.), establishing the correct cross-functional team, identifying relevant assumptions and gathering all needed information. If any of these preparation tasks are missing, valuable in-meeting time will be wasted.

7. Control In-Meeting Discussion to Stay Focused

This is really a subset of the facilitation skills. One of the most common problems that team leaders have is keeping the discussion on topic and focused on risk, and limiting off-topic conversations. FMEA team leaders need to intervene when there are side discussions, or when the discussion is not beneficial to the objective.

8. Use Sticky Notes When Brainstorming for New FMEA Ideas

One way to harness the creative energy of the FMEA team is to use “sticky notes” at the beginning of the FMEA analysis in order to save valuable time spent in meetings. For each item’s function, ask the FMEA team to write sticky notes for the primary concerns they have, not emphasizing if the concern is worded as a failure mode, effect or cause. The writing of the notes is done concurrently and placed on a wall, easily visible to the FMEA team and organized into similar groupings.

9. Use FMEA Pre-Population in Selected Circumstances

Reference the Inside FMEA article titled ” Discussing the Controversial Subject of FMEA Prepopulation.” As covered in this article:

Care must be exercised when considering pre-populating any portion of the FMEA. There are potential benefits and potential downsides to pre-population, and the team should be fully aware of the benefits and downsides.

Selective use of pre-population can speed up the in-meeting time. The referenced article discusses which portions of the FMEA can be pre-populated and how to avoid the shortcomings.

Summarizing, the best FMEA facilitators use strategies like the above to reduce in-meeting time. The long-term success or failure of FMEAs in a company can depend in part on the perceived value the FMEA compared to the investment of the in-meeting time of the participants. For a broader context on how to structure and prioritize your workload around FMEA activities, exploring time management strategies for FMEA can help teams allocate their limited hours more effectively.

FMEA Tip: Continuously Improve Your Team’s Meeting Efficiency

Use periodic process checks with your FMEA team and ask them if they have ideas how to save in-meeting time, without compromising the quality of results.