III. A. 3. FMEA and FMECA

Making the most of FMEA

I have been working with clients recently who are keen users of FMEA. Getting engineers to contribute potential failures and their causes is not a problem with these clients, but ensuring that actions are correctly identified and followed up is not so easy. So, what goes wrong? What differentiates a good FMEA from a great FMEA? [Read more…]

by Fred Schenkelberg 5 Comments

10 Steps of FMEA

In Chapter 8 of The Basics of FMEA by Robin E. McDermott, et. al. discusses the ten steps for an FMEA. I find it to be an excellent summary for describing and conducting a failure mode and effect analysis.

Therefore based on the work of McDermott and others, plus my own experience here are the ten steps with my descriptions. [Read more…]

by Fred Schenkelberg 7 Comments

Effective FMEA Principles

Failure mode and effects analysis, or FMEA, is a tool for the identification and prioritization of possible ways a product or process can fail. The intent is to use that information to make improvements to the product or process.

I think of FMEA (and related processes like FMECA, dFMEA, etc.) as structured brainstorms that provide a means to focus on what’s important. [Read more…]