FMEA (Failure Mode & Effect Analysis) is an approach used for collecting knowledge about possible points of failure in a design, process, product or service. It can often be used as a risk assessment tool to ensure that all aspects are working correctly and as intended.
Failure Mode & Effect Analysis (FMEA) Meaning
Failure Mode (FM) looks at the way something could break down and outlining any potential errors or issues that could occur, especially those issues that could affect the customer.
Effect Analysis (EA) includes deciphering the consequences that may occur due to the breakdowns and errors found in the failure mode testing.
FMEA will ensure the detection of all possible issue and can help to determine how frequently an issue could occur. Having this can help to identify which potential problems should be addressed as a priority. For this reason, FMEA is often used as a risk assessment tool.
Different Types of FMEA
There are 3 main types of FMEA analysis:
Design FMEA (DFMEA) –
Design DMEA (DFMEA) focuses on preventing possible system, product or process failures. DFMEA is usually used to outline any potential failures, assess how bad the effect could potentially be, and plan around how to prevent and mitigate failures for the future. The DFMEA process helps engineers to detect any potential failures early on so that they can be corrected without being costly to the customer.
Process FMEA (PFMEA) –
Process FMEA (PFMEA) focuses on outlining potential risks to any processes. PFMEA helps engineers to identify key process functions, failure modes and effects to help customers to understand the possible risks for each process step as early as possible.
Functional FMEA (FFMEA) –
Functional FMEA (FFMEA) focuses on avoiding possible failures in a process before corrective actions are undertaken. FFMEA helps to identify and prioritize any potential functional failure modes.
Why Perform FMEA Testing And Analysis?
The idea behind performing FMEA testing and analysis is that the sooner a potential risk or failure is discovered, the less it will cost.
If a potential failure is discovered later in the development process or just before launch, the impact is much harder to come back from.
FMEA testing and analysis is one of the many tools that are used to discover failure points in a process as early as in product or process design.
Discovering a failure early in the development process by using FMEA provides the added benefits of:
- Having multiple options/choices for mitigating the risk
- A higher capability of verification and validation of changes
- Improved design for manufacturing and assembly
- Collaboration between design of the product and the development process
- Low-cost solutions
When To Perform FMEA Testing And Analysis?
There are several times when it makes sense to perform a Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (FMEA) test:
- When designing a new product, process or service
- When planning on performing an existing process differently
- To fully understand and improve the failures of a process
- When you have an improvement goal for a specific process
It is best to perform a FMEA test and analysis throughout the development process. The overall quality and reliability must be examined and improved at all stages to ensure optimal results.
How Best To Use FMEA?
FMEA is best used when a process, product, or service is being designed, redesigned, or evaluated. It is most helpful when used:
- Before developing plans for a new or modified process
- When an existing process, product, or service is being applied in a new way
- When your improvement goals are planned for an existing process, product, or service
- When analysing failures of an existing process, product, or service
The Benefits Of Using FMEA?
There are many benefits to using FMEA testing in the development process. FMEA offers organisations the following benefits:
- It gives them an early way to identify and mitigate potential modes of failure;
- It helps to minimise the time needed to make changes to a project due to potential issues;
- It helps to reduce the risk of a problem happening more than once,
- It helps to provide prompts to follow when facing a potential issue or risk;
- It helps to promote collaboration among teams that handle areas such as design, manufacturing, quality, and testing
- It helps to reduce the cost involved in the development process by avoiding fixing issues in development.
Using FMEA With Bermondsey Electronics
At Bermondsey Electronics, our services are designed to standardise processes and rigorously test both software and firmware, ensuring reliability and mitigating potential risks throughout your development cycle.
Our team will use FMEA to identify potential failure modes, their causes and effects, and propose mitigating actions. We will also assess and score the probability and severity of each risk to prioritise the most critical issues.
