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FMEA: A Risk
Prioritization Tool |
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by
Ray Mikulak |
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 An
FMEA is a tool that helps us focus on and understand
potential process or product risks. During the course of an
FMEA study, teams identify potential risks, prioritize them
in ranked order, and then develop an action plan to reduce
the risks associated with the product or process under
study.
The FMEA process is a systematic approach to study a product
or process in detail. The step-by-step process prioritizes
potential risks using a relative rating scale. The risk is a
function of three factors: the severity of the effect of a
failure; the frequency of occurrence of the failure or cause
of the failure; and the ability to detect or prevent the
failure, effect of failure, or cause of failure before or
after it has occurred. By evaluating each failure mode and
effect in terms of these three factors, a Risk Priority
Number (RPN) is generated. The RPN is used to rank the
relative risks associated with the product or process; the
higher the RPN, the higher the relative risk.
Unlike many quality improvement tools, FMEAs do not require
complicated statistics. FMEA studies can help organizations
significantly improve processes and products as well as
reduce the potential liability of a process or product that
does not perform as promised.
For more
information on FMEAs, please
visit our FMEA
Resource Center.
Ray Mikulak
is president of Resource Engineering, Inc. You can
contact him at 800-810-8326 or 802-496-5888 or by e-mail. |
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Product
Focus from Carolyn Burke
FMEA Investigator
Web- and Computer-Based Training |
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 Because
the foundation of an FMEA is the input of team
members, several people are typically involved in
these studies. Proper training enables team members
to contribute effectively and work efficiently
through an FMEA study. Our FMEA course, FMEA
Investigator, is a self-directed computer-based
training program. Learners will be trained in a
step-by-step approach for conducting FMEAs; they can
take the training at times convenience to their
schedules rather than waiting for classroom training
sessions to be organized.
FMEA Investigator has three units: FMEA Overview,
Design-FMEAs, and Process-FMEAs. Each unit contains
lessons to divide the content into manageable
learning segments. At the end of each unit, learners
have access to a Challenge to test their
comprehension of the body of knowledge covered in
the unit. We also have a service version of
FMEA Investigator. The service version is
ideal for non-manufacturing settings. While
both programs provide training on conducting FMEAs,
the service version features service/office oriented
examples and does not have the unit on design FMEAs
since service settings are process-oriented.
Want to try out a free FMEA training lesson? Click here.
Carolyn
Burke is Sr. Customer Service Representative.
She can be reached toll free directly at
866-791-1003 or by e-mail. |
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What's New?
Check out our new
Failure Mode and Effects
Analysis Resource Center. It's
FREE and has lots of helpful
information for people just learning about FMEAs as well as some
interesting information that folks who have been using FMEAs for years
should find interesting.
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Robin's Training Tip
Affordable Customization
Options with Our Training |
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 From
time to time, customers ask if we can customize our training
for their company. Of course, our answer is "Yes!"
Then comes the next question, "How much will it cost?"
The answer to that is, "It depends."
One of the
benefits of off-the-shelf courseware like we sell is that
you get a product that took thousands of hours to create for
a small fraction of the development cost because thousands
of people (our customers) are sharing in the cost of
developing the product. When you start talking about
customization, you are talking about totally bearing the
cost of content development and programming yourself.
So, how do you
get training tailored to your needs, but still enjoy the
cost benefits of off-the-shelf training? Here are a
couple of ideas:
1. Do a follow-on workshop.
Many of our customers follow-up our e-learning courses with
a two to four hour workshop. The workshops typically
provide a brief review of key concepts, allow learners to
ask questions about the content, and include exercises to
help learners transfer the training to their jobs.
2. Create custom training
modules to supplement the off-the-shelf courses.
After years of work to improve our own productivity for
developing web-based training, we are now able to offer
custom web-based courses to our customers at an affordable
price. These custom and proprietary modules can then
be added to our existing modules to create an inexpensive
custom training solution. Please contact us for more
information on this option.
Robin McDermott is director of
training for Resource Engineering, Inc. You can
contact her at 800-810-8326 or 802-496-5888 or by
e-mail. |
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Tips to Make FMEAs
More Effective |
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Customize the rating scales:
While industry guidelines suggest customizing
generic ranking scales, they do not require it.
However, by taking the time to add organization-specific
examples of applications of the ranking definitions,
FMEA teams will have an easier time applying the scales.
The use of meaningful, relevant examples saves teams
time and improves consistency of rankings from team to
team.
Use the same (custom) ranking
scales throughout the organization: Once a
custom set of ranking Scales are developed, use them for
every FMEA study conducted in the organization. By using
the same scales, the RPN for every failure mode and
effect can be compared on a relative level and the
highest potential risks for the organization can
identified.
Add a Control Plan right to the
FMEA Worksheet: Control Plans ensure a system
is in place to control the risks of the same failure
modes identified in the FMEA. While Control Plans can be
developed independently of FMEAs, it is time- and
cost-effective to link Control Plans directly to FMEAs.
The Control Plan describes how each potential failure
mode will be controlled and how it should be reacted to
if it (the failure mode) does occur. To add a control
plan component to an FMEA, add “columns” to the FMEA Worksheet
for the control factors, the specifications and
tolerances, the measurement system, sample size, sample
frequency, the control method, and the reaction plan.
Use a team approach:
A team will be able to generate a more comprehensive
list of potential failures than any one individual could
do. A team approach will lead to a richer and more
accurate analysis of the risks associated
with a process or design. |
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