Understanding FMEA – Failure Mode and Effect Analysis

FMEA stands for Failure Mode and Effect Analysis, a systematic and proactive approach used to identify potential failures or problems in a product, process, or system within the workplace.

FMEA is widely used in industries such as manufacturing, healthcare, automotive, and aerospace to prevent or minimize the risk of failure or errors.

It is an important tool for promoting the safety, reliability, and quality of products and processes, and is often used in conjunction with other quality management systems and tools to mitigate problems before they arise.

Below you’ll find information on the origins and applications of FMEA, how to use it, and how to gain the skills to required to implement FMEA successfully within your organization’s processes.

The origins of FMEA

The U.S military first began using failure modes and effects analysis in the 1950s in a bid to predict potential failures in designs.

It was originally developed by reliability engineers to study problems which might arise with military machinery but was soon incorporated into wider industries and procedures.

It is now used extensively for analyses of function, design and process within multiple industries and at many levels.

Why do I need FMEA?

Discovering a fault in a product or service before it reaches your client saves you time, money and your reputation!

FMEA can be deployed at every level of a service, or product, to check for potential issues with quality, function, or processes.

It is also beneficial when looking to improve or refine specific areas within existing processes, saving time and money on costly mistakes which otherwise wouldn’t come to light until much later.

FMEA is advantageous at every stage from initial development through to periodic evaluation.

How do I use FMEA?

Product development teams, operations managers, and so on, can utilize FMEA to analyze potential failure risks within systems then classify them according to severity and likelihood, resulting in improved safety, quality and customer satisfaction.

In order to do this there are various templates and roadmaps which must be utilized.

The following steps give a simple overview of the process:

• Identify potential failures and effects

• Determine severity

• Assess likelihood of occurrence

• Failure detection

• Risk priority number

Ideally, training should be offered to employees engaging with the FMEA process so that there is complete engagement and understanding of the principles and processes involved.

This encourages successful implementation and evaluation, and should be offered across the board where possible.

If you’d like to find out more about FMEA training and how it can help your business, please contact a member of the Creative Word Training team now and we’ll be happy to answer any questions you might have.

Alternatively, you can book your place on our FMEA course here.