How to FMEA

Why the FMEA?

The Failure Mode and Effects Analysis is a tool, it is my preferred tool – so if you have an other tool it can be just as easily used in place of the FMEA. In truth there are many tools that can be used for the task, analysing the risk and planning mitigations is the objective.

My preference for the FMEA tool and the process around it, is based on experience of use. I like the fact that it involves people on the ground and makes use of existing experience in the organisation, the people who know the most about the risks are already sitting at desks and are usually keen to be involved.

Getting the most from the FMEA.

What is the purpose of the Failure Mode and Effects Analysis and what is the process required to get good results from it?

The basic function of the FMEA is to determine the likelihood and impact of a risk, allowing effective targeting of the effort expended in mitigation. Having a group of people from within the business is by far and away the best way to action the FMEA, this utilises the knowledge and experience that these people have gained while there.

What format for the FMEA?

In general I have found a less structured format to be the most effective, having to stick to rigidly enforced agendas and topics does produce results – but can stifel engagement and additional topics being brought in.

Generally I would produce a list of the likely impact issues, these are the ones that the impact assessment has highlighted. They may already be available in the form of a Risk Register, in which case use the register as the stating point for the meeting.

The process is relatively straight forward, where each risk is looked at in turn and assigned a severity – once the severity value is assigned you have the order of business for the meeting. You can then address the impacts from most serious to least serious assigning the likelihood and detectability numbers to calculate the RPN. This will give you the order in which you should look at the mitigation strategy, with the highest RPN addressed first.

Mitigation Strategy

The mitigation strategies that you employ can make a huge difference to the way that an impact is felt, they may be as simple as calling a customer or alternate supplier all the way to having an alternate operating location for the business.

Only once you have identified the risks and analysed the impact on the business can you mitigate them.

Who should attend the FMEA?

The simple answer is anyone likely to be affected by the impact, although this isn’t always a practical solution. More commonly for the FMEA it would be people from the area of the business directly impacted, but it can be good to have attendee’s from any department where there could be a knock on effect as they may well have valuable input.

Is there a FMEA template?

There are a number of FMEA templates available to download, once completed our downloads section will provide a number of suitable templates that can assist with the process.