Design Reviews Based on Failure Mode (DRBFMs)

Design Review Based on Failure Mode (DRBFM) is a methodology used to evaluate proposed changes to an existing item. It was developed by Tatsuhiko Yoshimura, working with Toyota Motor Corporation. DRBFM uses a worksheet modeled after the FMEA worksheet, but some of the relevant differences include:

• DRBFM usually focuses on changes to an existing design.
• DRBFM focuses on "points of concern" to the engineers.
• DRBFM follows the GD3 philosophy:
  • Good Design
  • Good Discussion
  • Good Design Review
• The structure of the DRBFM analysis worksheet is somewhat different than the typical worksheets for FMEA.

Although some organizations may choose to perform DRBFM instead of FMEA, most practitioners start with a baseline FMEA and then use the DRBFM worksheet for evaluating the risks that might be introduced by changes to the original design.

If you wish to be able to add a DRBFM analysis to an item in your project, select the Enable Legacy DRBFM check box on the Configurable Settings page of the Project Properties window. When this option is selected, the Add DRBFM command will be visible on the Analyses tab of the ribbon.

The DRBFM analysis tab will open in the Analysis panel. In addition, the DRBFM icon will appear in the corresponding column in the System Hierarchy tab of the System panel (if that column has been selected for display on your computer).