Using FMEAs

Failure Modes and Effects Analysis (FMEA) and Failure Modes, Effects and Criticality Analysis (FMECA) are methodologies designed to identify potential failure modes for a product or process, to assess the risk associated with those failure modes, to rank the issues in terms of importance and to identify and carry out corrective actions to address the most serious concerns.

The basic steps for using an FMEA are:

1. Create the project and set project properties

Choose Project > Management > Create Project.



In the Project Properties window, specify the FMEA Structure and the Profile that will be used to set the configurable settings. (See Choosing the FMEA Structure and Profiles.)



2. Add items in the system hierarchy

The first item is added to the system hierarchy when you create the project. Use the Properties tab in the Analysis panel to rename it and set other properties.



To add items, right-click inside the system hierarchy and choose Add System, Add Next Level Item, etc. (See Building the System Hierarchy.)



3. Add a new FMEA

To add an FMEA for an item, right-click the item in the system hierarchy and choose Analyses > Add FMEA.



4. Add records in the FMEA hierarchy

The Hierarchy tab for an FMEA displays the analysis records in a hierarchical tree, which tends to be good for viewing a lot of information in a small amount of space. In this view, you will use properties windows to add or edit FMEA records.When you add a new FMEA, the Function window will automatically open. Enter the details and click either Add Function (to add the next function description), Add Failure (to add the first failure mode for this function) or OK (to close the window).



5. Use Select Existing Text utilities

The Select Existing Text window provides a list of existing descriptions that might apply to the current text field or analysis. (See Select Existing Text Window.) If you want to use this utility to replace or append text in an input field, click the icon next to the field.





The Select Existing Text window can also be used to add multiple records at once. For example, right-click a function record and choose Add Multiple Failures > Select Existing Text.

6. View RPNs and related metrics

You can choose to calculate and display a variety of metrics based on the Severity, Occurrence and Detection ratings that have been assigned for effects and causes in the FMEA: RPN, SxO, SOD, SD or QCPN. (See RPNs and Related Metrics.) To configure the metrics that are enabled for the current project, choose FMEA > Tools > Configurable Settings.



On the RPNs page, use the Enabled column to specify which metrics will be available in the current project. Use the Highlight Priority Based On area to configure the logic that will be employed when a user turns on the priority highlights feature. (See FMEA > RPNs.)



To choose which metrics will be displayed in the FMEA hierarchy for your computer, right-click a column heading in the FMEA and choose Customize Columns.



To turn on priority highlighting, choose FMEA > Tools > Highlight Priority.



7. Use the filtered and worksheet views
   1. Filtered view

   Click the Filtered tab at the bottom of the FMEA to open the filtered view. This view presents a sortable list of all records of a particular type, such as causes sorted by RPN or actions sorted by due date. (See FMEA Filtered View.) Use the Filter By drop-down list to select which records are displayed. Then click inside the column heading you wish to sort by.

   

   2. FMEA worksheet

   Click the Worksheet tab at the bottom of the FMEA to open the worksheet view. This view allows you to type directly into the worksheet cells and tab through the analysis as you would in a spreadsheet application. (See FMEA Worksheet.)

   

   To use the entire workspace for the worksheet view, choose View > Workspace Layout > Hide System Panel.

   

   To return to a split workspace, choose View > Workspace Layout > Split Panels.

   

8. Create plots

Choose Home > Reporting > Plots. (See FMEA Plots.)



Select the item(s) that you want to include in the plot. Then use the control panel to select the plot type and other settings.



9. Run a query

Choose Home > Reporting > Queries. (See Query Utility.)



First use the left panel to specify the data source (selected projects throughout the database or selected items within the current project). Then use the right panel to specify the query criteria and output preferences.



Click Run Query to view the records that match the criteria.

10. View a dashboard

Choose Home > Reporting > Dashboard > Dashboard Viewer. (See FMEA Dashboards.)



In the Layout drop-down list, select one of the layouts that have been predefined for FMEA data and then use the dashboard to view the desired information. For example, in the RPN Dashboard you can click an item in the Item Drill Down panel to select which item’s data will be displayed in the other 2 panels.



11. Generate a report

Choose Home > Reporting > Reports. (See Reports Window)



Select the items that you want to create a report for, the report forms you want to include in the generated report and the desired output type (Excel or Word).



Click Generate Report to create the report.