Failure Mode and Effects Analysis is a method designed to:
- Identify and fully understand potential failure modes and their causes, and the effects of failure on the system or end users, for a given product or process.
- Assess the risk associated with the identified failure modes, effects and causes, and prioritize issues for corrective action.
- Identify and carry out corrective actions to address the most serious concerns.
The primary objective of an FMEA is to improve the design. For System FMEAs, the objective is to improve the design of the system. For Design FMEAs, the objective is to improve the design of the subsystem or component. For Process FMEAs, the objective is to improve the design of the manufacturing process.
There are many other objectives for doing FMEAs, such as:
- Identify and prevent safety hazards
- Minimize loss of product performance or performance degradation
- Improve test and verification plans (in the case of System or Design FMEAs)
- Improve Process Control Plans (in the case of Process FMEAs)
- Consider changes to the product design or manufacturing process
- Identify significant product or process characteristics
- Develop Preventive Maintenance plans for in-service machinery and equipment
- Develop online diagnostic techniques
