What is FMEA?

FMEA (Failure Mode and Effects Analysis) is a reliability engineering analysis method that evaluates potential product failures in terms of their relevance to the customer, probability of occurrence, and probability of detection, each with a key number.

In the context of quality management, FMEA is used preventively to avoid errors and increase technical reliability. FMEA is used especially in the design or development phase of new products or processes. This method is widely used in the automotive and aerospace industries, but a properly run FMEA is often required in other industries as well.

Types of FMEA

There are three types of FMEA’s that complement each other. In this context, evaluation is always about moving from the whole to the individual. This means that the entire system is checked first and then the subdivided areas. The types of FMEA are as follows:

Construction FMEA

The construction FMEA is used for design and construction and is used to assess the suitability for manufacturing and assembling a product as early as possible. The scope of considerations includes systematic errors that occur during the construction phase.

Process FMEA

The process FMEA is based on the results of the design FMEA and identifies possible defects in the manufacturing and assembly process. Here, the quality of the processes is taken into account: Are the processes reliable and suitable for production in the first place?

System-FMEA

System FMEA analyzes the interactions of subsystems in a higher-level system network. The goal is to identify potential vulnerabilities, especially at the interfaces that can result from the interaction of shared components. Here the developed concepts and specifications of the system are consulted.