Locked lesson.

Upgrade

About this lesson

The FMEA is a widely accepted methodology across many industries. There are several standards that provide guidance on how to determine the FMEA scoring for different types of FMEAs.

Quick reference

FMEA Standards and Definitions

FMEA standards provide consistency across an industry on the use and application of the FMEA methodology.  In addition to internationally accepted universal standards, there are industry specific standards and some companies have created their own company standard for FMEA.

When to use

Standards provide a common language and methodology for use when communicating between organizations and agencies.  This creates common definitions and a common understanding of the FMEA results.  If FMEAs are only for internal use, the standard documents are best practice for applying the methodology.

Instructions

Standards and definitions improve the use of methodologies such as FMEA by clarifying expectations and processes.  There have been FMEA standards since the 1980s and over time common definitions for many of the terms have developed.

FMEA standards

FMEA standards are used in industry to create a common understanding of the use and methodology for practices such as FMEA.  The most widely used FMEA standards are:

  • MIL-P-1629: “Procedure for Performing a Failure Mode Effects and Criticality Analysis” (1980).  This is the original standard that was created and used for systems developed by the United States Department of Defense.  This standard was retired in the late 1990s and the IEC standard became the new common standard for FMEA.
  • IEC 60812: “Analysis techniques for system reliability – Procedure for failure mode and effects analysis (FMEA)” (2006).  This is currently the primary standard for FMEA and it has been incorporated into many national standards.  This is the standard used throughout this course.
  • J1739 (SAE): “Potential Failure Mode and Effects Analysis in Design (Design FMEA), Potential Failure Mode and Effects Analysis in Manufacturing and Assembly Processes (Process FMEA)” (2009).  This is an industry specific standard developed for the automotive industry.  The scoring definitions and criteria are tailored to automotive practices.
  • ARP5580 (SAE- Aerospace): “Recommended Failure Modes and Effects Analysis (FMEA) Practices for Non-Automobile Applications” (2012).  This is an industry-specific standard used primarily in the aerospace industry.  Like J1739, it uses scoring definitions and criteria that are tailored to the aerospace industry.
  • Many companies have created an internal standard based upon one of these industry standards.

Definitions

There are many common terms used in an FMEA analysis that take on a specific definition when used in FMEAs.  It is necessary to know these definitions when conducting the analysis.  Many of these terms are “column headings” on an FMEA worksheet.  Therefore, the correct understanding is needed to complete the worksheet correctly.

  • Item – any part, component, device, subsystem, functional unit, equipment or system that can be individually considered.  This is normally the first column of an FMEA worksheet.
  • Failure – termination of the ability of an item to perform a required function.  The item itself may not be broken, but it is not performing its function.  This is often the second column.
  • Failure mode – manner in which an item fails.  This is a description of the failure mechanism and is often the third column in the worksheet.  There can be multiple failure modes that cause a given failure.
  • Failure effect – consequence of a failure mode in terms of the operation, function, or status of the item.  This is the first element of the failure that is actually scored.  This answers the question, “So what?” with respect to the failure.  Are people’s lives at risk or this only a minor irritation?

Failure severity – significance or grading of the failure mode’s effect on item operation, on the item surrounding, or on the item’s operator.  This score is based upon the impact to overall item or system, not to just the performance characteristics that has failed.

Hints & tips

  • When introducing FMEA into an organization, the use of standards adds “gravitas” to the methodology.
  • Some customers or regulatory bodies may require the FMEA be completed in accordance with an industry standard.  The standards all differ slightly on format and scoring, so purchase the correct standard and follow it.
  • I find it helpful to review the definitions with an FMEA team at the start of the analysis and to remind them of these definitions if they start to get off track.
Login to download
  • 00:04 Hi, I'm Ray Sheen.
  • 00:06 FMEAs have been around for a number of years and there are several industry
  • 00:09 standards that have been developed and that explain their creation and use.
  • 00:16 Let's look at each of the major industry standards.
  • 00:19 The granddaddy was MIL-P-1629.
  • 00:21 This is a military standard used within the United States Department of Defense
  • 00:26 back in the 1980s and 90s.
  • 00:28 This is the standard that introduced FMEA to industry.
  • 00:31 I was working on defense projects in 1980s and I recall my first exposure to
  • 00:36 FMEA was because of the requirements of this standard.
  • 00:40 Is what we cut our teeth on and this standard set the stage for
  • 00:43 future standard development.
  • 00:45 So I won't bore you with all the iterations and machinations.
  • 00:48 Let's just jump forward to today and the standards that are currently in use.
  • 00:53 The most common one is IEC 60812.
  • 00:56 The international electrotechnical commission is a French standards body that
  • 01:00 is recognized the premier standards body for electromechanical products.
  • 01:05 Many countries' standards organizations will take an IEC standard and
  • 01:09 adopt it as a national standard.
  • 01:11 That is what has happened with this standard titled, Analysis techniques for
  • 01:16 system reliability - Procedures for failure mode and effects analysis.
  • 01:20 I will be using this standard in later lessons of this course
  • 01:23 since it is the most widely adopted FMEA standard.
  • 01:27 Several industries have created their own industry standard,
  • 01:31 which provides definitions for scoring the failures based upon industry practices.
  • 01:36 One of these is J1739, this standard is issued
  • 01:40 by the society of automotive engineering and is for the automotive industry.
  • 01:45 Not to be outdone, the aerospace industry has issued a standard, ARP 5580.
  • 01:51 All three of these standards provide guidance for completing an FMEA.
  • 01:55 However, unless the customer requires it on the purchase order or
  • 01:59 a contract, none of these are required standards.
  • 02:02 Therefore some companies have created their own internal standard,
  • 02:05 which is based upon one of these industry standards, but
  • 02:08 uses the internal company forms or systems for completing and archiving the FMEAs.
  • 02:14 Let's also take a few minutes to review some common definitions.
  • 02:18 These are terms that are used in everyday conversation but
  • 02:21 they have a specific meaning when used in the context of FMEAs.
  • 02:26 First is, item.
  • 02:27 This is any part, component, device, subsystem, functional unit,
  • 02:32 equipment, or system, that can be individually considered.
  • 02:36 What this means is,
  • 02:37 that this will be an entry on the left most column of the FMEA spreadsheet.
  • 02:42 This is what is being analyzed.
  • 02:45 Once the item is clarified,
  • 02:47 then a failure of that item is the next thing to be considered.
  • 02:50 The definition of this type of failure is a termination of the ability
  • 02:54 of an item to perform a required function.
  • 02:57 The bottom line is the item is not doing what it's supposed to do.
  • 03:01 If it is a part of a product design, it's not working.
  • 03:04 If it's a step in a process,
  • 03:06 the output from that step does not meet the expected standard of performance.
  • 03:10 This will usually be the next column of the FMEA form.
  • 03:13 First the item, then the function and failure.
  • 03:16 Now we move to our next definition.
  • 03:19 The failure mode.
  • 03:20 This is the manner in which the item fails.
  • 03:23 An item could fail with multiple failure modes.
  • 03:26 For instance, and electric motor could fail to start.
  • 03:29 That is the failure.
  • 03:30 The failure modes could be,
  • 03:32 there's no electricity available, it could be that the motor is wired incorrectly,
  • 03:36 it could be that the motor has a short circuit in it.
  • 03:39 Or it could be still some other failure mode unique to the installation and
  • 03:42 configuration of that motor.
  • 03:45 The identification of all of these elements are preliminary steps in the FMEA
  • 03:50 analysis.
  • 03:51 Now we're finally getting ready to conduct the analysis.
  • 03:54 The first thing to be analyzed and
  • 03:56 what is usually the next column in the form is the failure of fact.
  • 04:00 This is the consequence of the failure mode in terms of the operation,
  • 04:03 function, or status of the item.
  • 04:06 So in my previous illustration,
  • 04:08 this is the impact of the electric motor not turning on.
  • 04:11 If the motor is what powers the windshield wiper on your car,
  • 04:14 the effect is that you can't see out the window of your car in a rainstorm and
  • 04:18 therefore your driving is very unsafe.
  • 04:21 However, if that motor is what powers the toy car your nephew is playing with,
  • 04:25 you may have a disappointed child, but probably not an unsafe condition.
  • 04:31 Which brings me to the final definition I want to discuss, and
  • 04:34 that is the failure severity.
  • 04:37 This will be one of the items that is scored for each failure mode.
  • 04:41 It is the significance or grading of the failure mode effect on the item's
  • 04:45 operation, on the item's surrounding, or on the item's operator.
  • 04:49 Note that we are grading the significance of the failure with respect to the overall
  • 04:54 item surrounding and the people that it affects.
  • 04:56 We are not grading the severity with respect to the item.
  • 05:00 Understanding these definitions and this hierarchy is very helpful
  • 05:03 as we dig into the mechanics of conducting an FMEA analysis.
  • 05:09 So the point of this lesson is to show that the FMEA is a recognized reliability
  • 05:14 and technical risk management technique.
  • 05:16 And that there are some specific definitions with
  • 05:19 respect to the terms that are used to describe the attributes of the failures.

Lesson notes are only available for subscribers.

PMI, PMP, CAPM and PMBOK are registered marks of the Project Management Institute, Inc.

Gift this course