Reliability Engineering:

Introduction – The Types of Functional Failures

Functional Failure

The inability of an item to provide its functions at the desired level of performance

Types of Functions:

Primary Functions
The specific function(s) to be performed by the asset. They are the reasons why the
asset exits at all.

Secondary Functions
These functions are usually less obvious than the primary functions, but their failure
can still have serious consequences.

• Containment: every device whose primary function is to transfer material of

any sort (especially fluids) also has to contain the materials.
• Providing support: many items have a structural secondary function. For
example, the wall of a building might be expected to support the roof.
• Appearance: the appearance of many items embodies a specific secondary
function. For instance, the primary function of the paintwork on most
industrial equipment is to protect it from corrosion, but a right colour might
be used to enhance its visibility for safety reasons.
• Hygiene: a secondary function of most equipment found in the food and
pharmaceutical industries is not to contaminate the product.
• Gauges: indicate variables such as pressure, temperature, speed, flow rate,
and fluid levels to within a specified percentage of the actual situation.

Functions of Protective Devices

• Draw attention of the operator to abnormal conditions

• Shut down the equipment in the event of a failure
• Eliminate or reduce the damage caused by a failure
• Take over from a function which has failed
• Prevent dangerous situations from arising

Copyright © 2009 Albert Tsang. -1- Last Update: 11/7/2009

All Rights Reserved.
 A protective device is fail-safe when its failure is evident to the operating crew
under normal circumstances if it occurs on its own.

Superfluous Functions
Items or components are sometimes encountered which are completely superfluous.
This usually happens when equipment has been modified frequently over a period of
years, or when new equipment has been over-specified.

Exercise Task

• A functional failure is defined as the inability of an item to meet its primary

or secondary functions at the desired level of performance.
• Consider the toll gate at MTR stations, identify its:
o multiple primary functions
o multiple secondary functions
o performance standards
o possible failure modes
• The functions and performance standards required of a physical asset may
vary with the operating context. Give examples of such variations that apply
to the turnstile.

Copyright © 2009 Albert Tsang. -2- Last Update: 11/7/2009

All Rights Reserved.