FMECA

(FAILURE MODES, EFFECTS AND CRITICALITY ANALYSIS)

 FMECA
• Failure Modes Effects and Criticality
Analysis

• A step-by-step approach for identifying all

possible failures in a design, a
manufacturing or assembly process, or a
product or service.

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 FMECA
• Failure mode. The manner by which a
failure is observed.

• Effect. The consequence(s) a failure mode

has on the operation, function, or status of
the highest indenture level.

• Criticality A relative measure of the

consequences of failure mode and its
frequency of occurrences.
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 FMECA OBJECTIVES
• Select the most suitable design with high reliability
and high safety potential in the design phases.
• List potential failures and identify the severity of
their effects in the early design phases.
• Develop criteria for test planning and
requirements.
• Provide necessary documentation for future design
and consideration of design changes.
• Provide a basis for maintenance management.
• Provide a basis for reliability and availability
analyses.

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 BASIC QUESTIONS OF FMECA
• Why failures will happen (Failure mode)?
• What is the consequence when the failure
occurs (Failure effect)?
• Is the failure in the safe or danger direction
(Failure Criticality)?
• How to remove the failure or reduce its
frequency?

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 BENEFITS OF FMECA
• FMECA is one of the most important and most
widely used tools of reliability analysis.

• The FMECA facilitates identification of potential

design reliability problems
– Identify possible failure modes and their effects
– Determine severity of each failure effect

• FMECA helps
– removing causes of failures
– developing systems that can mitigate the effects of
failures.
– to prioritize and focus on high-risk failures

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 BENEFITS OF FMECA
• It provides detailed insight about the systems
interrelationships and potentials of failures.

• Information gained by performing FMECA can be

used as a basis for
– troubleshooting activities
– maintenance manual development
– design of effective built-in test techniques.

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 FMECA PROCESS
➢ Determine Failure Mode
➢ Access Effect of failure
➢ Access Severity (is it serious, if it fails)
➢ Access Probability of Occurrence
➢ Access Detection Number
➢ Calculate Risk Priority Number
➢ Highlight single point failures requiring corrective action
➢ Identify reliability and safety critical components

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 RISK PRIORITY NUMBER
• A systematic methodology is used to rate
the risks relative to each other.

• The Risk Priority Number is the critical

indicator for each failure mode.

• RPN = Severity rating X Occurrence rating X

Detection rating
– The RPN can range from 1 to 1,000
– Higher RPN = higher priority to be improved.
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 FMECA TECHNIQUES
• Two approaches
– Hardware (bottom-up) Approach
– Functional (top-down) Approach

• Due to system complexity, it is performed

as a combination of the two methods.

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 FMECA TECHNIQUES
• Hardware Approach:
– The bottom-up approach is used when a system
design has been decided already.

– Each component in the system on the lowest

level is studied one-by one.

– Evaluates risks that the component incorrectly

implements its functional specification.

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 FMECA TECHNIQUES
• Functional Approach :
– Considers the function of each item. Each function can
be classified and described in terms of having any
number of associated output failure modes.

– The functional method is used when hardware items

cannot uniquely identified

– This method should be applied to when the design

process has developed a functional block diagram of
the system, but not yet identified specific hardware to
be used.

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 FMECA PREREQUISITES
• Define the system to be analyzed
– System boundaries.
– Main system missions and functions.
– Operational or/and environmental conditions.

• Collect available information that describes

the system functions to be analyzed.

• Collect necessary information about

previous and similar designs.

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 FUNCTIONAL BLOCK DIAGRAM
• Functional block diagram shows how the different
parts of the system interact with each other.
• It is recommended
– to break the system down to different levels.
– to review schematics of the system to show how
different parts interface with one another by their
critical support systems to understand the normal
functional flow requirements.
– to list all functions of the equipment before examining
the potential failure modes of each of those functions.
– to include operating conditions (such as; temperature,
loads, and pressure), and environmental conditions in
the components list.

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 FUNCTIONAL BLOCK DIAGRAM

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 RISK PRIORITY NUMBER
• A systematic methodology is used to rate
the risks relative to each other.

• The Risk Priority Number is the critical

indicator for each failure mode.

• RPN = Severity rating X Occurrence rating X

Detection rating
– The RPN can range from 1 to 1,000
– Higher RPN = higher priority to be improved.
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 SEVERITY CLASSIFICATION
• A qualitative measure of the worst potential
consequences resulting from a function
failure.

• It is rated relatively scaled from 1-10.

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 SEVERITY CLASSIFICATION
1 Failure would cause no effect.
2 Boarderline pass but still shippable.
3 Redundant systems failed but tool still works.
4 Would fail manufacturing testing but tool still functions with degraded
performance.
5 Tool / item inoperable with loss of primary function. No damage to other
components on board. Failure can be easily fixed (
6 Tool / item inoperable with loss of primary function. No damage to other
components on board. Failure cannot be easily fixed (true if not field repairable).
7 Tool / item inoperable, with loss of primary function. Probably cause damage to
other components on board or system.
8 Tool / item inoperable with loss of primary function. Probably scraping one or
more PCBAs.
9 Very high severity ranking. A potential failure mode affecting safe tool operation
and/or involves noncompliance with government regulation with warning.
10 Very high severity ranking when a potential failure mode affects safe tool
operation or involves noncompliance with government regulation without
warning.
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 PROBABILITY OF OCCURRENCE
• Probability that an identified potential
failure mode will occur over the item
operating time.
• It is rated relatively scaled from 1-10.

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 OCCURRENCE CLASSIFICATION

1 Almost Never
2 >= 0.001% (1 in 100,000)
3 >= 0.01% (1 in 10,000)
4 >= 0.1% (1 in 1,000)
5 >= 1% (1 in 100)
6 >= 2% (1 in 50)
7 >= 5% (1 in 20)
8 >= 10% (1 in ten)
9 >= 25% (1 in four)
10 >= 50% (1 in two)

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 DETECTION RATING
• A numerical ranking based on an assessment
of the probability that the failure mode will
be detected given the controls that are in
place.

• It is rated relatively scaled from 1-10.

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 DETECTION RATING
1 Detected by self test.
2 Easily detected by standard visual inspection or ATE.
3 Symptom can be detected. The technician would know exactly what the source of the
failure is.
4 Symptom can be detected at test bench. There are more than 2-4 possible candidates
for the technician to find out the sources of failure mode.
5 Symptom can be detected at test bench. There are more than 5-10 possible candidates
for the technician to find out the sources of failure mode.
6 Symptom can be detected at test bench. There are more than 10 possible candidates
for the technician to find out the sources of failure mode.
7 The symptom can be detected, and it required considerable engineering
knowledge/resource to determine the source / cause.
8 The symptom can be detected by the design control, but no way to determine the
source / cause of failure mode.
9 Very Remote. Very remote chance the Design Control will detect a potential
cause/mechanism and subsequent failure mode. Theoretically the defect can be
detected, but high chance would be ignored by the operators.
10 Absolute uncertainty. Design Control will not and /or cannot detect a potential
cause/mechanism and subsequent failure mode; or there is no Design Control.
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 FMECA CASE STUDY
• Component = D1
• Function = restricting the direction of
current
• Failure = short
• Cause = Physical Damage
• Effect = Reverse current

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 FMECA CASE STUDY
• Severity = 7
• Occurrence = 5
• Detection = 9

• RPN = 7*5*9 = 315

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 FMECA Worksheet

Recommendation
Occurrence
Component

detection
Function

Severity

Failure

Cause

Effect
RPN
restricts the
Physical Reverse Change test
D1 direction of 7 5 9 315 short
Damage current procedure
current
no
Current limit Standard Change test
R41 7 4 10 280 short current
for T1 Defect procedure
limit
high
Standard Change
U10 FPGA 7 10 4 280 short current
Defect Component
draw
 Corrective Actions
• RPN reduction: the risk reduction related to
a corrective action.

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 FMECA Checklist
• System description/specification
• Ground rules
• Functional Block Diagram
• Identify failure modes
• Failure effect analysis
• Worksheet (RPN ranking)
• Recommendations (Corrective action)
• Reporting

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 EXAMPLE & ASSIGNMENT

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 EXAMPLE & ASSIGNMENT
• 0.5 HP Home use QB 60 clean water pump
• Single-stage, Low Pressure, Vortex type
• peripheral impeller containing numerous
radial blades on its edge

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 EXAMPLE & ASSIGNMENT

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 Summary

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