SIT IN PROJECT GROUPS (but not necessarily teams)
Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (FMEA)
Quebec Bridge collapse, August 29 1907
TEMPLATE C: Get a form, fill it out, stick it in your logbook.
What were doing today
Template F (FMEA) must do! Scope of Analysis System Diagram Risk Analysis
Engineering Failure
Andrew Purchase gave lecture: Engineering is serious business. Requires meticulous and ethical behaviour. How do we avoid failure and how do we learn from it through reflection? Engineering is about structured approaches, rational processes, and systematic methods. Predicting failure means thinking about how it might occur (provisional thinking).
Prediction implies considering probabilities
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Engineering_failures
Probability
Difficult to assign values to likelihood:
Common Causes Phenomena constantly active within system and therefore predictable (quantifiable) but against cost and time. Derived from previous instances. Special Causes New, unanticipated or previously neglected phenomena within system and therefore unpredictable but possible to allow for within design through redundancies or other mitigations.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common-cause_and_special-cause
Standard Risk Model
Identify Risk Event Estimate Impact of Risk Event
Risk Event Driver = rationale for believing risk event will occur Impact = consequence that might result if risk event occurs
Failure
Negative outcome caused by:
Defects in the design
Materials Components Configuration of components
Errors in Design Process
Decision making Validity of Data
Inadequate Operation
Usage (Human Error)
A common mistake that people make when trying to design something completely fool proof is to underestimate the ingenuity of complete fools. - Douglas Adams
Failure Mode and Effects Analysis
A process which helps define, identify, prioritise, and eliminate known and/or potential failures of the system before they reach the customer.
What you dont want to happen!
Scope and Analysis
Resolution
Base your FMEA on your prototype and Demo Day.
The 4 major subsystems: electrical system, safety valve, thermostat, and pressure gauge
Focus
Safety (but could be reliability)
Lets begin
1) Define scope of analysis for demo day. Resolution
Decide on system level for FMEA: subsystem, assembly, subassembly, component, part, materials, etc.
Focus
General or focused on an individual areas such as safety, reliability, or usability.
Template: Define your resolution and scope (3 mins)
Time to sketch
2) Prepare functional block diagram of system graphically showing the operation and interrelationships between functional entities in the system.
Block diagram - Pressure Cooker
Pressure Cooker Cooks food under pressure
Lid 1. Allows lid rotation 2. Connects lid to vessel
1. Access to vessel 2. Contains pressure
Vessel
1. Holds food 2. Contains pressure
Hinge
Clamp
Relief Valve
Gauge
Hinge
Element
Clamp
Pin
Thermostat
Fastener
Electrical System
Spring Body Ball Cord/Plug
Template: Draw your functional block diagram (10 mins)
Some Failure Cause Terms
Mechanical: Friction: binding Stress: bending, stretching/yielding, buckling, warping, shearing Misalignment Fasteners loosening Leaking Electrical: Battery drain Short circuit/Open Circuit Overheating/melting Operational: Mishandle Forget
(Motiva acid tank 2001)
FMEA Worksheet
Item Failure mode Causes (failure Mechanism) Effects Risk Priority Rating Recommended Risk Priority Rating Sev Prob Det RPN Improvement Sev Freq Det RPN
2) Items from Functional Block Diagram
FMEA Worksheet
Item Failure mode Causes (failure Mechanism) Effects Risk Priority Rating Recommended Risk Priority Rating Sev Prob Det RPN Improvement Sev Freq Det RPN
3) Identify possible failure modes for each subsystem/component (item).
What is the failure mode?
A concise description of how a part, system, or manufacturing process may potentially fail to perform its functions (e.g. Drive motor Loss of power)
(Tacoma Narrows Bridge 1940)
FMEA Worksheet
Item Failure mode Causes (failure Mechanism) Effects Risk Priority Rating Recommended Risk Priority Rating Sev Prob Det RPN Improvement Sev Freq Det RPN
4) Identify possible causes for each failure mode.
What is the root cause?
e.g. short circuit caused by sealant failure allowing ingress of water? Or dead batteries? Or my team mate wired it up wrong?
(Freeway collapse, Always happening)
FMEA Worksheet
Item Failure mode Causes (failure Mechanism) Effects Risk Priority Rating Recommended Risk Priority Rating Sev Prob Det RPN Improvement Sev Freq Det RPN
5) Analyse the effects of the failure modes. What are the effects of the failure?
Local effects (e.g. Loss of motor rotation) System effects (e.g. Loss of mobility i.e. dead in the
water)
(Chernobyl Reactor 1986)
FMEA Worksheet
Item Failure mode Causes (failure Mechanism) Effects Risk Priority Rating Recommended Risk Priority Rating Sev Prob Det RPN Improvement Sev Freq Det RPN
6) Classify the severity of the effects of each failure:
4 - Catastrophic (0%, total system failure, open warfare among team members) 3 - Critical (barely passed, extreme embarrassment) 2 - Marginal (loss of 20%, lots of anxiety) 1 - Negligible (loss of 10%, some nervousness)
FMEA Worksheet
Item Failure mode Causes (failure Mechanism) Effects Risk Priority Rating Recommended Risk Priority Rating Sev Prob Det RPN Improvement Sev Freq Det RPN
7) Classify the failure mode probabilities of each failure:
4 - Expected (Likely to occur immediately or within a short period of time) 3 Occasional (Probably will occur in time) 2 Remote (Possible but not likely) 1 - Improbable (Very unlikely but could happen)
FMEA Worksheet
Item Failure mode Causes (failure Mechanism) Effects Risk Priority Rating Recommended Risk Priority Rating Sev Prob Det RPN Improvement Sev Freq Det RPN
8) Classify the detection probabilities of each failure:
4 Impossible (impossible to detect/no inspection) 3 - Possible (some chance/ 50% inspection) 2 - Likely (quite likely/ 75% inspection) 1 - Certain (will be detected/ 100% inspection)
(Wind turbine, Undetected thermostat malfunction)
FMEA Worksheet
Item Failure mode Causes (failure Mechanism) Effects Risk Priority Rating Recommended Risk Priority Rating Sev Prob Det RPN Improvement Sev Freq Det RPN
9) Calculate Risk Priority Number (RPN):
The product of Severity, Occurrence, & Detection. RPN = Sev x Prob x Det RPNs often sorted from high to low for consideration in action planning step. BUT RPNs can be misleading- you must look for patterns.
(Hindenburg disaster 1937)
FMEA Worksheet
Item Failure mode Causes (failure Mechanism) Effects Risk Priority Rating Recommended Risk Priority Rating Sev Prob Det RPN Improvement Sev Freq Det RPN
10) Recommended improvement: Based on the FMEA analysis, strategies to reduce risk are focused on:
Reducing the Severity Rating. Reducing the Probability Rating. Reducing the Detection Rating.
A thoroughly thought out and well developed FMEA with High Risk patterns that is not followed with corrective actions has little or no value, other than having a chart for an audit
FMEA
Item Failure mode Causes (failure Mechanism) Defective cord No current Defective plug Defective heating coil Effects Risk Priority Rating Sev Prob Det RPN Recommended Improvement Periodically inspect cord and plug Use high-quality components Use a grounded (3-prong) plug Use outlets with groundfault circuit interrupters Design spring to handle the fatigue and corrosion that it will be subjected to Cooking interruption (mission failure) Cooking interruption
2 1 3
1 2 3
6 6 27 3
Electrical System
3 1 1
Current flows to Faulty insulation ground by an alternate route
Shock Steam could burn operator Increased cooking time
4 3
4 3 2
Open
Safety Valve
Closed
Broken valve spring
FMEA Worksheet Steps
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. Item(s) from Block diagram How might this item fail Possible causes of the failure Effects of the failure Severity (negligible/catastrophic) Probability (improbable/expected) Detection (certain/impossible) RPN (multiplication) Mitigation (how to prevent)
Mechanical: Friction: binding Stress: bending, stretching/yielding, buckling, warping, shearing/breaking Misalignment Fasteners loosening Leaking Electrical: Battery drain Short circuit/Open Circuit Overheating/melting Operational: Mishandle Forget
Template: Fill in your FMEA (~10 mins)
