In the context of “Risk Management” many people directly associate the FMEA, a method to analyze failure modes and their effects.
FMEA is a prominent example for a risk management methode. And it is my area of expertise.
The basic ideas of FMEA are quickly described:
A development task will be split in three levels:
a) What is the core of this development, what is the focus?
b) What are the resulting targets of this development, may be, what are the potential sufferers of a failure ? (consequences) and
c) How can we influence the development results ? (causes)
For these three levels a structure can be created by system elements. This structure is a meaningful disassembly of the product or the process.
For all three levels and in all system elements we have to answer 2 questions:
1) What are the targets on this level to be achieved by the development (functions, requirements, characteristics)?
2) What could go wrong with this target? (failure modes)
Functions and failures will be connected between the levels resulting in a visible network of cause- to-effect relations.
Failures on the top level will be rated by a catalogue of severities. In the failure net this severity (S) rating will be forwarded top down.
The next step in the FMEA idea is now to become activ. Meaningful actions need to be recognized or to be planned from scratch in order to prevent the failures (from the 2. question).
As further as we look into the upper levels as more we describe symptoms. It is not meaningful to fight against the symptoms.
We want to solve, to stop the problems at their root, at the causes.
Therefore, we need to answer two further questions, but now only on cause level:
3) What has been done or what needs to be done in future to prevent the failures on cause level to occur? (Preventive actions)
4) What has been done or what needs to be added to detect a failure on cause level or on focus level? (Detection actions)
All actions related to a cause are rated as a bundle of cooperating actions: What is the probability for this cause level failure to occur? (Occurrence O)
What is the probability for the cause level failure or its effect on focus level to be detected (slippage of tests, Detection D)?
Finally, each failure on cause level will have a bundle of actions with 3 ratings (Severity S, Occurrenc O, Detection D).
This tripple gives a risk rating.
In the daily FMEA doing you need rehersal, rehersal, rehersal
to navigate an expert team through a systematic and efficient analysis.
FMEA shall support the experts to do a good job.
Well done the FMEA will create an intensive give and take for all participants in the project.
My offer is