Design FMEA (DFMEA) Tutorial

DFMEA  – Introduction

In this DFMEA tutorial you will learn:

Completing the Design FMEA Form:

• Identifying the Product Function
• Identifying Potential Failure Modes
• Identifying Potential Failure Effects
• Determining the Severity of the Effect
• Identifying Potential Cause(s) of the Failure Mode
• Determining the Probability of Occurrence of the Failure Mode
• Identifying Design Verifications for the Causes
• Determining the Probability of Non-Detection of the Failure Mode

Using the Completed DFMEA Form:

• calculating the Risk Priority Number (RPN)
• determining Corrective and Preventive Actions
• prioritizing Actions Based on the RPN

What Is A Design FMEA?

* FMEA is a method for identifying potential or known failure modes and providing corrective and preventive actions.
* The Design FMEA is a disciplined analysis of the part design with the intent to correct or prevent the design-based failure modes prior to the first production run.

The FMEA Process:

* Identify potential or known failure modes
* Identify the effects and causes of each failure mode
* Prioritize the identified failure modes based on the frequency of occurrence, the severity of the failure mode, and the likelihood of detection
* Provide for follow-up corrective and preventive actions
* Follow up

Design FMEA Process Flow

These steps of the FMEA will be discussed and explained later in detail, but it is helpful to see the overall flow, at this overview level, for now. Try to match the additional following examples to this flow to give you a feel for how Design FMEAs can be used.

For this abbreviated example, there are 4 basic functions of the car door. One way (failure mode) the door could potentially fail to perform the last 2 basic functions listed is by the interior lower door panels becoming corroded.

Further Reading: iSixSigma Definition, FMEA article on Quality One