FMEA (Failure Mode and Effects Analysis) is a structured approach used to identify and analyze potential failures and their effects on a system or process. FMEA answers the following questions:
- What are the potential failure modes of the system or process?
- What are the effects of each potential failure mode?
- How severe are the effects of each potential failure mode?
- What are the causes of each potential failure mode?
- How likely is each potential failure mode to occur?
- What are the current controls in place to detect or prevent each potential failure mode?
- What additional controls can be put in place to reduce the risk of each potential failure mode?
- What actions can be taken to reduce the severity, likelihood, or detectability of each potential failure mode?
By answering these questions, FMEA helps to identify potential risks and opportunities for improvement in a system or process, and prioritize actions to reduce the risk of failure.