Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (FMEA)

Failure mode and effects analysis is a structured method for identifying how a component or process can fail, the effects of each failure, and its likelihood, severity and detectability. It ranks risks to prioritise corrective action.

An FMEA team works through each potential failure mode of a design or process, asking what could go wrong, what the consequence would be, how likely it is, and how readily it would be detected. Multiplying severity, occurrence and detection ratings gives a risk priority number that focuses effort on the highest risks. It underpins reliability-centred maintenance and design reviews, turning scattered concerns into a prioritised, documented action list.

Related terms

RCM (Reliability-Centred Maintenance) · Root Cause Analysis (RCA) · Asset Criticality