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FMEA — Failure Mode & Effects Analysis ​

Rank component failure modes by Severity, Occurrence and Detection, with a live RPN and AIAG-VDA Action Priority.

Overview ​

An FMEA (Failure Mode and Effects Analysis) is a structured worksheet that lists, for each item or function, the ways it can fail, the effect of each failure, and a numeric ranking of its criticality. ErgoPlanner scores each failure mode on the classic three axes — Severity (S), Occurrence (O) and Detection (D) — and computes both the Risk Priority Number and the modern AIAG-VDA Action Priority band live as you type.

After mitigation you can re-score a failure mode; the worksheet keeps the original scores and shows a revised RPN and Action Priority alongside, so the improvement is visible and auditable.

In this guide you'll learn

  • How to create an FMEA worksheet (Design, Process or System)
  • How to add items, functions and failure modes
  • How the S/O/D scores drive RPN and Action Priority
  • How to re-score after mitigation and export the worksheet

Estimated Time: 20 minutes Difficulty: Intermediate

Prerequisites ​

  • A signed-in account
  • An engineering calculations entitlement to create and edit worksheets — without it the worksheet opens read-only
  • Familiarity with FMEA scoring scales (1–10 for S, O and D)

Where to find it ​

The worksheet list is at /fmea/worksheets; an individual worksheet opens at /fmea/worksheets/{id}.

How the scoring works ​

ErgoPlanner uses the standard FMEA criticality metrics:

RPN = S × O × D

Where each of S (Severity), O (Occurrence) and D (Detection) is rated 1–10, so RPN ranges from 1 to 1000. RPN alone can be misleading (different S/O/D combinations give the same product), so the worksheet also computes the AIAG-VDA Action Priority (AP) band — High, Medium or Low — from the S/O/D combination directly. For example, a very low Occurrence (O = 1) yields a Low Action Priority even when other factors are higher. The AP band is the recommended driver for prioritising corrective action.

Workflow ​

Step 1 — Create a worksheet ​

  1. Go to /fmea/worksheets and click Create Worksheet.
  2. Enter a worksheet name and optional description, and nominate a lead engineer.
  3. Choose the FMEA type:
    • Design (DFMEA) — failure modes of a design/product.
    • Process (PFMEA) — failure modes of a process step.
    • System FMEA — failure modes at the system level.
  4. The worksheet opens in Draft and progresses through In Progress → Review → Approved → Closed.

If you do not have the engineering calculations entitlement, the worksheet opens in a read-only view and the editing controls are disabled.

Step 2 — Add items and functions ​

  1. In the items area, enter a name in the item / function / process step field and click Add item. An item groups related failure modes (for example a valve, a pump, or a process step).
  2. Each item can carry an optional function description shown in its header.

Step 3 — Add failure modes and score them ​

For each item, click Add failure mode and complete the row:

  • Failure mode — how the item fails (e.g. "valve fails to open").
  • S — Severity of the effect, 1–10.
  • O — Occurrence (likelihood of the cause), 1–10.
  • D — Detection (how well controls catch it before it matters), 1–10.

As you set S, O and D, the row immediately shows:

  • RPN — the product S × O × D.
  • AP — the AIAG-VDA Action Priority band (High / Medium / Low).

Step 4 — Re-score after mitigation ​

After you implement an action, record the improvement without losing the baseline:

  • Enter the revised scores; the worksheet shows Rev. RPN and Rev. AP in their own columns while keeping the original S/O/D and RPN intact. The before/after pair is the evidence that the action reduced risk.

Step 5 — Workflow and export ​

  • Advance the worksheet status as the team reviews and approves it.
  • Use Export to download the worksheet as CSV, XLSX or PDF: pick the format in the Export format picker beside the button. The PDF is the formatted report for the safety/quality file (file name fmea-<worksheet name>.pdf).

Worked example ​

A pump-seal failure mode is scored S = 7, O = 4, D = 5:

RPN = 7 × 4 × 5 = 140

The AIAG-VDA table maps this S/O/D combination to a Medium Action Priority. After adding a seal-leak detector, Detection improves to D = 2:

Rev. RPN = 7 × 4 × 2 = 56

and the revised Action Priority drops accordingly — both the original and revised figures remain on the worksheet.

Use cases ​

  • Equipment-criticality ranking — Build a PFMEA for a treatment train and sort by Action Priority to focus maintenance and instrumentation budget on the failure modes that matter.
  • Design review — Run a DFMEA on a new skid package and use RPN/AP to justify design changes before fabrication.
  • Continuous improvement — Re-score after each mitigation cycle and export the before/after worksheet as evidence of risk reduction.

References ​

  1. AIAG & VDA — Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (FMEA) Handbook (1st Edition)
  2. IEC 60812 — Failure modes and effects analysis (FMEA and FMECA)