Failure Modes and Effects Analysis

Failure modes and effects analysis (FMEA) is a bottom-up approach to analyzing system design and performance. To begin FMEA, outline the lowest levels of the system. These levels can be the individual components or FRU level in the system. In some cases, a logical component can be used instead of, or in addition to, the physical components. This method enables you to analyze people, process, software, and other failures. For each lowest level, you must generate a list of potential failure modes and determine the effects of each potential failure.

The power of FMEA becomes apparent when you are analyzing large, complex systems. These systems tend to have many failure modes. But not all failure modes have the ...

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