Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (FMEA)
Failure mode and effects analysis (FMEA) is a systematic risk assessment technique that identifies potential failure modes of a component or process, evaluates their effects and prioritises actions by severity, occurrence and detectability.
Failure mode and effects analysis is a systematic, proactive method for evaluating how equipment, components, or processes can fail, what the consequences of each failure mode are, and how critical each failure is relative to safety, operations, and cost. The analysis assigns a Risk Priority Number (RPN) to each failure mode based on three factors: severity of the effect, likelihood of occurrence, and detectability before the failure reaches the end user or causes harm. FMEA was originally developed in the aerospace and defence industries and is now widely used in manufacturing, mining, oil and gas, utilities, and fleet maintenance. The output prioritises which failure modes demand immediate attention through design changes, additional inspections, or targeted preventive maintenance tasks. An FMEA worksheet typically lists every component and its potential failure modes in a structured table, making it straightforward to review, update, and share across engineering and maintenance teams as operating conditions or asset configurations change over time.
Why it matters
FMEA enables maintenance and engineering teams to allocate limited resources to the failure modes that pose the greatest risk. Without it, organisations tend to apply a one-size-fits-all maintenance strategy, over-servicing low-risk assets while under-servicing critical ones. By quantifying risk, FMEA supports the shift from calendar-based preventive maintenance to risk-based and reliability-centred maintenance strategies.
How MapTrack helps
MapTrack captures the failure history, inspection results, and downtime records that feed FMEA worksheets, helping teams calculate accurate occurrence and severity ratings based on real operational data rather than estimates.
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Frequently asked questions
What is a Risk Priority Number (RPN) in FMEA?
The Risk Priority Number is calculated by multiplying three scores: Severity (how serious the effect of the failure is, typically 1 to 10), Occurrence (how likely the failure mode is to happen, 1 to 10), and Detection (how likely the failure is to be detected before it causes harm, 1 to 10). The resulting RPN ranges from 1 to 1,000. Higher RPNs indicate failure modes that should be prioritised for corrective action, design improvement, or enhanced monitoring.
What is the difference between FMEA and FMECA?
FMEA identifies failure modes and their effects, while FMECA (Failure Mode, Effects, and Criticality Analysis) adds a quantitative criticality assessment that considers the probability of the failure mode occurring and the severity of its consequences. FMECA is common in defence and aerospace where quantitative risk data is available and mandated by standards such as MIL-STD-1629A.
How often should an FMEA be reviewed?
An FMEA should be reviewed whenever there is a design change, a process change, a new failure mode discovered in service, a significant incident, or at a defined periodic interval such as annually. Maintenance data collected between reviews should be used to update occurrence and detection ratings so the RPN scores reflect current field conditions rather than original assumptions.
Related terms
Reliability-Centred Maintenance (RCM)
Reliability-Centred Maintenance (RCM) is a structured methodology for determining the most effective maintenance strategy for each asset based on its function, failure modes, failure consequences, and operating context. RCM analyses what each asset must do, how it can fail, what happens when it fails, and what can be done to prevent or manage each failure. The output is a tailored mix of preventive, predictive, condition-based, and run-to-failure strategies.
Predictive Maintenance
Predictive maintenance (PdM) uses real-time data from sensors, IoT devices, and analytics to forecast when an asset is likely to fail, enabling maintenance to be performed just before a breakdown occurs. Techniques include vibration analysis, oil analysis, thermal imaging, and machine-learning models trained on historical failure data. It represents the most advanced tier of proactive maintenance strategies.
Risk Assessment
A risk assessment is a systematic process of identifying hazards, evaluating the likelihood and severity of harm, and determining appropriate control measures to reduce risk to an acceptable level. It follows the hierarchy of controls (elimination, substitution, engineering controls, administrative controls, PPE) and produces a documented record of identified risks and the measures taken to manage them.
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