ASQ RRD Series: FMEA Ratings – What They Mean and Why Most People Set Them Incorrectly
Thu, Feb 6, 2020 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM EST
Presenter: Richard Harpster
The primary purpose of the Design FMEA and Process FMEA is to allow companies to efficiently manage risk. No company has unlimited resources. When properly used the Design FMEA and Process FMEA can help companies target the use of their limited resources to achieve the greatest reduction in design and manufacturing related risk.
To be used effectively as risk management tools, one must properly populate the rating columns of the Design FMEA and Process FMEA. If you have participated in the creation of a Design FMEA or Process FMEA there is a high likelihood that you have spent considerable time populating the rating columns. There is also a high likelihood that you probably did so improperly. How do I know this?
For one, every commonly used FMEA Manual/Standard/Guideline that I know of in publication including the latest AIAG VDA FMEA Handbook instructs the users to populate one of the most important rating columns in both the Design FMEA and Process FMEA incorrectly. During the webinar you will learn which one it is and why because of this improper instruction most Design FMEAs and Process FMEAs are ineffective as risk management tools. By now everybody should know that RPN should not be used to determine what to work on. But did you know that new selection tools such as the new AIAG VDA FMEA Handbook “Action Priority” or “AP” should not be used either if you want to effectively target your resources at the highest risk issues. During the webinar you will learn what should be used.
The class column of the Design FMEA and Process will be examined. You will learn why design engineers should never identify “Special Characteristics” for manufacturing personnel and why this one act is costing manufacturing companies millions of dollars. Contrary to what many “FMEA Experts” teach, there is no link between special characteristics in the Design FMEA and special characteristics in the Process FMEA. You will learn why the removal of the Class column from the Design FMEA in the AIAG VDA FMEA Handbook significantly reduces the effectiveness of the Design FMEA as a design risk management tool.
After attending the webinar, I guarantee you will appreciate the disclaimer found in the beginning of most FMEA manuals which states that the rating tables represent guidelines only and the creator of the FMEA should modify them as required. Rather than the understanding of the proper use of the rating columns improving as new FMEA manuals come out, it seems to be getting worse. The webinar will show why the latest ratings in the AIAG VDA FMEA Handbook should lead to both increased FMEA creation time with a proportional decrease in FMEA effectiveness.
Richard Harpster is president of Harpco Systems Inc. which he founded in 1987. Harpco Systems specializes in providing software, training and consulting for Risked Based Product Lifecycle Management (RBPLM®). Over the past 30 years Mr. Harpster has helped hundreds of companies implement improved risk based design and manufacturing systems in a wide variety of industries. He is a recognized expert in the application of FMEAs and invented several new concepts including the linking of Design FMEAs to Process FMEAs in 1990 which became an automotive industry standard eighteen years later. His latest inventions in the field of RBPLM® include Requirements Risk Assessment™ (RRA®), Usage Risk Assessment (URA™), Multiple Integrated Cause Analysis (MICA™) and Rapid Integrated Problem Solving (RIPS®). He has published several papers on the topic of RBPLM®.
Prior to starting Harpco Systems, Richard spent 14 years at Ford Motor in a wide variety of positions including Plant Manager. His education includes a B.S.E.E. from Penn State University, M.S.E.E from the University of Detroit and an M.B.A. from Eastern Michigan University. He is a registered PE in the State of Michigan.
E-mail: richard.harpster@harpcosystems.com
Picture © B. Poncelet https://bennyponcelet.wordpress.com
