FMEA (Failure Modes and Effects Analysis) for Problem Prevention

Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (FMEA) is a systematic, proactive method for evaluating a process or design to identify where and how it might fail and to assess the relative impact of different failures. The goal is to identify, prioritize, and eliminate or reduce potential failures, starting with the highest-priority ones.

This tool implements the modern AIAG & VDA 7-Step FMEA process, covering Structure, Function, and Failure Analysis through to risk assessment and action tracking.

The FMEA methodology was first developed by the U.S. military in the late 1940s (MIL-P-1629) and later adopted by NASA and the automotive industry. Today it is governed by the AIAG & VDA FMEA Handbook, which replaced the older RPN-only approach with the Action Priority (AP) classification.

• Severity (S 1–10): How serious is the effect on the customer or system?
• Occurrence (O 1–10): How likely is the cause of the failure to occur?
• Detection (D 1–10): How likely are current controls to detect the failure before it reaches the customer?
• RPN = S × O × D — a numerical risk score (legacy indicator).
• Action Priority (AP): H High   M Medium   L Low — modern AIAG-VDA risk classification based on S, O, D combinations.

The toolbar at the top of the page contains all the actions you need to manage your analysis:

• New Clears all data and starts a blank FMEA from scratch.
• Load Opens a previously saved .json file and restores the full analysis in locked mode. Click Revise to unlock.
• Load Example Loads a pre-filled example so you can explore all tabs and see a complete FMEA table. Also opens in locked mode.
• Revise Opens a dialog to register a new revision (date, description, reviewer). Confirms a new analysis number, unlocks all fields and generates a new editable FMEA table with pencil-mode editing per field.
• Save Downloads the complete project as a .json file including all components, contacts, functions, failure modes and revision history.
• Export PDF Generates a landscape PDF report with: project info, revision history, system structure, the network diagram and the full colour-coded FMEA table.

• Step 1 — Planning: Go to the 1. Planning tab and fill in project name, date, team, FMEA type, document number and scope.
• Step 2 — Components: In the 2. Structure tab, add your system hierarchy: System → Subsystem → Component (Focus Element). Mark external components as needed.
• Step 3 — Contacts: Define the interfaces between components (Signal, Force, Energy, Material, Information). Each contact becomes the carrier for one or more functions.
• Step 4 — Functions: Assign primary and secondary functions — plus unwanted effects — to each contact. Requirements can be specified per function.
• Step 5 — Visualize: Switch to the Visualize tab to review the auto-generated component-contact-function network diagram. Drag nodes to rearrange.
• Step 6 — Generate FMEA: Click Revise in the toolbar, fill in the revision details and confirm. The FMEA table is generated with one row per function.
• Step 7 — Analyze: In the FMEA Results tab, click the pencil on each cell to describe failure modes, effects, causes, controls and assign S / O / D ratings. AP and RPN update automatically.
• Step 8 — Optimize: Fill in recommended actions and re-evaluate with revised scores (S2, O2, D2) to compare before/after risk levels.
• Step 9 — Save & Export: Click Save to keep a .json snapshot. Click Export PDF for a print-ready landscape report with colour-coded AP columns.
• Step 10 — Revisions: Load a saved file at any time and click Revise to add a new revision, keeping a full traceable history in both the JSON and the PDF.