A fuzzy linear programming model for risk evaluation in failure mode and effects analysis

摘要

In traditional approach, failure mode and effects analysis determines the risk priories of failure modes through the risk priority number which is determined by multiplication of three risk factors namely, failure occurrence (O), failure severity (S) and failure detection ability (D). In this approach, different weights of risk factors were not taken into consideration so that the three risk factors were assumed to have the same weight. This may not be realistic in real applications. In this paper we treat the risk factors as fuzzy variables and evaluate them using fuzzy linguistic terms and fuzzy ratings. As a result, fuzzy risk priority numbers (FRPNs) are proposed for prioritization of failure modes. The FRPNs are defined as fuzzy geometric means of the fuzzy ratings for O, S and D and can be computed using alpha-level sets and linear programming models. A numerical example is provided to examine the results of this model.