The FMEA method

摘要

A Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (FMEA) is a system reliability and safety review technique created in the 1960s as part of the U.S. Minuteman rocket program to find and mitigate unanticipated design problems. A rather simple technique, the failure modes of each component in a given system are listed in a table, and the effect of that failure is postulated and documented. The method is systematic, effective, and detailed, although sometimes called time-consuming and repetitive. The reason the method is so effective is every failure mode of every single component is examined. Here is a table example following the format from MIL-HNBK-1629, one of the original references (see page 15). Column one describes the name of the component under review, while column two is available to list the component's identification number (part number or code number). Together, columns one and two must uniquely identify the reviewed component. Column three describes the function of the component, while column four describes the predicted failure modes. One row will likely be used for each component failure mode. Column five is used to record the known cause of the failure mode if applicable. The effect of that failure on the system is recorded in column six. The remaining columns vary, depending on which version of the many iterations of FMEA are being followed.