Understanding FMEA with Real-World Examples

Contents:

• Introduction (40 sec) — Get a sneak peek into what is in the blog and decide if you want to dive into the whole blog.
• What is FMEA (15 sec) — Understand the concept of FMEA
• Understanding FMEA process (120 sec) — Take a journey through FMEA with a real-world example from the vehicle manufacturing industry.
• Conclusion (15 sec) — Wrap things up with a concluding thought.

Introduction :

The main audience for this blog comprises Site Reliability Engineers (SREs). However, engineers outside the SRE role can also find value in exploring how SREs, with their unique SRE mindset, utilize techniques like Potential Failure Mode and Potential Effects Analysis(FMEA) to ensure uninterrupted services to the customers.

In today’s world, where technology and speed matter, businesses depend a lot on their product and services. There are two important measures that can affect how well a company does: Mean Time to Detect (MTTD) and Mean Time to Recover (MTTR). MTTD is the time it takes to find a problem, and MTTR is the time to fix it. Businesses want these numbers to be low so that everything works well and customers are happy.

One good way to make these numbers better is by using technique called Failure Mode and Potential Effects Analysis (FMEA). It’s like a special tool that helps businesses detect, understand and fix problems faster. In this blog, we’ll see what is FMEA, how it helps, and how it can make MTTD and MTTR numbers even better.

What is FMEA ? :

As per web search results “FMEA is the process of reviewing as many components, assemblies, and subsystems as possible to identify potential failure modes in a system and their causes and Potential Effects.”

In simple words “FMEA is a method used to identify potential failure modes in a system, along with their causes and potential effects”

Understanding FMEA process :

To understand the concept of FMEA, let us step out of the software domain and into the world of vehicle manufacturing. Imagine you are an engineer working at a car company facing declining sales due to various issues, like brake failures and tire bursts. You want to improve vehicle performance and regain customer trust using FMEA. In FMEA, you identify failures and then:

Potential Failure Modes: In what ways could the problem occur.
Potential Causes: What causes failure modes to occur.
Potential Effects : What are the effects on end users if problem is not prevented.
Action Recommended : What are the recommended actions for reducing or preventing the problem.

For instance, consider critical car failures:

1. Brake Failure:

• Failure Mode: Brakes stop working.
• Potential Causes : Brake fluid leak, worn-out brake pads, mechanical failure.
• Potential Effects: Vehicle damage, accidents, decreased sales etc.
• Action Recommended: Regular brake maintenance, inspections, quality control.

2. Tire Burst:

• Potential Failure Mode : One or more tires suddenly burst.
• Potential Causes: Low tire pressure, road debris, poor tire quality.
• Potential Effects: Vehicle damage, accidents, decreased sales etc.
• Action Recommended: Regular tire checks, avoiding debris, high-quality tires.

3. Driver Drunk:

• Potential Failure Mode : The driver is intoxicated while driving.
• Potential Causes : Alcohol consumption, impaired judgment.
• Potential Effects: Vehicle accidents, decreased sales etc.
• Action Recommended: Strict laws, awareness campaigns, ignition interlock systems.

4. Driver Dozing Off:

• Failure Mode: The driver falls asleep while driving.
• Potential Causes: Fatigue, long drives without breaks.
• Potential Effects: Vehicle accidents, decreased sales etc.
• Action Recommended: Rest before drives, breaks, in-vehicle alerts.

5. Sudden Object Appearing:

• Potential Failure Mode : An object appears suddenly in front of the vehicle.
• Potential Causes : Limited visibility, falling objects, sudden crossings.
• Potential Effects: Vehicle accidents, decreased sales etc.
• Action Recommended : Safe distances, speed limits, advanced driver systems.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ySHY097r3c

By analyzing these failure modes, their potential causes and effects, vehicle manufacturers and safety experts can take specific preventive measures to reduce these failures occurring. This includes implementing identified Action Recommended items resulting in improving MTTD and MTTR the failures.

In FMEA process we take failures in priority order (example Brake Failure, Tire Burst), with Action Recommended items we create necessary work items to the respective engineering teams. Engineers work on these items, improving failure prevention. This is iterative approach ensures continuous enhancements in products and services.

Conclusion

FMEA is more than a technique; it’s a mindset that drives industries toward excellence. By identifying failures and understanding their impact, we can create products and services that are reliable and customer-centric. FMEA empowers engineers to identify weaknesses and make improvements, ultimately creating better products.

In upcoming blogs, we will understand how the FMEA technique is applied in the cloud computing domain, ensuring cloud services are available 99.999% of the time.