Failure mode and effects analysis in the U.K. motor industry: A state‐of‐the‐art study

Abstract

This paper reports the main findings of a questionnaire survey on the use of failure mode and effects analysis (FMEA) in the United Kingdom motor industry. Survey data were obtained from 78 organizations. Among the main findings are: the majority of suppliers only started to use FMEA because it was a contractual requirement of their customer; however, a number of them are now seeking to make more use of the technique to facilitate their process of quality improvement; FMEA is treated by the majority of organizations as a team activity; engineers still view FMEA as a hard slog; more use should be made of computerized aids to reduce the effort in preparing and updating the FMEA; and the main difficulties encountered in the use of FMEA are related to time constraints, poor organizational understanding of the importance of FMEA, inadequate training and lack of management commitment. It is also pointed out that organizations are not satisfied with the current training courses on FMEA.

A diagnostic service tool using FMEA

“…Automotive original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) use FMEA and require their suppliers to submit FMEA as part of product approval documentation (Dale and Shaw, 1990;Ford Motor Company, 1989;AIAG, 1995;SAE, 2002). Commercial FMEA software provides clerical tools for developing and maintaining FMEA documents but this can still be tedious.…”

Failure modes and effects analysis through knowledge modelling

“…There is also duplication of information in other documents in the factory. As a result, many companies use FMEA merely to satisfy contractual requirements [3] and users may find FMEA a "tedious and time-consuming activity" [4]. FMEA is often carried late in the design cycle after the design prototype has been built [4].…”

Using Fuzzy Cost‐Based FMEA, GRA and Profitability Theory for Minimizing Failures at a Healthcare Diagnosis Service

“…It provides therefore a systematic approach for identifying potential failures before they occur . FMEA has been widely used in various manufacturing areas as a solution to many reliability problems . However, the main literature regarding FMEA is still devoted to manufacturing applications, neglecting the increasing importance of service areas .…”