What’s Inside AIAG / VDA’s FMEA First Edition?

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This will be the first of 3 articles covering:

A high-level overview of the new AIAG / VDA FMEA Handbook
The Challenges that suppliers will encounter when working to implement the new requirements
Suggestions for implementing processes to meet the new requirements in a way that adds value, and not just additional resources and work. Overall Benefits of the new requirements and process

Today’s article features highlights of the main changes to FMEA including new requirements and potential benefits of the rewritten FMEA tool. Subsequent articles feature significant challenges faced by organizations to realign their FMEA process, and how implemented changes can add value to an organization.

Organizations performing the FMEA analysis will find this new set of requirements and process developed by AIAG and VDA to be a more global and system-based approach to the application of FMEA. This systemic approach requires an understanding and identification of the relationship between a component, subsystems, and the system.

Some of the more significant changes applicable to DFMEA and PFMEA are outlined below, though the details may be slightly different for design or process:
  • New Seven Step Process
  • Structure and Function Analysis
  • More detailed Failure Analysis
  • Ranking (RPN) replaced with Risk analysis (Action Priority)
  • Risk Analysis and Optimization versus RPN and Recommended Actions
  • Risk Communication
  • Old Form vs. New Form
  • Work Element 4M approach to Process FMEA
Other changes….

  1. Supplemental FMEA for Monitoring and System Response (FMEA-MSR)
  2. Totally revised Severity, Occurrence and Detection Tables that determine an Action Priority (AP) methodology replacing the old RPN.
  3. New form sheets (spreadsheet users) and software report views (software users) and change point highlights from both the AIAG 4th Edition FMEA Manual and the VDA Volume 4 FMEA Manual.
For DFMEAs - if an organization has good 4th Edition FMEA documentation of their existing system and subsystem, it should greatly expedite the development of the structure and function analysis portion of the new FMEA.

For the PFMEA - the 4M “Process Work Element” addresses the reviewing of failure cases due to Man, Machine, Material, or EnvironMent, which can assist in identifying more complete failure causes

FMEA work teams will find forms greatly modified with team members likely in need of training to fully understand and effectively walk through the respective new FMEA process.

A new FMEA section - Monitoring and System Response (FMEA-MSR) considers whether failure causes or modes are detected by the system or whether failure effects are detected by the vehicle driver or end user. This new section addresses Risk as it is applied to:
  • Severity of harm, any regulatory noncompliance situations, degraded or loss of functionality, or unacceptable quality.
  • Estimated frequency of a failure cause in an operational situation.
  • Possibilities to avoid or limit the failure effect via diagnostic detection & automated response, combined with human possibilities to avoid or limit the failure effect.
Benefits - the general potential benefits of this new approach to FMEA include:
  • More potential alignment of the FMEA process (Design and Process) with an organization’s overall business goals.
  • Enhanced understanding of component impacts on the larger system for DFMEA.
  • Increase in the relative understanding on the process’ effect on the larger process for PFMEA.
  • Deeper understanding of prediction and detection controls.
  • An expanded continual improvement tool & methodology that deepens understanding and knowledge of the cause and effects compared to the old method.
  • A more informed and useful lessons learned tool.
Next month, the significant challenges suppliers face are explored as they align their existing FMEA process with the new AIAG/VDA FMEA First Edition.