Instructions for using HMI automated FMEA forms
· Open file, select “Enable Macros”
· Go to the tab of the spreadsheet labeled Functions and Failure Modes
In the “Description of Item” column edit the cell reading “Description of Item”, to read the name of the part or product you are doing the FMEA on.
Note: this cell is in black text – the text you enter here will be automatically entered in the FMEA form. All other cells in the “Description of Item” column will display blue text, meaning they are only visible in this tab- the information listed in these cells will not carry over to the FMEA form. These cells can be used to house the descriptive information specific to requirements/criteria for various functions, if desired. It makes the FMEA form less “cluttered” if this information is held in the Functions and Failure Modes tab, as opposed to placing it all in the cell where you define a Function.
Under the Functions column enter the functions for the part or product you are doing the FMEA on. Enter the requirements/criteria for each function in the column labeled “Description on Item” directly across from the function.
Typically, the identification of Functions for DFMEAs is done by the Quality Engineer, Product Engineer and Performance Engineer. The Quality Engineer will most likely facilitate the DFMEA work and do the initial creation of the form.
For PFMEAs, the “Description of Item” column will be titled “Description of Process”, and the “Functions” column would be labeled “Process Steps”. Typically the Quality Engineer, Manufacturing Engineer and Line Leader will identify the Process Flow Chart which will feed the Process Steps portion of the PFMEA. The Quality Engineer will most likely facilitate the PFMEA work and do the initial creation of the form.
· Next, the FMEA team is assembled to review the Functions, or Process Steps, and to begin to brainstorm for potential Failure Modes, Causes and Effects and Design (or Process) Controls.
· After the team has brainstormed all potential Failure Modes for a particular Function, (or Process Step), have them prioritize the Failure Modes that deserve further analysis in the FMEA and enter them into the spreadsheet in the Failure Modes column.
Note: The spreadsheet is set up to include up to 10 Failure Modes. You may delete by ROWS the Failure Modes that are not needed. Most often, you will want to wait until you are pretty far along to delete rows, as it is easier to delete than to add!
· Go to the tab of the spreadsheet labeled Cause&Effects & FMEA when you are ready to have the team identify the various potential Causes for a Failure Mode, and the potential Effects for a Failure Mode Enter the Causes and Effects.
Note: You have the ability to select which causes and effects you want to carry over on the FMEA form. An “x” in the Select column denotes that the information in the cell to the right will appear on the FMEA form. Deleting the “x” from the Select column denotes the information in the cell to the right will appear only in the Cause and Effects area – it will not appear in the FMEA form.
· Next, have the team determine which Design (or Process) Controls are currently in place to address the prevention (p-type) or detection (d-type) of the Failure Mode.
For prevention type controls, enter a “p” in the Type column in the Design (or Process) Control Area. In the cell to the right, enter all the prevention Design (or Process) Controls that are applicable for the Failure Mode. For detection type controls enter a “d” in the Type column in the Design (or Process) Control Area, In the cell to the right, enter all the detection Design (or Process) Controls that are applicable for the Failure Mode. (In instances where you do not have several “p” or “d” type controls, you may find it advantageous to use the lookup key and individually indicate design or process controls as described.)
Note: Only d-type Design or Process Controls are assigned a ranking number for detection. (The p-type Design or Process Controls factor in to the ranking you determine for Occurance.)
· Rank the FMEA for:
the Occurance of Causes (you will probably want to zero in on the causes that have the most opportunity to occur),
the Severity of Effects,
and the effectiveness of Detection Controls, Design (or Process) Controls, and enter the numbers in the FMEA form as appropriate.
Note: Look up keys are located at the top of these columns which will take you to the scales used by HMI for ranking purposes. Or, go to the tabs labeled “severity”, “occur” and “detect” to view the scales.
Sometimes it is beneficial to reserve ranking for a separate meeting with a smaller group (Performance Engineer, Product Engineer, and Quality Engineer for DFMEA, or Manufacturing Engineer, Quality Engineer and Line Leader for PFMEA. In these instances, ensure that other team members are involved in the review of the rankings once documented.
· Capture Recommended Actions and Responsibility in the FMEA portion of the Cause&Effects&FMEA tab (located to the far right). The right side of the FMEA form, beginning with the “Recommended Actions and Responsibility” column is set up (with black text) for input directly into the form. The left side of the FMEA form (with blue text) is programmed to be populated from the Cause and Effect and Function and Failure mode areas of the spreadsheet.
Note: Do not enter text in the left side of the FMEA form, this will mess up the automated programming done for these cells.
Recommended Actions and Responsibility may come up at any time during your FMEA work – you may wish to note them as they come up; make certain to review them after ranking has occurred to determine if they are still necessary. Each Recommended Action should indicate the individual responsible.
· Establish Target Dates for all Recommended Actions with the individual responsible for the action. Document them in the “Target Dates” column of the FMEA.
· Ensure that Actual Dates and a record of Actions Taken are placed in the FMEA form to show the progress of the recommended actions.
· Document in the “Actions Taken” Columns the new rankings for Severity, Occurance and Detection of Failure Modes (and indicate why) after recommended actions have taken place, or design changes occur.
For HMI FMEAs facilitated by Quality Engineers:
The DFMEA should transfer to the responsible Product Engineer when the development process/FMEA work is “mostly baked” and the Product Engineer is prepared to take on the responsibility of updating the DFMEA. Often this is at or after “Release for Tooling.”
The PFMEA should transfer to the responsible Manufacturing Engineer when the process/FMEA work is “mostly baked” and the Manufacturing Engineer is prepared to take on the responsibility of updating the PFMEA. Often this is at or after P2.