FMEA (Failure Mode and Effects Analysis) Template

Failure Modes and Effects Analysis (FMEA) is a tool that helps you to quantify and prioritize risk within a process, product, or system, and then track actions to mitigate that risk. It can be used for different purposes such as product or process reliability and quality improvement, customer satisfaction, problem prevention, cost reduction, and others. Use FMEA analysis as a catalyst for teamwork and idea exchange that gives a focus point for test or development improvement.

About the FMEA Analysis template

What is an FMEA Analysis?

FMEA stands for Failure Mode and Effects Analysis. FMEA is a tool that helps organizations identify problems with a product, service, or process in order to assess their potential impact.

Customers expect the best. They want quality and consistency. But problems still arise -- and they can be expensive. Finding a problem or defect late in the production cycle can be expensive and cause costly delays. FMEA analysis enables you to discover potential issues before they impact the customer. Understand your potential failures and their associated risks, put together action plans to fix those problems, and evaluate the results of those action plans.

What does FMEA stand for?

F - Failure

M - Mode

E - Effects

A - Analysis

How to complete an FMEA Analysis in 5 steps

Step 1: Pick the process

First, you need to identify the process you’d like to examine. This shouldn’t be a simple one or two-step process, but something more intricate with more downstream effects. Use your process map to review the steps in that process.

Step 2: Identify failure modes

Now, you need to brainstorm potential failure modes for each step — that is, any way in which that step might fail to perform its intended function.

Step 3: Estimate the impact

After you’ve identified each potential cause of a failure, you need to brainstorm potential effects associated with each failure mode. If the step fails, how will it impact the process, system, or product? Be as specific as possible.

Step 4: Assign a severity ranking

Now, you have to determine the potential damage of this failure occurring by assigning a Risk Priority Number (RPN). If this failure occurred, how severe would the impact be? Consider the impact on your customers, operations, or your employees. How frequently do you think this failure might occur? Is it likely to occur often? Or is it rare?

Step 5: Develop a plan

Finally, you need to develop a recommended action - or multiple actions - that deal with the problem. How can you go about fixing the problem, or reducing its severity? Who is responsible for fixing it? What does the timeline look like?

Why you should try Miro for FMEA analysis

Colorful visualizations

Fill in a pre-made and flexible FMEA template using shapes, arrows and colorful sticky notes to capture and organize your thoughts and arguments. Prioritize product or process deficiencies visually to gain the best results and satisfy your customers’ needs.

Integrations

Upload documents and files using a wide choice of integrations with Google G Suite, Drop Box, JIRA, etc. Add visual content such as charts, schemes, and pictures to manage the overall concept of your processes.

Collaboration

Discuss issues and find gaps together with your teammates while collaborating on a visual whiteboard. Type and resolve comments, mention people and ask questions in video chat to save time and increase productivity.