5.8 Failure Reporting Analysis And Corrective Action System (Fracas)

So far we have seen how analyses like FMECA, FTA, HA can be carried out and how they can be used during the design phase. However these analyses are based on the previous experience with the design and similar products. Often we do come across several failures during the test and installation phase. To over come such failures observed during operation in the true environmental condition in the future design, it is necessary to compile the list of possible failures in a systematic and structured way. The failures form the wealth of data in designing better product. Questions such as what to improve? and what to design against? could be answered with this wealth of failure data.

A comprehensive failure reporting analysis and corrective action program is extremely important to the achievement of reliability in equipment. It is necessary to have a detailed program which assigns responsibilities to appropriate personnel to carry out this documentation of failure data. Early elimination of the causes of failure is a major contributor to reliability growth and attaining customer satisfaction after delivery of the product. It is easier to implement the corrective action if the failure causes are identified in the preliminary design stage. As the design matures the corrective actions become comparatively more difficult to implement. Cost and time play a major role in each corrective action. Therefore, it is important to employ FRACAS early in the development phase.

The documentation should provide information...