TABLE OF CONTENTS Two methods of failure modes, effects, and criticality analysis (FAMECA) are covered in this chapter and illustrated by two examples. Such an analysis identifies those components in an equipment or system whose design needs to be changed or improved upon to increase their reliability and safety of operation. In a complex equipment or system, all components cannot be redesigned! There just is not enough time, engineers, and money to do this! Consequently, the components that are the most critical, i. e., if they fail the equipment or system will fail, need to be scientifically singled out. A thorough FAMECA done by experienced design and reliability Engineers, together, will accomplish this task and find which components and which failure modes should be tackled first and improved on.
This method is covered in two parts.Part 1 covers the purpose and outlines the manner in which the FAMECA is applied. Part 2 describes the procedures required to conduct a FAMECA and the sequence of responsibilities required at the component, subsystem, and system levels of reliability analysis. The format used in illustrating the application of the technique is precisely the same format that should be used when this technique is incorporated into a design assurance manual.
In the design of complex systems, in general, the critical components in the design cannot be identified through a simple inspection of the design. Consequently, a systematic approach to identify and rank the criticality and the corresponding increases in...
