A New Approach for Prioritization of Failure Mode in FMECA Using Encouragement Variable Weight AHP

Abstract:

The traditional failure mode, effect, and criticality analysis (FMECA) uses risk priority number (RPN) to evaluate the risk level of a failure mode. The RPN index is calculated by multiplication of severity, occurrence and detection factors. The most critically debated disadvantage of this approach is that various combinations of these three factors may produce an identical value of RPN. This paper reviews the drawbacks in traditional FMECA and proposes a new approach to overcome these shortcomings. The proposed approach evaluates risk of failure mode by encouragement-variable-weighted analytic hierarchy process (EVW-AHP) that can prioritize failure modes even if two or more failure modes have same RPN. An example is provided to show the potential applications of the proposed approach and the detailed computational process is presented. The results based on the case study show the proposed new methodology solves the limitations of traditional FMECA approach and is feasible.

• Periodical: Applied Mechanics and Materials (Volume 289)
• Pages: 93-98
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.4028/www.scientific.net/AMM.289.93
• Online since: February 2013
• Authors: Shu Zhong Zhang, Qin Da Zeng, Gong Zhang
• Keywords: Analysis Hierarchy Process (AHP), Encouragement Variable Weight, Failure Mode, Failure Mode Effects and Criticality Analysis (FMECA), Risk Evaluation, RPN

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