Insert FMEA Data Level Commands
You can insert as many as five data levels in the FMEA Worksheet table: items, modes, causes, effects, and actions. The availability of commands for inserting levels depends on the hierarchical structure selected in the Project’s FMEA Design file. For more information, see FMEA Design Files.
The images in this topic show all five levels available because the structure for multiple actions is selected. In a newly created Project with default settings, the structure for standard FMEAs is selected, which means that only commands for inserting items, modes, and causes are available.
You can find commands for inserting data levels on the Insert menu when the FMEA Worksheet table is active.
You can also insert data levels using the tool buttons on the right side of the title bar for the FMEA Worksheet table and its forms. These same buttons are also shown in the title bar for the Project’s FMEA Fault Equivalence file. For more information, see FMEA Fault Equivalence Files.
Additionally, you can insert data levels using the tool buttons on the Insert FMEA Items toolbar.
To quickly show and hide this toolbar, right-click in the toolbar area and select Insert FMEA Items. Repeating this step switches between showing and hiding the toolbar.
When you place the mouse cursor over a button, it is highlighted. If the mouse cursor remains positioned over a tool button for a few seconds, a tooltip appears, describing the button’s function.
Inserting a data level in the FMEA Worksheet table or the Project’s FMEA Fault Equivalence file inserts all child data levels. When modes are inserted from enabled FMEA Modes Library files or data levels are inserted during automatic FMEA roll up, child data levels are also inserted.
 | For component FMEAs, you indicate whether you want to insert the failure modes in enabled Modes Library files for parts in the FMEA Tree Items table. As your FMEA progresses to higher levels in the hierarchy, you manually insert modes in the same manner as you do for process and functional FMEAs. |
Child data levels are not inserted when you copy and paste a data level in the FMEA Worksheet table or import data into this table. They are also not inserted when a data level is pulled into the System file from the Project’s FMEA Fault Equivalence file. This is because you might delete one or more child data levels for a data level you have inserted in the FMEA Fault Equivalence file. Consequently, you would not want these child data levels inserted again when a data level is pulled into a System file from the FMEA Fault Equivalence file.
Each data level inserted in the FMEA Worksheet table is assigned a unique identifier. Separate fields exist for each data level in the System file properties. For example, the format for the item identifier is specified by > . For more information, see Identifiers System File Properties.