Using the ‘Build FMEA’ Command to Fill in FMEA Fields
When you select the Build FMEA command, the FMEA module progresses down through the FMEA data levels to fill in the following fields in the FMEA Worksheet: Next Effect, End Effect, Severity, and possibly Failure Effect Probability.
Under the FMEA heading in the System file properties, three properties affect FMEA builds:
• Delete Modes without contributing Effects. If this checkbox is selected, all built modes that have no contributing effects are deleted as the FMEA is built. Contributing effects are a comma-separated list of the identifiers for the effects that contribute to the built mode. In other words, the list specifies the local effects that match the failure mode of the built mode.
• Delete Modes with children. This property works with Delete Modes without contribution Effects. If this checkbox is selected, a mode with no contributing effects is not deleted if it has user-entered effects or causes under it.
• Do not build Failure Effect Probability. When this checkbox is cleared (default), the value for the top-level effect is copied to all contributing effects.
To build our FMEA:
• Select > .
The Building FMEA window opens, showing the progress of the build. As the building process progresses down through FMEA tree items, the following actions occur:
• The end effect of each mode is set to the local effect of the top (system) level. If more than one local effect exists at the top level, the first defined local effect is used.
• The next effect of each mode is set to the local effect of the mode at the next higher level that has a mode description matching the current local effect.
• The severity of each mode is set to the severity level of the top FMEA tree item with which the mode is associated.
• The failure effect probability of each mode is set to the value for the top FMEA tree item with which the mode is associated. If Do not build Failure Effect Probability is selected under the FMEA heading in the System file properties, the value for the top-level effect is not copied to all contributing effects. Whatever probability value you set for each lower-level effect based on its specific context is not modified when the Build FMEA command is selected.