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FMEA:

FMEA is a rigorous and systematic process to identify and minimize product (or process) failures, to improve design (or process) controls, to ultimately create a better quality product. It is a process that captures the relationship between Customer Requirements, Product or Process Functions, possible Failure Modes, their Effects, potential Causes, and how the design or process will be validated for Reliability and Risk. Although FMEA is not really an “Innovation Tool”, it is an effective way of critiquing a design or process for reliability issues and is used in Step 6 (Detailed Design Phase) of the Systematic Innovation Process. FMEA uses a tabular form with a series of questions to rank the risk, then take corrective action on the high risk areas. Inventive thinking may be needed to fill out the Corrective Actions Column for high RPN values.