Process FMEA Scope

Defining the scope for a PFMEA can be more difficult than for a DFMEA because a process often has more elements to cover than a design. The greater the number of steps or operations in a process the greater the potential failure modes.

Processes typically have more variables than the Design FMEA.

Your PFMEA team will be most effective when the scope of the FMEA is well-defined.

The PFMEA Scope Worksheet provides your team with the necessary information to clarify and fully understand the scope of the study.

If the scope of a PFMEA seems too big, your team should consider breaking it up into sub-processes and performing an individual FMEA for each of those. You can then link the sub-process FMEAs to form the complete process FMEA.

Once your FMEA team has defined the scope of the PFMEA, you should complete the FMEA  Start-Up Worksheet. The worksheet will help clarify roles and responsibilities and define boundaries of freedom for the team.