FMEA

Failure Mode and Effects Analysis is a systematic, bottom-up inductive method that identifies how a design or process element can fail, what effects each failure mode has, and which controls prevent or detect it. In ISO 26262, safety analyses are required by Part 9 Clause 8, and FMEA is one of the primary qualitative techniques used to satisfy them - typically as a Design FMEA feeding the Part 5 hardware safety analysis. Modern automotive practice follows the unified AIAG/VDA handbook: a 7-step process from planning and structure analysis through function and failure analysis to risk analysis, optimization, and documentation.

The classic Risk Priority Number multiplies Severity, Occurrence, and Detection into a single 1-1000 figure - simple, but it treats S9/O2/D2 the same as S2/O9/D2, hiding severe risks behind low products. The AIAG/VDA handbook replaced it with Action Priority: a lookup table that maps each S/O/D combination to High, Medium, or Low priority, weighting severity so a severe-but-rare failure cannot be averaged away. AP tells you whether action is required, not just how a number ranks. The course covers both, including thresholds, action triggers, and when legacy RPN reporting is still asked for.

A Design FMEA analyzes the product design: how a component or system element can fail to perform its function - a sensor open circuit, a stuck-open throttle path - and what design controls prevent or detect it before hardware release. A Process FMEA analyzes manufacturing and assembly: how a correctly designed part can be built wrong - a missed torque, a swapped connector - and which process controls catch it. Both use the same 7-step structure and rating logic but different scopes, effects chains, and control types. The course gives each its own chapter with automotive examples.

Each hardware failure mode identified in the DFMEA must be mapped against the safety mechanisms claimed to detect it, and ISO 26262 Part 5 Annex D provides the reference tables for what coverage a mechanism type can claim. That mapping validates the diagnostic coverage percentages used in the FMEDA and the architectural metrics - and exposes single-point failures with no mechanism at all. The course teaches this linkage explicitly, including SPF, residual, and latent failure identification, and the case study reaches an 89% DC claim for an ASIL C throttle control module with traceable evidence.

The course has 12 chapters, from FMEA fundamentals through the AIAG/VDA 7-step process, DFMEA, PFMEA, S/O/D rating calibration, RPN versus AP, diagnostic coverage linkage, and ISO 26262 integration, ending with best practices and common pitfalls. It includes 6 interactive tools - among them an RPN and AP calculator, a failure net builder, and a diagnostic coverage mapper - plus a complete DFMEA case study of an ASIL C electronic throttle control module with 34 rated failure modes. A free account starts you off, and the Pro and Expert plans unlock more of the library.