Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (FMEA) with IEC 60812-aligned RPN calculation, mitigation tracking, and governance review cycles.
FMEA is a systematic, bottom-up analysis technique codified in IEC 60812:2018 (Analysis techniques for system reliability — Procedures for failure mode and effects analysis). The standard defines FMEA as a method for identifying potential failure modes of items, determining their effects on higher-level systems, and classifying them by severity and likelihood. While the standard permits both qualitative and quantitative approaches, Reliatic implements the quantitative Risk Priority Number (RPN) method, which is the most widely adopted scoring system in manufacturing, process industries, and asset integrity management. The platform's FMEA module is designed for equipment-level analysis (hardware FMEA) rather than process FMEA or design FMEA, though the scoring framework applies across all variants.
The Risk Priority Number is the product of three independently rated factors: RPN = Severity x Occurrence x Detection. Each factor is rated on a scale of 1 to 10, yielding a theoretical RPN range of 1 to 1,000. Severity (S) rates the impact of the failure mode on safety, environment, production, and equipment integrity. A rating of 1 means negligible impact with no safety or environmental concern. A rating of 10 means catastrophic failure resulting in potential fatality, major environmental release, or total loss of the asset. Occurrence (O) rates the likelihood that the failure mode will manifest within the assessment period. A rating of 1 means extremely unlikely (less than 1 in 1,000,000 operating hours). A rating of 10 means near-certain occurrence (failure is expected or has already been observed repeatedly). Detection (D) rates the ability of current controls, monitoring, and inspection programs to detect the failure mode before it results in a functional failure. A rating of 1 means the failure mode will almost certainly be detected in time to prevent consequences. A rating of 10 means there is no known detection method — the failure will be a surprise. Note that Detection is inversely intuitive: higher values mean worse detectability.
Reliatic applies four priority tiers based on RPN value. Critical (RPN >= 500): Immediate action required. These failure modes represent unacceptable risk and must have active corrective actions with assigned owners and near-term due dates. Equipment with critical-RPN failure modes is flagged on the dashboard and triggers notifications to the asset owner and reliability engineer. High (RPN >= 200): Action required within the current review cycle. These failure modes should have mitigation plans in progress or scheduled. Inspection intervals may be shortened. Medium (RPN >= 100): Monitor and plan. These failure modes warrant attention but can be addressed through routine maintenance, condition monitoring, or scheduled inspections. They appear in standard reports but do not trigger alerts. Low (RPN < 100): Acceptable risk. These failure modes are documented for completeness but do not require specific action beyond maintaining current controls. These thresholds are aligned with industry practice for process equipment FMEA and are applied consistently across all assets in the platform. The thresholds are defined in the platform's centralized configuration to ensure uniform risk governance.
Every failure mode in Reliatic can be linked to one or more corrective actions. When a failure mode's RPN exceeds the critical or high threshold, the platform prompts the user to create or assign a corrective action. Each action captures: the proposed mitigation (e.g., install vibration monitoring, change metallurgy, add inspection point), the responsible owner, the target completion date, and the expected impact on S, O, and D ratings. Once an action is completed and verified, the failure mode is rescored. The RPN delta — the difference between the original and post-mitigation RPN — is tracked as a measure of risk reduction effectiveness. This creates a closed-loop system where FMEA findings drive tangible engineering actions, and those actions are traced back to measurable risk reduction. The platform also supports linking failure modes to RBI assessments: when FMEA analysis identifies a damage mechanism with high occurrence and low detection, the RBI module can automatically generate or update an inspection recommendation targeting that specific mechanism.
FMEA is not a one-time analysis — it is a living document that must be reviewed periodically, after incidents, and whenever operating conditions change. Reliatic enforces review governance through several mechanisms. Scheduled Reviews: Each failure mode records a reviewed_at timestamp. The platform surfaces failure modes that have not been reviewed within the configured review interval (typically 12 or 24 months) as overdue items on the reliability dashboard. Incident-Triggered Reviews: When a reliability event (failure, near-miss, or degradation) is logged against an asset, Reliatic flags all associated failure modes for immediate re-assessment. This ensures that real-world evidence is incorporated into the FMEA scoring. Management of Change: When a MOC request modifies operating conditions, materials, or process parameters, the platform identifies affected assets and queues their failure modes for re-scoring. All reviews are recorded in the immutable audit log with the reviewer's identity, the previous and updated scores, and any justification notes. This audit trail satisfies regulatory requirements for documented risk assessment programs under OSHA PSM and similar frameworks.