FMEA software to meet Ford CSR Requirements

Ford updated its Customer Specific Requirements, discussed family, foundation, and part FMEAs, and required Ford suppliers to adopt an FMEA software package by July 1, 2022. Ford requires Reverse FMEAs (RFMEAs) to be implemented into Process FMEAs (PFMEAs).

Key Requirements that Ford Communicated:

• Families of FMEA: The organization may write FMEA for families of parts, where typically the only difference in the parts is dimensional, not form, application, or function. The organization should obtain STA review and concurrence before the use of family process FMEAs. The organization should obtain Ford PD review and concurrence before the use of family design FMEAs.
• FMEA Software: Suppliers shall use FMEA software which ensures the alignment of the Foundation FMEA, Part FMEA, Family FMEA, control plan, and other applicable documents.
• Implementation for Foundation and FMEA Software: For forward model programs, that have not yet completed task 1 by July 1, 2022, Foundation and Part FMEAS must be available in the FMEA software starting July 1, 2022.

All Foundation PFMEAs for all manufacturing processes (current and forward model) and subsequent updates to all FMEAs must be available in the FMEA software starting December 31, 2022.

What are Foundation FMEAs?

Foundation FMEAs present the generic content of FMEA for product families or manufacturing processes and can be used as a starting point for developing specific FMEAs.

Foundation FMEAs present experience and knowledge from the past. They are a collection point to collect and present knowledge during the service life of a product. Earlier problems should not be repeated (lessons learned aim to learn from failures rather than repeating them). However, it also makes it possible to create specific FMEAs with less workload.

Foundation FMEAs with software often reduce the cost of creating Design and Process documents. When used in concert with family FMEAs can reduce the effort and cost by as much as 80%. It is generally referred to as Design and Process reuse. Organizations are required to have foundation FMEAs.

The foundation FMEAs are not a replacement for Part FMEAs. They provide a base and generic content, which could be modified when it comes to the part family level or specific part number. There is a hierarchy of structure from the foundation to part families and specific part members.

Foundation FMEAs play a critical role in preventing recurrence by capturing knowledge from problem-solving and ensuring errors are not repeated in future launches. Knowledge gained from problem-solving processes (8D, 6-Sigma, etc.) shall be documented in both the part and the foundation FMEAs.

The FMEA is a prevention tool, the issues, and problem, i.e., detection is captured by the 8-D (both external and internal issues). The FMEA captures lessons learned as a part of the D7 Step of the 8D.

What are Families of FMEAs?

The organization may write FMEAs for families of parts, where typically the only difference in the parts is dimensional, not form, application, or function. The organization should obtain Ford STA review and concurrence before the use of the family process FMEAS. The organization is also required to obtain Ford PD review and concurrence before the use of family design FMEAs.

Reverse FMEA

Organizations are required to have a process in place that ensures all new launches complete an RFMEA event once the equipment is installed and running. This process should be first completed at the equipment manufacturer and then after final installation, on the organization's plant floor.

The reverse FMEA involves design and process engineers working with operators and attempting to make bad parts, beat the error proofing and find new failure modes, causes, and develop controls. The goal is to discover opportunities and implement improvements in the FMEA that were not previously discovered. Evidence of Reverse FMEA events must be available starting July 1, 2022, for forward model programs that have not yet completed Job 1.

A team, using the PFMEA information, walks through the process, testing it to make sure that they have all potential errors identified by the PFMEA for each work station, if a discrepancy occurs, how long through the system does it take to be discovered, and Updating the PFMEA based on lesson learned and changes made.