---
title: "FMEA worksheet"
description: "Failure mode and effects worksheet for building equipment, with its severity, occurrence and detection scales."
---

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# FMEA worksheet

Failure mode and effects worksheet for building equipment, with its severity, occurrence and detection scales.

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14 columns

1. Item number
2. Item name and function
3. Failure mode
4. Failure mechanism or cause
5. Local effect
6. Next higher level effect
7. End effect
8. Failure detection method
9. Compensating provisions
10. Severity
11. Remarks
12. Occurrence
13. Detection
14. RPN

Record one row per failure mode, numbered under its item, for example 100.1. Record its cause, its effect locally, at the next level up and at the end, how it is found, and its severity, occurrence, detection and RPN.

Rank the failure modes by RPN, highest first, and list them by severity as well. At a high severity, immediate corrective action may be needed whatever the RPN.

Where a maker’s manual or a local authority sets the failure modes, intervals or ratings for the equipment, it governs instead.

### Severity (S)

| S | Effect | Criterion |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | None | No reason to expect the failure to affect safety, health, the environment or operations. |
| 2 | Very low | Minor disruption to facility function. Repair to failure can be done during a routine service call. |
| 3 | Low | Minor disruption to facility function. Repair to failure takes longer than a routine service call but does not delay operations. |
| 4 | Low to moderate | Moderate disruption to facility function. Some work may need redoing, or the process may be delayed. |
| 5 | Moderate | Moderate disruption to facility function. All of the operation may need redoing, or the process may be delayed. |
| 6 | Moderate to high | Moderate disruption to facility function. Some of the operation is lost. Moderate delay in restoring function. |
| 7 | High | High disruption to facility function. Some of the operation is lost. Significant delay in restoring function. |
| 8 | Very high | High disruption to facility function. All of the operation is lost. Significant delay in restoring function. |
| 9 | Hazard | Potential safety, health or environmental issue. Failure will occur with warning. |
| 10 | Hazard | Potential safety, health or environmental issue. Failure will occur without warning. |

### Occurrence (O)

Adjust the failure rates to the equipment, in hours, days or cycles.

| O | Failure rate | Criterion |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | 1 in 10,000 | Remote probability; failure is unlikely to be expected. |
| 2 | 1 in 5,000 | Very low failure rate, like similar equipment that has had low failure rates under the same volume and load. |
| 3 | 1 in 2,000 | Low failure rate, like similar equipment under the same volume and load. |
| 4 | 1 in 1,000 | Occasional failure rate, like similar equipment that has had similar failure rates. |
| 5 | 1 in 500 | Moderate failure rate, like similar equipment that has had moderate failure rates. |
| 6 | 1 in 200 | Moderate to high failure rate, like similar equipment that has had moderate failure rates. |
| 7 | 1 in 100 | High failure rate; similar equipment has had frequent failures that caused problems. |
| 8 | 1 in 50 | High failure rate; similar equipment has had frequent failures that caused problems. |
| 9 | 1 in 20 | Very high failure rate; almost certain to cause problems. |
| 10 | 1 in 10 or more | Very high failure rate; almost certain to cause problems. |

### Detection (D)

| D | Detection | Criterion |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | Almost certain | Current checks are almost certain to detect the failure. Reliable checks are known for similar equipment. |
| 2 | Very high | Very high likelihood current checks will detect the failure. |
| 3 | High | High likelihood current checks will detect the failure. |
| 4 | Moderately high | Moderately high likelihood current checks will detect the failure. |
| 5 | Moderate | Moderate likelihood current checks will detect the failure. |
| 6 | Low | Low likelihood current checks will detect the failure. |
| 7 | Very low | Very low likelihood current checks will detect the failure. |
| 8 | Remote | Remote likelihood current checks will detect the failure. |
| 9 | Very remote | Very remote likelihood current checks will detect the failure. |
| 10 | Almost impossible | No known check is available to detect the failure. |

### Risk priority number (RPN)

RPN is severity times occurrence. Where detection is ranked, RPN is severity times occurrence times detection.

## Sources

- [Department of the Army: TM 5-698-4, Failure Modes, Effects and Criticality Analyses (FMECA) for C4ISR Facilities](https://www.wbdg.org/FFC/ARMYCOE/COETM/tm_5_698_4.pdf)

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