Answers Prepared by me.so pls refer book for full understanding..

Answer ALL Questions

PART A (10 2 = 20 Marks)
1. Differentiate Serial Engineering from Concurrent Engineering.
Sl: Serial Engineering
Concurrent Engineering
No
1
Traditional Engineering approach also CE approach encourages teamwork and it
known as " Serial Engineering",
harnesses the expertise from all the disciplines
towards development had been largely that are involved to work closely together in
sequential in nature.
parallel right from the early stage of the
product design and development stage.
2
control of two parameter
Attempt to control all three parameter (Good,
Quick, Cheap)
3.
CONCURRENT ENGINEERING
SERIAL ENGINEERING
APPROACH
APPROACH

2. Classify the three categories of Design standards.

o Performance
o Test methods
o Codes of practice
3. Define House of Quality.
QFD is a planning and problem-solving tool that is finding growing acceptance for
translating customer requirements into the engineering characteristics of a product.
Group decision-making activity
Graphical representation using a diagram called House of Quality
4. What are the essential elements of IPR?
o
o
o
o

Patents
Copyrights
Trademarks
Trade secrets

5. Classify conceptual decomposition.

o Decomposition in the physical Domain

o Functional Decomposition
6. State the principle of prototyping.
7. State the importance of Value Engineering.

Lowering O & M costs

Improving quality management

Improving resource efficiecy

Simplifying procedures

Minimizing paperwork

Lowering staff costs

Increasing procedural efficiency

Optimizing construction expenditures

Developing value attitudes in staff

Competing more sucessfully in marketplace

8. Define Material Performance Index.

A Material Performance Index is a group of material properties which governs some
aspect of the performance of a component. If the performance index is maximized it gives the
best solution to the design requirement.
9. Differentiate between MTBF and MTTF.
Sl.no
MTBF
1.
MTBF (mean time between
failures) is the expected time
between two successive failures
of a system.

MTTF
MTTF (mean time to failure) is the expected time to
failure of a
system

2.

MTBF is a
key reliability metric for
systems that can be repaired or
restored.

Non-repairable systems can fail only once

Therefore, for a non-repairable system, MTTF is
equivalent to the mean of
its failure time distribution. . Repairable systems can
fail several times

3.

MTBF can be calculated as the

inverse of the failure rate for
constant failure rate systems.

For constant failure rate systems, MTTF is the

inverse of the failure rate. If failure rate is in
failures/million hours, MTTF = 1,000,000 / Failure
Rate for components with exponential distributions

10. What is meant by Fractional Factorial Design?

fractional factorial designs are experimental designs consisting of a carefully chosen
subset (fraction) of the experimental runs of a full factorial design.
The subset is chosen so as to exploit the sparsity-of-effects principle using a fraction
of the effort of a full factorial design in terms of experimental runs and resources.
Fractional designs are expressed using the notation lk p,

where l is the number of levels of each factor investigated,

k is the number of factors investigated, and
p describes the size of the fraction of the full factorial used.
A design with p such generators is a 1/(lp) fraction of the full factorial design.

A way to reduce a huge full factorial to something

manageable
Considerations
Required time, resources
Complexity of set-up for experiments
Major use is in screening experiments where the knowledge of
basic effects is not well known
If 2k is very large, may need to run reduced experiment

PART B (5 16 = 80 Marks)
11. (a) (i) Explain the Morris Asimovs morphology of design with a block
diagram. (12)
Morphology of design:
Detailed description of the complete design process
The design Process

General
Information

Specific
Information

Design
Process

Outcome

NO

YES
Evaluate

Phase I. Conceptual Design

o It requires the creativity,

o Single best concept, feasibility study
o Coordination among many functions in the business organizations
Identification of customer needs
Problem definition
Problem Statement
Benchmarking
Quality Function Deployment (QFD)
Product Design Specification (PDS)
Gathering information
Internet
Patents
Trade
Literature
Conceptualization
Brainstorming
Functional
Decomposition
Morphological Chart
Concept selection
Pugh Concept Selection
Decision Matrix
Refinement of the PDS
Design review

Phase II: Embodiment design or preliminary design

- Strength ,material selection, size, shape and spatial compatibility

Product architecture
Dividing overall design system into sub system or modules
Arrangement of Physical Elements to carry out Function
Configuration design of parts and components
Preliminary Selection of Parts and Materials

Modeling and Sizing of Parts

Parts are made up of features like holes, ribs, splines and curves
To determine what features will be present &how those features
are arranged in space
Parametric design: To establish the exact dimensions and tolerances
Robust Design
Tolerances
Final Dimensions
Design for Manufacturability (DFM)

Define Problem
Problem Statement
Benchmarking
QFD
PDS

Product
architecture
Arrangement of
physical elements to
carry out function

Gathering
information
Internet
Patents
Trade
Literature

Concept
Generation
Brainstorming
Functional
Decomposition
Morphological
Chart

Evaluation of
concepts
Pugh Concept
Selection
Decision Matrix

Configuration
design
Preliminary
Selection matls. &
mfg.
Modeling/sizing

Parametric design

Detail Design

Robust design
Tolerances
Final dimen.
DFM

Detailed drawings
and specifications

Phase III: Detail Design

Complete engineering description of a tested and producible product
Form ,dimensions, tolerances, properties, materials and manufacturing process
of each part
Engineering drawings &computer generated drawings-determine assembly
drg,
Before the information passed on to manufacturing
Phase IV: Planning For Manufacture
Process sheet established
List of manufacturing operations that must be performed on the component
It specifies the form and condition of material and tooling &production m/cs
Estimation of production cost of the component
Designing specialized tools and fixtures
Specify production plant to be used
Planning the work schedules & inventory control
Planning the quality assurance system
Establishing the standard time and labor cost for each operation
Establish the system of information flow
Phase V: Planning For Distribution

Effective distribution to the consumer of the system

Marketing, advertising and news media techniques

 Shipping Package
Documentation
Shelf Life
Warehouses
Phase VI: Planning For Use

User oriented design process

Ease of maintenance ,reliability, safety, aesthetic appeal ,economy of
operation, duration of service
Phase VII: Planning For Retirement Of The Product

Disposal of the product, end of its useful life

Green design-recycling of materials, remanufacture,
Useful Life
o Deterioration
o Technical Obsolescence
o Fashion or Taste
o Environmental Issues
Industrial Ecology Green Design
o RFI
o Power Consumption
(ii) State the characteristics of an environmentally responsible design.
(4)
o Easy to disassemble
o Able to be recycled
o Contains recycled materials
o Uses identifiable and recyclable plastics
o Reduces use of energy and natural materials in its manufacture
o Manufactured without producing hazardous waste
o Avoids use of hazardous materials
o Reduces product chemical emissions
o Reduces product energy consumption
Or
(b) Explain material cycle, product cycle and manufacturing process cycle
with neat sketches. (16)
12. (a) (i) Explain the process of identifying customer requirements with
suitable example. (8)
Define the Scope

Mission Statement
Gather Raw Data
Interviews
Focus Groups
Observation
Interpret Raw Data
Need Statements
Organize the Needs
Hierarchy
Establish Importance
Surveys
Quantified Needs
Reflect on the Process
Continuous Improvement

Example: Screwdriver Project

Product Description
A hand-held, power-assisted device for installing threaded fasteners
Key Business Goals
Product introduced in 4th Q of 2000
50% gross margin
10% share of cordless screwdriver market by 2004
Primary Market
Do-it-yourself consumer
Secondary Markets
Casual consumer
Light-duty professional
Assumptions
Hand-held
Power assisted
Nickel-metal-hydride rechargeable battery technology
Stakeholders
User
Retailer
Sales force
Service center
Production
Legal department
The process:
1. Gather raw data from customers
2. Interpret raw data in terms of customer needs
3. Organize needs into a hierarchy (primary, secondary, etc.)
4. Establish relative importance of each need
5. Reflect on the results and the process
2. Gather raw data from customers
1. Interviews

2. Focus groups
3. Observing product in use
3. Interpret raw data in terms of customer needs
1. Express need as what, not how
2. Express the need as specifically as the raw data
3. Use positive, not negative, phrasing
4. Express the need as an attribute to the product
5. Avoid the words must and should
3. Organize needs into a hierarchy
(one method)
Print each need on separate card/post-it
Eliminate redundant statements
Group cards according to similar needs met
Choose a label for each group
Create supergroups (2 to 5 groups) where possible
Review / edit the organized need statements
4. Establish relative importance of each need
Develop a weighting system for customer needs:
Rely on consensus of the team based on their experience with
customers
Or
Use further customer surveys
5. Reflect on the results and the process
Are results consistent with results of teams interaction with the customers?
Have all important types of customers in target market been interacted with?
What do we know that we didnt know when we started? Any surprises?
How can we improve the process?
(ii) Explain the procedure to solve ethical conflicts. (8)
1. DETERMINE whether there is an ethical issue or/and dilemma. Is there a conflict of
values, or rights, or professional responsibilities? (For example, there may be an issue of selfdetermination of an adolescent versus the well-being of the family.)
2. IDENTIFY the key values and principles involved. What meanings and limitations are
typically attached to these competing values? (For example, rarely is confidential information
held in absolute secrecy; however, typically decisions about access by third parties to
sensitive content should be contracted with clients.)
3. RANK the values or ethical principles which - in your professional judgement - are
most relevant to the issue or dilemma.What reasons can you provide for prioritizing one
competing value/principle over another? (For example, your client's right to choose a
beneficial course of action could bring hardship or harm to others who would be affected.)
4. DEVELOP an action plan that is consistent with the ethical priorities that have been
determined as central to the dilemma.Have you conferred with clients and colleagues, as
appropriate, about the potential risks and consequences of alternative courses of action? Can
you support or justify your action plan with the values/principles on which the plan is based?
(For example, have you conferred with all the necessary persons regarding the ethical

dimensions of planning for a battered wife's quest to secure secret shelter and the
implications for her teen-aged children?)
5. IMPLEMENT your plan, utilizing the most appropriate practice skills and
competencies. How will you make use of core social work skills such as sensitive
communication, skillful negotiation, and cultural competence? (For example, skillful
colleague or supervisory communication and negotiation may enable an impaired colleague
to see her/his impact on clients and to take appropriate action.)
6. REFLECT on the outcome of this ethical decision making process. How would you
evaluate the consequences of this process for those involved: Client(s), professional(s), and
agency (ies)? (Increasingly, professionals have begun to seek support, further professional
training, and consultation through the development of Ethics review Committees or Ethics
Consultation processes.)
Or
(b) (i) Explain the relationship between QFD and PDS and classify
ergonomics and aesthetic needs. (8)
Quality Function Deployment

QFD is a planning and problem-solving tool that is finding growing acceptance for
translating customer requirements into the engineering characteristics of a product.
Group decision-making activity
Graphical representation using a diagram called House of Quality

Correlation Matrix

Engineering Characteristics

Customer
Requirement

Relationship Matrix

What

Absolute Importance
Relative Importance
Technical Competitive Assessment
Technical Difficulty
Target Value

Competitive
assessment

Importance Rating

1.Customer Requirements:
Affinity diagram
Used organize the ideas, facts, opinions
2.Competitive assessment:
Competitive product rank w.r.to two or three products scale 1-5,
3.Important ratings:
Product of customer importance, improvement ratio and sales point.
Relative weight:
Each value of importance weight divided by sum of all values of importance weight
Sum of relative weight is equal to unity
4. Engineering characteristics
Satisfying the customer requirements are listed in column.
Characteristics that can be measure and given target value weight ,force, velocity
and etc..,
+ indicates higher value is better.
- Lower value is better
5.The correlation matrix
The degree of interdependence among the engineering characteristics in the roof of
house .
9 or . a strong relationship
3 or O medium relationship
6.Relationship matrix
the correlation between the engineering characteristics and customer
requirements
Non linear scale 9/3/1/0 weight disproposonality those ECs strongly effect
customer requirements
7.Absolute importance:
multiply the numerical value in each of the cells of the relationship matrix[6]
by the importance rating [3] then sum of the numbers in the cells each column
8.Relative importance
normalized scale 1 to 100 each value absolute importance divide by total and multiply
by 100
9.Technical competitive assessment bench mark ,scale1 to 5
10.Technical Difficulty: Ease with which each of the ease ECs can be achived.
1- low probability success
5- high probability of success

11.Target value satisfy the requirements

By knowing important ECs ,technical competition , feel for the technical
difficulty team to said target value for each ECs
From customer requirement to production planning

Part
Characteristics

Product Design Specification (PDS)

Engineering
Process
Characteristics
Parameters

Customer Requirements

Customer Requirements

Engineering
Characteristics

The basic control and reference documents for the design

and manufacture of the
Target Values
product .
The PDS is a documents which contains all of the facts related to the outcome of the
product development .
Elements
Product
Part
Manufacturing
performance
Planning
Deployment
Planning
speed
capacity
power
accuracy
In-use purpose & market
Product title
Function the product is to perform
Special features of the product
What is the intended market?
Relationship of the product to the other company products
Target company selling price and estimated retail price
Functional requirements
Functional performance : flow of energy, information, materials ,operational
steps, accuracy, efficiency
Physical requirements:
Size, weight,shape,surface finish
Service requirement:
Factory floor, transportation, humidity , dirt,
Life cycle issues:
human factors:
Useful life
aesthetics
Reliability
man-m/c interface
Robustness
user training
Maintainability
Testability
Repairability

Target Values

Production
Planning

Installability
Retirement from service and recyclability
Cost of operation

Corporative constraints:
Time to market
Manufacturing requirement
Suppliers
Financial performance
Corporate ethics
Social ,political, legal requirements:
Safety and environmental regulations
Standards
Product liability
Patents and intellectual property

Complete possible outset of design

Quantitative

ERGONOMIC NEEDS

Planning the workflow to eliminate unnecessary lifting, lowering and carrying of

materials
Organizing work so that physical demands and work pace increase gradually
Minimizing distances materials are lifted, lowered and carried
Reduce the frequency of lifting, lowering and carrying and the amount of time spent
in these tasks by rotating workers through tasks
Clear spaces to improve access to materials being handled which allows workers to
get closer and reduces reaching, bending and twisting

(ii) Explain the various Sample Codes of Conduct. (8)

A code of conduct is a set of rules outlining the responsibilities of or proper practices for an
individual, party or organization. Related concepts include ethical codes and honor codes.

13. (a) (i) Discuss the various types of creativity methods. (8)
(ii) Generate Morphological chart for the design of a CD case. (4)
1
Open
case

2
Extract
CD

3
Extract
leaflet

4
Replace
CD

5
Replace
leaflet

Steps to follow
1. Arrange the functions and subfunctions in logical order
2. List for each subfunction how
3. Combine concepts
Subfunction
Concept

6
Close
case

7
Store
case

Flat box

Groove
box
Inclined
plane lock
One-piece
flex plastic
hinge

Curved box Case with

handle
Magnetic
Clamp lock
lock
Slide-out, Tilt like
like match shampoo
box
bottle top

Lift/lock
device

Padded
cradle

1.0 Open case

1.1 Hold and
grip case
1.2 Disengage
lock
1.3 Expose CD

Friction lock
Conventional
hinge

Rubber grip
strips
Clicking
hinge lock

2.0 Extract CD
2.1 Disengage
from securing
system
2.2 Grasp CD
and remove

Conventional
Rosetta
Hand

3.0 Extract leaflet

3.1 Disengage from Tabs
securing system

Holding slot

Velcro
straps

Tab that
swivels

3.2 Remove leaflet

4.0 Replace CD

4.1 Place CD in
securing system

Hand

4.2 Engage
securing system

2-finger
push

5.0 Replace
leaflet
5.1 Place
leaflet in
securing
system
5.2 Engage
securing
system
6.0 Close
case
6.1 Engage
lock
7.0 Store

Slide into position

Whole hand

Lay in position

Slide under tabs or in Swivel tabs

slot

Friction surfaces

Attach Velcro

Put magnet together Slide platen into

position

No securing
system

case
7.1 Place
case in
desired
location

Put on table

Put on another CD

Put in special CD
holder

Assume that 5 concepts are drawn from the previous chart.

Concept 1: Conventional square box (1), with the incline plane lock (2) and a slide-out
matchbox (3) for a hinge. The CD is secured with a conventional rosetta (1) while the
leaflet is secured with tab (1).
Concept 2:
A streamline curved box to fit the hand (3), with a friction lock (2) and a
conventional hinge (3). The CD is secured in padded elastomer cradle (3) and the CD case are
designed to stack flat (2).
Concept 3:
The box is grooved to the shape of the finger (2), with a magnetic lock (3) and
conventional hinges (1). A new lift/lock secures the CD (2). The leaflet fits in a slot in the top
of the case (2).
Concept 4:
A standard square box (1) with magnetic lock (3) and conventional hinges (1).
The CD is secured with a padded cradle (3), while the leaflet is secured with Velcro straps
(3).
Concept 5:
A curved box (3) with inclined plane lock (2), with a slide-out matchbox (3).
The CD is held by a rosetta (1) and the leaflet fits into a slot (2). The cases are designed to
stack (2).
(iii) State the various levels in Pughs concept selection method. (4)
1. Choose the criteria by which the concepts will be evaluated
2. Formulate the decision matrix
3. Clarify the design concept
4. Choose the datum concept
5. Run the matrix
6. Evaluate the rating
7. Establish a new datum and rerun the matrix
8. Plan further work
9. Second working session
Or
(b) (i) Discuss in detail the levels and principle of Theory of Inventive
Problem Solving (TRIZ). (8)
TRIZ 40 Principles
1 Segmentation
2 Taking out
3 Local quality
4 Asymmetry
5 Merging
6 Universality

7 Russian dolls
8 Anti-weight
9 Preliminary anti-action
10 Preliminary action
11 Beforehand cushioning
12 Equipotentiality
13 "The other way round"
14 Spheroidality - Curvature
15 Dynamics
16 Partial or excessive actions
17 Another dimension
18 Mechanical vibration
19 Periodic action
20 Continuity of useful action
21 Skipping
22 Blessing in disguise
23 Feedback
24 Intermediary
25 Self-service
26 Copying
27 Cheap short-lived objects
28 Mechanics substitution
29 Pneumatics and hydraulics
30 Flexible shells and thin films
31 Porous materials
32 Colour changes
33 Homogeneity
34 Discarding and recovering
35 Parameter changes
36 Phase transitions
37 Thermal expansion
38 Strong oxidants
39 Inert atmosphere
40 Composite materials
(ii) Explain the axiomatic design and parametric design. (8)
o Developed by Professor Nam Suh and his colleagues at MIT
o Focus around 2 design axioms
Axiom 1:
The independent axiom
Maintain the independence of functional requirements (FRs).
Axiom 2:
The information axiom
Minimize the information content.
Corollary 1:
Decouplin
g of a
coupled
design

Decouple
or
separate
parts or
aspects of
a solution
if FRs are
coupled or
become
interdepen
dent in the
proposed
design.
Corollary Minimize FRs
2:
Minimize the number of FRs and constraints.
Corollary Integration of physical parts
3:
Integrate design features in a single physical part if FRs can be
independently satisfied in the proposed solution.
Corollary Use of standardization
4:
Use standardized or interchangeable parts if the use of these parts is
consistent with the FRs and constraints.
Corollary Use of symmetry
5:
Use symmetric shapes and/or arrangement if they are consistent with
the FRs and constraints. Symmetrical parts require less information to
manufacture and to orient in assembly.
Corollary Largest tolerance
6:
Specify the largest allowable tolerance in stating FRs.
Corollary Uncoupled design with less information
7:
Seek an uncoupled design that requires less information than coupled
designs in satisfying a set of FRs.

14. (a) State the general design guidelines for Machining, Forging, Welding,
Casting, Metal forming and Assembly. (16)
Or
(b) (i) Explain in detail the weighted Property Index and Economics of
design. (8)
(ii) Explain the design criteria for fatigue, fracture and failure. (8)
Criteria for fatigue design have evolved from infinite
life to damage tolerance.
Each of the successively developed criteria still has its
place, depending on the application.
The criteria for fatigue design include usage of the four

fatigue life models (S-N, -N, da/dN-K, two-stage

method).
These criteria are:
Infinite-Life Design
Safe-Life Design
Fail-Safe Design
Damage-Tolerant Design
Infinite-Life Design
Unlimited safety is the oldest criterion.
It requires local stresses or strains to be essentially
elastic and safely below the fatigue limit.
For parts subjected to many millions of cycles, like
engine valve springs, this is still a good design
criterion.
This criterion may not be economical (i.e. global
competitiveness) or practical (i.e. excessive weight
of aircraft) in many design situations.
Safe-Life Design
The practice of designing for a finite life is known as "safe-life"
design.
It is used in many industries, for instance automotive industry, in
pressure vessel design, and in jet engine design.
The calculations may be based on stress-life, strain-life, or crack
growth relations.
Ball bearings and roller bearings are examples of safe-life design.
The safe life must include a margin for the scatter of fatigue
results and for other unknown factors.
The margin for safety in safe-life design may be taken in terms of
life, in terms of load, or by specifying that both margins must be
satisfied, as in the ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code.
Fail-Safe Design
Fail-safe design requires that if one part fails, the
system does not fail.
Fail-safe design recognizes that fatigue cracks may
occur and structures are arranged so that cracks will
not lead to failure of the structure before they are
detected and repaired.
Multiple load paths, load transfer between members,
crack stoppers built at intervals into the structure, and
inspection are some of the means used to achieve failsafe design.
Damage-Tolerant Design
This philosophy is a refinement of the fail-safe
philosophy.
It assumes that cracks will exist, caused either by
processing or by fatigue, and uses fracture mechanics
analyses and tests to check whether such cracks will
grow large enough to produce failures before they are
detected by periodic inspection.

 Three key items are needed for successful damagetolerant design:

residual strength,
fatigue crack growth behavior, and
crack detection involving nondestructive inspection.
Residual strength is the strength at any instant in the
presence of a crack.
With no cracks, this could be the ultimate tensile strength or yield
strength depending upon failure criteria chosen.
As a crack forms and grows under cyclic loading, the residual
strength decreases.
Crack detection methods using different nondestructive inspection techniques have been
developed.
Inspection periods must be laid out such that as the crack grows,
the applied stresses remain below the residual strength.
This philosophy looks for materials with slow crack growth and high
fracture toughness. Damage-tolerant design has been required by
the U.S. Air Force.
In pressure vessel design leak before burst is an
expression of damage-tolerant philosophy.
Retirement for cause (extended service life) is a
special situation requiring damage-tolerant usage.
15. (a) (i) Explain the different methods to improve reliability and discuss
about the cost of reliability. (8)
Reliability
Reliability provides a numerical measure of degree of excellence through time.
Failure: the inability of an equipment to perform its required function
Reliability: the probability of no failure throughout a prescribed operating
period.
Failure rates
Reliability
Constant failure rate and exponential distribution
System Reliability
Components in series
Components in parallel
Combination system
(ii) Explain the process of FMEA and state the importance of robust
design. (8)
Failure mode and effect analysis is a tool that examines potential product or process
failures, evaluates risk priorities, and helps determine remedial actions to avoid identified
problems.

An FMEA is a tool to:

Identify the relative risks designed into a product or process.
Initiate action to reduce those risks with the highest potential impact.
Track the results of the action plan in terms of risk reduction.

FMEA Procedure

Assign a label to each system component

Describe the functions of each part

Identify potential failures for each function

Determine the likelihood of detecting the failure

Determine which risks take priority

Address the highest risks

Assign a Risk Priority Number
Update the FMEA as action

Determine the effects of the failures

Estimate the severity of the failure

Estimate the probability of occurrence

RPN= Severity * Occurrence * Detection

Failure Categories
Complete Failure

Partial Failure

Intermittent Failure

Failure over Time

Over- Performance of Function

Failure Modes are grouped into one of those five categories.

Asymmetrical pentagons

Control Groupings

Type 1 prevent the cause

Type 2 detect the cause
Type 3 detect the failure mode

 Any cause may be a failure mode

Any effect in and of itself may be a failure mode
FMEA Worksheet

FMEA cycle.

Step 1: Occurrence
In this step it is necessary to look at the cause of a failure mode and the number of times it occurs.
This can be done by looking at similar products or processes and the failure modes that have been
documented for them in the past. A failure cause is looked upon as a design weakness. All the
potential causes for a failure mode should be identified and documented. Again this should be in
technical terms. Examples of causes are: erroneous algorithms, excessive voltage or improper
operating conditions. A failure mode is given an occurrence ranking (O), again 110. Actions need to
be determined if the occurrence is high (meaning > 4 for non-safety failure modes and > 1 when the
severity-number from step 1 is 1 or 0). This step is called the detailed development section of the
FMEA process. Occurrence also can be defined as %. If a non-safety issue happened less than 1%,
we can give 1 to it. It is based on your product and customer specification.
Rating

Meaning

No known occurrences on similar products or processes

2/3

Low (relatively few failures)

4/5/6

Moderate (occasional failures)

7/8

High (repeated failures)

9/10

Very high (failure is almost inevitable)

Step 2: Severity
Determine all failure modes based on the functional requirements and their effects. Examples of
failure modes are: Electrical short-circuiting, corrosion or deformation. A failure mode in one
component can lead to a failure mode in another component, therefore each failure mode should be
listed in technical terms and for function. Hereafter the ultimate effect of each failure mode needs to
be considered. A failure effect is defined as the result of a failure mode on the function of the system
as perceived by the user. In this way it is convenient to write these effects down in terms of what the
user might see or experience. Examples of failure effects are: degraded performance, noise or even
injury to a user. Each effect is given a severity number (S) from 1 (no danger) to 10 (critical). These
numbers help an engineer to prioritize the failure modes and their effects. If the sensitivity of an effect
has a number 9 or 10, actions are considered to change the design by eliminating the failure mode, if
possible, or protecting the user from the effect. A severity rating of 9 or 10 is generally reserved for
those effects which would cause injury to a user or otherwise result in litigation.
Rating

Meaning

No effect

Very minor (only noticed by discriminating customers)

Minor (affects very little of the system, noticed by average customer)

4/5/6

Moderate (most customers are annoyed)

7/8

High (causes a loss of primary function; customers are dissatisfied)

9/10

Very high and hazardous (product becomes inoperative; customers angered; the failure may
result unsafe operation and possible injury)

Step 3: Detection
When appropriate actions are determined, it is necessary to test their efficiency. In addition, design
verification is needed. The proper inspection methods need to be chosen. First, an engineer should
look at the current controls of the system, that prevent failure modes from occurring or which detect
the failure before it reaches the customer. Hereafter one should identify testing, analysis, monitoring
and other techniques that can be or have been used on similar systems to detect failures. From these
controls an engineer can learn how likely it is for a failure to be identified or detected. Each
combination from the previous 2 steps receives a detection number (D). This ranks the ability of
planned tests and inspections to remove defects or detect failure modes in time. The assigned
detection number measures the risk that the failure will escape detection. A high detection number
indicates that the chances are high that the failure will escape detection, or in other words, that the
chances of detection are low.
Rating

Meaning

Certain - fault will be caught on test

Almost Certain

High

4/5/6

Moderate

7/8

Low

9/10

Fault will be passed to customer undetected

After these three basic steps, risk priority numbers (RPN) are calculated

Risk priority number (RPN)

RPN play an important part in the choice of an action against failure modes. They are threshold
values in the evaluation of these actions.
After ranking the severity, occurrence and detectability the RPN can be easily calculated by
multiplying these three numbers: RPN = S O D
This has to be done for the entire process and/or design. Once this is done it is easy to determine the
areas of greatest concern. The failure modes that have the highest RPN should be given the highest
priority for corrective action. This means it is not always the failure modes with the highest severity
numbers that should be treated first. There could be less severe failures, but which occur more often
and are less detectable.

After these values are allocated, recommended actions with targets, responsibility and dates of
implementation are noted. These actions can include specific inspection, testing or quality
procedures, redesign (such as selection of new components), adding more redundancy and limiting
environmental stresses or operating range. Once the actions have been implemented in the
design/process, the new RPN should be checked, to confirm the improvements. These tests are often
put in graphs, for easy visualization. Whenever a design or a process changes, an FMEA should be
updated.
A few logical but important thoughts come in mind:

Try to eliminate the failure mode (some failures are more preventable than others)

Minimize the severity of the failure (severity of a failure cannot be changed)

Reduce the occurrence of the failure mode
Improve the detection

Timing of FMEA
The FMEA should be updated whenever:

A new cycle begins (new product/process)

Changes are made to the operating conditions

A change is made in the design
New regulations are instituted
Customer feedback indicates a problem

Uses of FMEA

Development of system requirements that minimize the likelihood of failures.

Development of methods to design and test systems to ensure that the failures have been

eliminated.
Evaluation of the requirements of the customer to ensure that those do not give rise to

potential failures.
Identification of certain design characteristics that contribute to failures, and minimize or

eliminate those effects.

Tracking and managing potential risks in the design. This helps avoid the same failures in

future projects.
Ensuring that any failure that could occur will not injure the customer or seriously impact a

system.
To produce world class quality products

Advantages

Improve the quality, reliability and safety of a product/process

Improve company image and competitiveness

Increase user satisfaction
Reduce system development timing and cost
Collect information to reduce future failures, capture engineering knowledge
Reduce the potential for warranty concerns

Early identification and elimination of potential failure modes

Emphasize problem prevention
Minimize late changes and associated cost
Catalyst for teamwork and idea exchange between functions
Reduce the possibility of same kind of failure in future
Reduce impact of profit margin company

Reduce possible scrap in production

Software
Most FMEAs are created as a spreadsheet. Specialized FMEA software packages exist that offer
some advantages over spreadsheets.

Types of FMEA

Process: analysis of manufacturing and assembly processes

Design: analysis of products prior to production

Concept: analysis of systems or subsystems in the early design concept stages
Equipment: analysis of machinery and equipment design before purchase
Service: analysis of service industry processes before they are released to impact the

customer
System: analysis of the global system functions
Software: analysis of the software functions

Or
(b) (i) Derive the expression for reliability and explain about the system
reliability. (8)
Reliability
Reliability provides a numerical measure of degree of excellence through time.
Failure: the inability of an equipment to perform its required function
Reliability: the probability of no failure throughout a prescribed operating
period.

Failure rates
Reliability
Constant failure rate and exponential distribution
System Reliability
Components in series
Components in parallel
Combination system

Failure rate, , the probability of a failure during a stated period is calculated as follows:
The average life, is calculated as follows:

System Reliability

Most products are made up of a number of components

The reliability of each component and the configuration of the system consisting of
these components determines the system reliability (i.e., the reliability of the product).
The components may be in
series: system operates if all components operate
parallel: system operates is any component operates
combination of series and parallel
Components in Series

If the components are in series, the system operates if all the components operate
If there are n components in series, where the reliability if the i-th component is
denoted by ri , the system reliability is
Rs (r1 )(r2 ) ( rn )

Components in Parallel
If the components are in parallel, the system operates if any component operates
If there are n components in parallel, where the reliability of the i-th component is
denoted by ri , the system reliability is
R p 1 (1 r1 )(1 r2 ) (1 rn )

Redundant Systems and

Backup Components
If a system contains a backup or spare components, it can be treated as the one with
components in parallel.The following formula is equivalent to
Rb r1 rb (1 r1 )

is equivalent to
R p 1 (1 r1 )(1 rb )

Pow er
S o u rc e

B a tte ry
(ii) Explain the various steps of hypothesis testing. (8)