Up to standard

SAE International has updated a critical standard that helps engineers identify flaws in the assembly and design of vehicles.

Understanding these flaws leads to their prevention, ensuring a better product for the consumer.

Standard J1739, 'Potential Failure Mode and Effects Analysis in Design (Design FMEA) and Potential Failure Mode and Effects Analysis in Manufacturing and Assembly Processes (Process FMEA)', is a revision of the 2002 version.

A failure mode and effects analysis (FMEA) is a procedure for the analysis of potential failure modes within a system that can be used to determine the effect of failures on the system. It is used in manufacturing industries in various phases of product life cycles and is increasingly finding use in the service industry.

The new SAE standard includes updated charts for ranking failure modes and de-emphasises the use of the Risk Priority Number (RPN) as the primary factor in determining preventative or corrective actions.

The RPN gives a measure of how much risk the customer is exposed to for each potential failure mode listed in the Design or Process FMEA.

The new standard also provides appropriate terms, worksheets, requirements and recommendations to guide the user through the FMEA process.

Standard J1739 was revised by SAE International’s Automotive Quality and Process Improvement Committee, which represents thoughts and practices from a selection of original equipment manufacturers and suppliers.

SAE International is a global association of more than 121,000 engineers and related technical experts in the automotive, aerospace and commercial vehicle industries.