[FMEA Feature] Product FMEA in Skill FMEA Pro

Published: February 2, 2026

Skill FMEA Pro enables the creation of product FMEAs: from functional analysis to risk analysis, control of special features is guaranteed. Bills of material can be imported directly from Excel files or CAD drawings. It is perfectly synchronized with the Process FMEA, the flowchart and the monitoring plan.

The different types of FMEA

Failure Mode, Effect and Criticality Analysis (FMEA) is a proactive method used to anticipate and prevent potential failures in various industrial fields. It can be applied effectively in a variety of ways, depending on the subject under analysis.

FMEA is not monolithic. It comes in different versions, each with a distinct focus:

- Product (or Design) FMEA: This focuses on the potential failures of a product, often due to its specifications or intrinsic design.
- Process FMEA: This variant focuses on potential failures during the manufacturing or assembly phases of a product.
- System FMEA: Oriented towards the analysis of failures in a system as a whole, this method is often favored during the initial design phases.

Each of these types aims to prevent specific risks and guarantee reliability in different areas of industry.

Product FMEA

Definition

Product FMEA, or Failure Modes, Effects and Criticality Analysis for a product, is a systematic method for identifying and prioritizing potential risks associated with a specific product. It looks at the various components of the product to detect any defects or failures that could compromise its functionality or safety.

Objectives

The very essence of Product FMEA is to guarantee the quality and reliability of a product. The main objectives are :

1. Early identification of failures: Recognize potential defects before they become critical.
2. Design optimization: Improve product design by identifying and correcting faults before they occur.
3. Cost reduction: Avoid the high costs associated with product recalls and warranties by detecting problems early.
4. Improved safety: Ensure that the product is safe for the end-user by identifying potential risks.

Application steps

There are several key stages in the application of Product FMEA:

- Establish the analysis team: Assemble a multidisciplinary team including experts in design, manufacturing, quality, and other relevant fields.
- Define the product: Clearly specify the product or system to be analyzed, and its context of use.
- Identify failure modes: List all potential failure modes for each product component.
- Analyze and assess effects: For each failure mode, describe the effect on the product or system.
- Calculate criticality: Use criteria such as frequency of occurrence, severity of effect, and probability of non-detection to assess the criticality of each failure.
- Prioritize risks: Rank failure modes according to their criticality to determine areas requiring urgent intervention.
- Define and implement corrective actions: Develop strategies to eliminate or mitigate identified failure modes.

Advantages:

1. Lower warranty and maintenance costs.
2. Improved customer satisfaction through increased product reliability.
3. Reduced risks associated with product failures and recalls.
4. Increased market competitiveness thanks to product quality and reliability.
5. Facilitates regulatory compliance in terms of safety and quality.

Disadvantages :

1. Requires resources in terms of time and expertise to carry out a complete analysis.
2. The effectiveness of FMEA depends heavily on the skill and experience of the team involved.
3. May be perceived as an additional and costly step in the design phase, although its long-term benefits often outweigh the initial costs.
4. Risk of false positives, where potential failures are identified but never realized under real-life conditions.

It's vital to understand that, although Product FMEA offers considerable benefits, its success depends largely on how it is applied. A thorough, well-informed analysis can lead to safe, high-quality products, while a sloppy approach may fail to detect critical risks.

Criteria	FMEA Product	FMEA Process
Primary objective	Identify and prevent potential product failures	Analyze and optimize process steps
Areas of application	Aerospace, automotive, electronics	Food, chemical, manufacturing
Expected results	Improved product reliability and quality	Reduced costs and downtime, improved productivity
Application examples	Design of a medical device	Improvement of a plant's packaging line
Main benefit	Reduce risks associated with the product before it goes into production	Continuous optimization of processes for greater efficiency

The importance of software like Skill FMEA Pro

In today's world of ever-increasing product and process complexity, the use of software such as Skill FMEA Pro has become virtually indispensable.

Its advantages are numerous:

- Standardization: provides a framework to ensure that analysis is carried out in a uniform way.
- Database: Stores information for future use, avoiding redundant work.
- Real-time updating: As data is modified or updated, changes are immediately reflected, ensuring a constantly up-to-date analysis.
- Ease of collaboration: Several team members can work simultaneously on an analysis, promoting the sharing of knowledge and skills.
- Integrated training: One of the greatest advantages of Skill FMEA Pro is its training module. Both novice and experienced staff can benefit from integrated training sessions, tailored to different skill levels. These training sessions ensure that every team member understands not only how to use the software, but also the fundamentals of FMEA.

The effectiveness of FMEA is strongly influenced by the quality of its implementation. Tools like Skill FMEA Pro, combined with thorough staff training, can help maximize this effectiveness, while minimizing the associated risks.