Optimize risk management in aeronautics with Skill FMEA Pro: from design to maintenance

In the modern aeronautics industry, a program is no longer a linear sequence of distinct phases - design, production, maintenance - but an ecosystem of interconnected data. The concept of the "Digital Thread" embodies this vision: a continuity of information that ensures that every player, at every stage of the lifecycle, has an accurate, up-to-date and coherent vision of the product. Risk management is the backbone of this digital thread. However, a fragmented approach, where design, process and maintenance risk analyses are carried out in separate, disconnected tools, creates "data chasms". These breaks in the digital thread are major sources of inefficiency, inconsistency and, ultimately, risk.

Optimizing risk management is therefore not just a matter of improving each individual analysis, but of integrating them into a logical, digital continuum. Skill FMEA Pro has been designed to be this unifying platform. It weaves the digital thread of risk data throughout the entire lifecycle, from the initial sketch on CAD software to the in-service aircraft maintenance plan. This article explores how Skill FMEA Pro supports engineers at every stage, transforming a series of risk analyses into an integrated, dynamic reliability management system.

Upstream of the cycle: Building reliability right from the design phase

The law of engineering is implacable: the later in the life cycle a defect is detected, the exponentially higher the cost of correcting it. A design weakness that could have been corrected by a few clicks in a CAD model may require costly tooling modifications if discovered in production, or worse, a multi-million dollar recall program if identified in service. The "shift left" principle - moving risk detection and mitigation efforts as far upstream as possible - is therefore both an economic and a safety imperative.

Design FMEA (DFMEA): The backbone of reliability engineering

Design FMEA (DFMEA) is the structured methodology that embodies this proactive approach. It is carried out by engineering teams during the design and development phases to systematically analyze a product before it is even manufactured. The aim is to anticipate all the ways in which the product might fail to perform its intended functions, by examining potential failures linked to material properties, geometry, tolerances, interfaces between components or even interactions with software.

Skill FMEA Pro provides a robust digital environment for these complex analyses. Unlike a spreadsheet, which struggles to represent the hierarchical and functional relationships of an aeronautical system, Skill FMEA Pro models the decomposition of the product (system, subsystem, component), associating functions at each level, and linking failure modes, causes and effects in a logical, navigable structure. This structured approach ensures that the analysis is exhaustive and that cause-and-effect relationships are clearly established, which is fundamental to accurate risk assessment.

Integration with the engineering ecosystem: the end of data silos

One of the biggest challenges of DFMEA is to ensure that it is carried out on the right version of the design. In a fast-paced development environment, where design evolves daily, conducting DFMEA on obsolete designs is a waste of time and creates a false sense of security. This is why integrating the FMEA tool with the engineering ecosystem is essential.

Skill FMEA Pro is designed to interface with Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) and Computer Aided Design (CAD) systems. This integration enables direct import of the Bill of Materials (BOM) and product tree from the PLM system, which is the single source of truth for product definition. This ensures that the FMEA is always synchronized with the official design configuration. This connection eliminates double entry, reduces the risk of error and firmly anchors risk analysis at the heart of the design process, rather than relegating it to a peripheral, disconnected activity.

At the heart of the cycle: Ensuring manufacturing and assembly quality

A perfect design does not guarantee a perfect product. The transition from digital definition to physical reality is a critical phase in which new risks emerge. Manufacturing, assembly, testing and logistics processes can all introduce defects that compromise the design intent.

Process FMEA: Translating design intent into industrial reality

Process FMEA (PFMEA) is the method used to analyze and mitigate the risks inherent in manufacturing. For each stage of the manufacturing flowchart, from receipt of raw materials to shipment of the finished product, PFMEA asks the question: "What could go wrong? It analyzes failure modes related to machines (breakdown, maladjustment), methods (unclear instruction), manpower (human error, lack of training), materials (non-conformity) and the environment (contamination).

Skill FMEA Pro offers a dedicated PFMEA module, enabling you to build the manufacturing synoptic and link risk analyses to each operation. This approach guarantees complete coverage of the production process. For readers wishing to take a closer look at this functionality, the article "AMDEC PROCESS" available on our blog offers a detailed description.

Product-Process Synchronization: the key to mastering special features

One of the most critical connection points in the lifecycle is the link between the DFMEA and the PFMEA. The DFMEA identifies "Special Characteristics" (SC) - product attributes (a dimension, a hardness, a surface finish) that are critical to safety, regulatory compliance or function. If these characteristics are not mastered in production, product integrity is compromised.

PFMEA must therefore define specific and robust process controls to ensure that each Special Feature is systematically respected. In a disconnected system, the risk that a CS identified in design is not properly taken into account in the production monitoring plan is immense. This is a frequent cause of major non-quality.

Skill FMEA Pro solves this fundamental problem thanks to its synchronization functionality. The software creates a direct, auditable digital link between a Special Feature defined in the DFMEA and the corresponding manufacturing and control steps in the PFMEA and Control Plan. Any change to the SC in the DFMEA triggers an alert or requires a review in the PFMEA. This synchronization is not just a convenience; it is a critical control point that transforms two separate analyses into an integrated management system for the most important product features. It ensures that the design intent is faithfully and rigorously translated into reality on the production line.

Downstream of the cycle: Optimizing safety and in-service availability

The life cycle of an aeronautical product does not end with its delivery. It extends over several decades of operation, during which safety, reliability and availability must be maintained at the highest level. Risk management therefore continues into the maintenance phase.

Basing maintenance strategies on reliability (RCM and MSG-3)

Reliability Centered Maintenance (RCM) is the benchmark methodology for developing optimized maintenance programs. Rather than relying on fixed and often arbitrary intervals, RCM analyzes a system's functions and the consequences of its failures to determine the most appropriate maintenance strategy (preventive, conditional, failure detection, or even no scheduled maintenance).

In commercial aviation, MSG-3 (Maintenance Steering Group, 3rd Task Force) is the standardized and rigorous application of RCM principles. The MSG-3 process uses decision logic diagrams to analyze each potential failure and select the most applicable and effective maintenance task. To function, this logic process requires a fundamental input: an exhaustive list of system failure modes and, above all, their effects on the aircraft.

This is where the digital thread comes into its own. The Design FMEA (DFMEA), carried out years earlier during the development phase, contains precisely this information. It has already mapped each component, its functions, its failure modes and the final impact of these failures. The DFMEA is therefore not just an archived design artifact; it is the essential analytical input for the entire MSG-3 maintenance program development process. By using Skill FMEA Pro to produce the DFMEA, companies ensure that this critical data is already structured, validated and ready for use by maintenance engineering teams. This guarantees perfect consistency between the reliability predicted at the design stage and the maintenance strategy implemented in service, while considerably speeding up the development of the maintenance program.

Feedback: creating a learning organization

The life cycle is a loop, not a straight line. Data collected during operation (breakdowns, repairs, inspection reports) is an invaluable source of information. This feedback (RETEX ) enables us to compare FMEA predictions with the reality in the field.

Skill FMEA Pro is designed to be a "living FMEA". In-service reliability data can be fed back into the software to update failure mode occurrence ratings. A failure that occurs more often than expected will increase its criticality, potentially triggering a revision of the design or maintenance plan. This feedback loop transforms FMEA from a one-off predictive exercise into a dynamic tool for learning and continuous improvement. The knowledge acquired over a generation of products is capitalized on and enriches the "generic" FMEAs, which will serve as an even more accurate and reliable starting point for future programs.

Skill FMEA Pro, the digital backbone of your aeronautical program

Risk management in an aeronautical program is an ongoing effort spanning decades. Attempting to manage it with a patchwork of disconnected tools is an invitation to inefficiency and inconsistency. Every break in the transmission of information between design, production and maintenance is a potential failure of the overall reliability management process.

Skill FMEA Pro offers the integrated platform that eliminates these breaks. By creating a single source of truth for risk data and ensuring its continuity throughout the lifecycle, it establishes the digital thread of reliability. For aerospace companies, this means more than just optimization; it's a strategic approach to improving safety, increasing aircraft availability, reducing total cost of ownership, and building a robust knowledge base for future generations of products. As industry leaders such as Safran testify, the adoption of a dedicated tool is a key success factor in mastering complexity and striving for excellence.