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. 2012 Jun 10;12:150. doi: 10.1186/1472-6963-12-150

Table 1.

FMEA steps[2-4]

STEP Comments
1- Defining the Topic
The topic is usually a high-risk process
2- Assembling the Team
An FMEA team should be multidisciplinary.
3- Graphically describing the process using flowcharts
Identify the failures that can occur, their causes and effects.
4 -Calculating the risk priority number (RPN). The RPN is calculated for each failure identified in step 3
This is done by multiplying the severity, probability and detectability scores (usually using 10-point scales, accompanied by written descriptions for numerical scores.) Severity relates to the seriousness of the injury or impact that could ultimately result if a failure occurs. The probability of occurrence is the likelihood that something will happen. Detectability is the degree to which something can be discovered or noticed, i.e. if this failure occurs, how likely is it to be detected?
5- Actions and outcome measures The team makes recommendations to decrease or eliminate the risk of failures.