This AIR by the G-11AT (Automation and Tools) subcommittee, examines the failure mode, effects and criticality analysis (FMECA) requirements and procedures as performed on current and earlier vintage engineering programs. The subcommittee has focused on these procedures in relation to the concurrent engineering (CE) environment to determine where it may be beneficial, to both FMECA analysts and users, to automate some or all of the FMECA processes.

Its purpose is to inform the reader about FMECAs and how the FMECA process could be automated in a concurrent engineering environment. There is no intent on the part of the authors that the material presented should become requirements or specifications imposed as part of any future contract.

The report is structured to include the following subjects:

a

A FMECA overview

b

The current FMECA process

c

FMECA in the concurrent engineering environment

d

FMECA automation

e

The benefits of automation