Design of total failure mode and effects analysis programme

An ISO 9001 based approach for the implementation of process FMEA in the Brazilian automotive industry

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to present a structured way for the definitions of the Process Failure Mode and Effect Analysis (FMEA) attributes, such as potential failure mode, potential cause and potential effect, in order to make it simpler to define the controls and scores.

Design/methodology/approach

– This study performs, through a case study in incoming inspection of raw material, the comparison of a conventional application of the Process FMEA with a proposal based on the concepts of process approach defined by ISO 9001.

Findings

– Even written in a form similar to a script, the application of Process FMEA is a very complex activity and, like most quality tools, before being applied, FMEA should be clearly understood by the team. One way to facilitate this understanding is considering the sequence of events in the failures analysis to understand their causes and effects, just as are the sequences of inputs and outputs in the definition of the process approach addressed in ISO 9001.

Originality/value

– This paper shows a simple way to better structure Process FMEA, facilitating meetings with multidisciplinary teams.

Continuous improvement philosophy – literature review and directions

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of the history and existing research on continuous improvement (CI).

Design/methodology/approach

– Extensive review of the literature.

Findings

– This paper provides an overview of CI, its inception, how it evolved into sophisticated methodologies used in organizations today, and existing research in this field in the literature.

Research limitations/implications

– The literature on classification of CI has so far been very limited. The paper reviews a large number of papers in this field and presents the overview of various CI implementation practices demonstrated by manufacturing organizations globally. It also highlights the sophisticated CI methodologies suggested by various researchers and practitioners in the field of CI.

Practical implications

– The literature on classification of CI has so far been very limited. The paper reviews a large number of papers in this field and presents the overview of various CI implementation practices demonstrated by manufacturing organizations globally. It also highlights the sophisticated CI methodologies suggested by various researchers and practitioners in the field of CI.

Originality/value

– The paper contains a comprehensive listing of publications on the field in question and its classification. It will be useful to researchers, improvement professionals and others concerned with improvement to understand the significance of CI. It should be of value to practitioners of CI programmes and to academics who are interested in how CI has evolved, and where it is today. To the authors’ knowledge, no recent papers have provided an historical perspective of CI.

Avaliação da aplicação dos métodos FMEA e DRBFM no processo de desenvolvimento de produtos em uma empresa de autopeças

Este artigo apresenta os resultados de um estudo de caso realizado para avaliar a aplicação dos métodos de análise de falhas potenciais FMEA e DRBFM no processo de desenvolvimento de produtos de uma empresa de autopeças que é referência na aplicação desses métodos. Foram avaliadas a qualidade do processo e a qualidade dos resultados da aplicação. Os resultados da avaliação sugerem que o sucesso da aplicação dos métodos FMEA e DRBFM, na unidade de negócio caso, é devido à combinação de provisão de recursos, trabalho em equipe multidisciplinar, formação de competências (treinamento), definição de procedimentos, aplicação integrada como outros métodos/ferramentas do PDP, e, sobretudo, não considerar a aplicação como uma atividade proforma. À parte da restrição de generalizar os resultados, a principal limitação do estudo foi ter questionários como única fonte de coleta de dados. Acredita-se que os conhecimentos gerados nesta pesquisa podem contribuir para auxiliar as empresas a alcançarem os benefícios da aplicação desses métodos no processo de desenvolvimento de produtos.