Fuzzy Failure Modes and Effects Analysis Using Summative Defuzzification Methods

Abstract

Nowadays, in order to achieve competitiveness in the manufacturing industry, quality and reliability in design and manufacturing processes are essential factors. These requirements can only be fulfilled by using effective estimation models, instead of the cost-and time-consuming measurements. The widely used engineering technique Fuzzy-based Failure Modes and Effects Analysis (F-FMEA) also serves this purpose. This method is able to identify and eliminate potential problems of a product from the process, system, design, and service based on the available data to avoid possible risk (i.e. repetition of damage and additional costs). Data can be analyzed properly assessing the Probability of Failure (PoF), Consequence of Failure (CoF), and Detectability of Failure (DoF) using a fuzzy-based model, which can work well in situations where there is not enough data for a statistical model. Authors investigate different defuzzification methods in F-FMEA, and propose a novel Summative defuzzification to combine the results of the different fuzzy subsystems.