Who is responsible for PFMEA?

Responsibilities within the organization

When an organization decides to use the PFMEA methodology one of the first questions that arise is about responsibility for the process… and usually after this time the organization gets stuck in a long series of negotiations in the management team, usually between the engineering and quality departments.

The ambiguity arises from a poor understanding of what this responsibility means or because of the behavior of that organization in terms of (non) allocation by the top management of the necessary resources (people, time) to carry out various activities.

As a methodology, the PFMEA requires the existence of that multidisciplinary team that all organizations know about, but unfortunately in many of them the implementation, the allocation of resources, is deficient. In order to benefit from the advantages of using PFMEA in terms of risk reduction we need a facilitator, process engineering, quality, maintenance, production, design as well as the real involvement of Top Management by allocating these necessary resources.

According to the AIAG / VDA FMEA standard, the basic team for PFMEA consists of:

• facilitator, process engineer, ergonomics engineer, process validation engineer, quality / reliability engineer, others responsible for process development

According to the AIAG / VDA FMEA standard, the extended team for PFMEA consists of:

• project manager, design engineer, service engineer, maintenance staff, operators, procurement staff and others as needed

Top management is practically represented in the team by the project manager and is responsible for:

• taking decisions on identifying risks and necessary actions, define team responsibilities, define and implement the necessary support and resources for the team, manage the entire budget allocated to the implementation or revision of the PFMEA

The facilitator can be any of the team members, if he has the necessary skills and training. In general, as the realization or revision of the PFMEA involves activities related to the production process including its modifications, this position is occupied by a process engineer. This aspect is not mandatory, it is not established in the standard, the position can very well be assigned to a quality engineer. The facilitator is responsible for:

• organizing and coordinating activities, participate in team formation, resolve conflicts, moderate PFMEA workshops

Core team members are responsible for:

• contributing to the development of PFMEA workshops based on experience and knowledge about the product and process or from the realization of other PFMEA

Extended team members are responsible for:

• contributing to the development of PFMEA workshops with information on special topics or on product and process

Once the real allocation of resources by the Top Management has been made, there should be no more hesitation in taking responsibility for the PFMEA, but on the contrary a certain pride will be visible in assuming this coordination responsibility regardless of whether it will be allocated to the engineering department. or the quality department.

Finally, who doesn't like to brag about well-done things, products or processes in which risks have been eliminated or substantially reduced?