The Skill Being Assessed
Failure Modes and Effects Analysis (FMEA) is a systematic, proactive method for evaluating a process to identify where and how it might fail and to assess the relative impact of different failures. For an Asset Management professional, conducting an FMEA is a core competency. It allows you to move from a reactive "fix-it-when-it-breaks" approach to a predictive strategy that anticipates potential problems in critical infrastructure.
This assessment challenges you to apply the FMEA methodology to a vital piece of municipal infrastructure: a water pump station. Your ability to identify potential failures, analyze their risk, and recommend corrective actions is essential for ensuring operational reliability, public safety, and responsible asset stewardship.
Your Task
As an Asset Management Specialist for the Northwood Municipal Water District, you have been tasked with performing a Failure Modes and Effects Analysis on the critical Northwood Pump Station. This station is essential for maintaining water pressure for a key industrial park and the local hospital.
Your task is to use the provided resources—a station schematic, an operations memo, and FMEA rating scales—to complete the FMEA worksheet. You must identify potential failure modes for the station's primary components, assess the risk of each failure, calculate the Risk Priority Number (RPN), and propose specific, actionable recommendations to mitigate the highest-risk items. Your deliverable is the completed FMEA worksheet.
Resources and Data
Use the following resources to complete your analysis. They provide the necessary technical and operational context for your FMEA.
1. Northwood Pump Station Schematic: This diagram shows the primary components and the flow of water through the station. Use it to identify the items for your analysis.
📊 View Diagram: Northwood Pump Station - Simplified Schematic
2. Operations Memo: This internal memo from the lead operations technician provides important context on recent maintenance and performance observations.
Key Document: Memo: Recent Operational Issues at Northwood Pump Station
3. FMEA Rating Scales: Use these standard 1-10 scales to assign values for Severity, Occurrence, and Detection in your worksheet.
| Severity (S) | Effect | Criteria |
|---|---|---|
| 10 | Hazardous | Failure could cause death or serious injury. |
| 9 | Very High | Major disruption to system, potential for injury. |
| 8 | High | Loss of primary system function. |
| 7 | Moderate | Degradation of primary system function. |
| 6 | Low | Loss of secondary system function. |
| 5 | Very Low | Degradation of secondary system function. |
| 4 | Minor | Minor inconvenience. |
| 2-3 | Very Minor | Minor aesthetic defect. |
| 1 | None | No effect. |
| Occurrence (O) | Probability | Criteria |
|---|---|---|
| 10 | Very High | Failure is almost inevitable (>1 in 2). |
| 9 | High | Frequent failures (1 in 3). |
| 7-8 | Moderate | Occasional failures (1 in 20). |
| 4-6 | Low | Relatively few failures (1 in 2,000). |
| 2-3 | Remote | Failure is unlikely (1 in 15,000). |
| 1 | Nearly Impossible | Failure is highly unlikely (<1 in 1,500,000). |
| Detection (D) | Likelihood | Criteria |
|---|---|---|
| 10 | Absolute Uncertainty | Cannot be detected or not checked. |
| 9 | Very Remote | Very remote chance of detection. |
| 8 | Remote | Remote chance of detection. |
| 7 | Very Low | Very low chance of detection. |
| 6 | Low | Low chance of detection. |
| 5 | Moderate | Moderately likely to be detected. |
| 4 | Moderately High | Moderately high chance of detection. |
| 3 | High | High chance of detection. |
| 2 | Very High | Very high chance of detection. |
| 1 | Almost Certain | Failure is almost certain to be detected. |
4. FMEA Worksheet Template: Download and complete this worksheet with your analysis.
Failure Modes and Effects Analysis (FMEA) Worksheet
| Component | Potential Failure Mode | Potential Effects of Failure | Severity (S) | Potential Causes | Occurrence (O) | Current Controls | Detection (D) | Risk Priority Number (RPN) | Recommended Actions |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Submit Your Work
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Next Steps
Excellent work applying the FMEA process to this critical asset. This skill is fundamental to proactive and responsible asset management.
Please navigate back to the course home to continue to the next section.
