Using functional analysis diagrams to improve product reliability and cost

Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (FMEA) and Value Engineering (VE) are well-established methods in the manufacturing industry, commonly applied to optimize product reliability and cost respectively. Both processes, however, require cross-functional teams to identify and evaluate the product/process functions and are resource-intensive, hence their application is mostly limited to large organizations. In this paper, we present a methodology involving the concurrent execution of FMEA and VE, assisted by a set of hierarchical Functional Analysis Diagram (FAD) models, along with the outcomes of a pilot application in a UK-based manufacturing Small-Medium Enterprise (SME). Analysis of the results indicate that this new approach could significantly enhance the resource efficiency and effectiveness of both FMEA and VE processes

Empowering manufacturing personnel through functional understanding

A growing interest in organizational knowledge management, along with increasingly widespread adoption of Quality Standards such as ISO 9001, has increasingly led organizations to implement training programs for all employees. Training for the manufacturing workforce, however, remains limited to informal “On-the-Job” training, administered by peer colleagues or supervisors - particularly in Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) where economic, educational, cognitive and cultural constraints to training are often deeply embedded. This paper proposes a methodology for training the manufacturing workforce on the functions of products and their constituent parts, and presents a case study conducted in a UK-based manufacturing SME - aiming to verify our two research hypotheses: Functional Analysis Diagrams (FAD) of the company’s products and parts would assist in knowledge assimilation; and, the knowledge assimilation has a positive effect on work quality and productivity levels. This intervention provided training on the purpose of the processes the participants are involved, aiming to empower them in supporting the optimization of these same processes. By using surveys and applying statistical inference on long-term quantitative data, the study confirmed subjective observations of substantial improvements in work quality (scrap reduction of 63%) and increased productivity (setup time reduced by 67%). To our knowledge, we were the first to examine the effect of functional modelling methods for workforce training in a manufacturing setup. Although this paper presents a single case study, the results suggest that the proposed methodology can be a promising solution for the industry

Using functional analysis diagrams for production cost optimization

This paper presents a methodology combining Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (FMEA) and Value Engineering (VE), assisted by a set of hierarchical Functional Analysis Diagram (FAD) models, and its pilot introduction in a UK-based manufacturing Small Medium Enterprise (SME). The proposed methodology suggests the parallel execution of both processes, using a combination of FAD models and the FMEA tabular tool to yield results for both FMEA and VE. The resulting Risk Priority Number (RPN) is used to identify and prioritize not only the high-risk components requiring improvements (highest RPN values), but also the potentially superfluous components (lowest RPN values