Which PSA technique is used to identify and prioritize failure modes by severity and probability?

Which PSA technique is used to identify and prioritize failure modes by severity and probability?

• A. Mean Time to Repair (MTTR)
• B. Failure Modes, Effects & Criticality Analysis (FMECA)
• C. Fault Tree Analysis (FTA)
• D. Level of Repair Analysis (LORA)

Answer: (B)

The main idea is systematically finding potential failures and judging how serious they would be and how likely they are to happen, so you can focus on the most critical risks. Failure Modes, Effects & Criticality Analysis does exactly this: for each potential failure mode you assess the effect on the system (severity), how likely the failure is (occurrence), and often how easily it could be detected. The added criticality step ties these factors together to rank or prioritize which failures need action first, guiding designers and maintenance teams where to invest preventive measures. This prioritization by severity and probability is what sets FMECA apart from other methods. MTTR is about how long it takes to repair after a failure. Fault Tree Analysis builds a logical diagram showing how basic failures combine to produce a top event, but it’s not primarily used to rank failure modes by severity and likelihood. Level of Repair Analysis focuses on maintenance levels and tasks rather than identifying and prioritizing failure modes by their impact and likelihood.

The main idea is systematically finding potential failures and judging how serious they would be and how likely they are to happen, so you can focus on the most critical risks. Failure Modes, Effects & Criticality Analysis does exactly this: for each potential failure mode you assess the effect on the system (severity), how likely the failure is (occurrence), and often how easily it could be detected. The added criticality step ties these factors together to rank or prioritize which failures need action first, guiding designers and maintenance teams where to invest preventive measures. This prioritization by severity and probability is what sets FMECA apart from other methods.

MTTR is about how long it takes to repair after a failure. Fault Tree Analysis builds a logical diagram showing how basic failures combine to produce a top event, but it’s not primarily used to rank failure modes by severity and likelihood. Level of Repair Analysis focuses on maintenance levels and tasks rather than identifying and prioritizing failure modes by their impact and likelihood.