Define the system and unit of analysis
Specify process, population, product, time window, boundaries and aggregation level. Without a defined unit of analysis, measures and comparisons may represent different phenomena.
TECHNICAL GUIDE · STRUCKEL TOOLS
RSK-01 · Processes
FMEA — Indices and RPN
Structures failure modes, effects, causes and controls and calculates severity, occurrence and detection indices to prioritize risk using RPN.
FMEA · severidade · ocorrência · detecçãoFormulários Struckel
01
MANAGEMENT QUESTION
The problem the tool must make decidable.
Before opening a form, define the question that must be answered. A management tool is useful when it reduces ambiguity, exposes assumptions and makes clear which decision will be made from the evidence produced.
RSK-01Which failure modes can prevent the intended function, what effects and causes are associated, and how should preventive actions be prioritized based on risk?
Process tools make boundaries, inputs, outputs, risks and responsibilities visible. This reduces the classic mistake of optimizing one step while moving the problem elsewhere in the flow.
Use them when the challenge crosses functions, depends on handoffs, contains operational risk or requires standardization and clarity about how work actually happens.
02
METHOD ARCHITECTURE
Technical construction: from operational definition to evidence.
A scorecard summarizes multiple dimensions, but the score is useful only when each scale has an operational definition and associated evidence. The total should never hide the behavior of its components.
Define criteria before evaluation
Translate abstract concepts into operational definitions, scales, classification rules and data sources. Criteria should exist before the result to reduce retrospective interpretation.
Preserve traceability
Link each conclusion to data, observations, assumptions and owners. When a score is used, retain its components; when a hypothesis is used, record how it will be tested.
Analyze total score, distribution, critical items and trend. In risk, a comfortable average may hide an unacceptable dimension; in strategy, a strong metric may mask an objective with no execution.
03
WORKED EXAMPLE
How the method behaves in a real situation.
A seal may fail due to incorrect assembly. S=8, O=4 and D=5 yield classic RPN=160. The team should not assume 160 is acceptable; high severity may demand action even with a lower RPN. Modern AIAG/VDA also uses Action Priority.
The example is intentionally specific. Numbers illustrate the reasoning and are not universal benchmarks: limits, scales and targets must be defined for the process being analyzed.04
MEASUREMENT AND INTERPRETATION
What to observe so the document does not become mere form filling.
Measures should serve reasoning. Whenever possible combine outcome, process and contextual evidence. For time series, look for patterns and variation rather than only point-in-time before/after comparisons.
01Severity (S)
02Occurrence (O)
03Detection (D)
04RPN when used
05Action Priority/recommended action
Consistency test
Ask whether another person, using the same definitions and evidence, would reach a similar interpretation. If the answer depends heavily on individual judgment, refine the operational definition, scale or data source.
05
LIMITATIONS AND GOVERNANCE
The tool supports decisions; it does not replace judgment, context and validation.
Established method/tool in professional and academic literature; exact implementation should be tailored to context.
RPN is not a continuous probabilistic measure, and identical products can arise from very different risk profiles. Do not use a universal threshold without severity and industry criteria.
Define an owner, review frequency, official data source and condition for reopening the decision. Link actions to deadlines and indicators, hypotheses to tests, and risks to treatment and follow-up.
DefinitionEvidenceInterpretationDecisionReview
06
METHODOLOGICAL BASIS
References for deeper study of the method.
The references below support the methodological family or principle used. Struckel’s digital implementation operationalizes application, documentation and traceability; it does not change the conceptual limits of the original sources.
AIAG_VDA
Open reference AIAG & VDA. FMEA Handbook: Failure Mode and Effects Analysis. 1st ed. 2019.
ISO31000
Open reference ISO 31000:2018. Risk management — Guidelines.
USE IT IN PRACTICE
Turn the method into a document ready for real work.
Struckel Forms offers a free way to structure this methodology with guided fields, contextual help and print/PDF preparation. Use the tool to organize reasoning; use consulting when the challenge requires design, implementation, facilitation or executive follow-up.