Integrating decision-making trial and evaluation laboratory model and failure mode and effect analysis to determine the priority in solving production problems

Abstract

Failure mode and effect analysis has been applied in manufacturing and service industries but can still be improved. Failure mode and effect analysis is a common tool used to evaluate risk priority number; however, numerous scholars have doubted the effectiveness of failure mode and effect analysis and have thus proposed methods for correcting failure mode and effect analysis from its conventional formula. Because implemented actions can determine or influence resource allocation and its effects, completing one corrective action can occasionally simultaneously improve various failure modes. In this study, failure mode and effect analysis and decision-making trial and evaluation laboratory were integrated to correct failure modes and increase their effectiveness. First, failure mode and effect analysis was employed to identify the items for improvement. Second, decision-making trial and evaluation laboratory was adopted to examine the reciprocal influences and causality among these items. Finally, the priority for improving the items was proposed. By combining the advantages of failure mode and effect analysis and decision-making trial and evaluation laboratory, this research method complemented the shortcomings of the two techniques. According to the empirical research of this case study in which decision-making trial and evaluation laboratory was employed to analyze the causality among the items of the failure modes, the malfunction of production lines can be solved faster and more effectively compared with merely considering the size of risk priority number values.