Improving risk analysis capability of FMEA using evaluation based on distance from average solution (EDAS): a case study of turbocharger system

Failure Mode and Effect Analysis (FMEA) is a key risk management tool used in detecting and eradicating potential failure for the purpose of improving the reliability and safety of a system. However, the traditional FMEA in spite of its popularity has inadequacies that have hindered the effectiveness of the tool in analyzing risk of failure modes. Due to the shortcomings of the technique, different improved versions have been suggested in the literature in order for risk to be analysed more effectively but majority of these versions are computationally challenging. In this paper, a simple approach is in troduced for improving the risk analysis capability of the FMEA. The approach utilizes Evaluation based on Distance from Average Solution (EDAS) as an alternative to RPN of FMEA in analyzing risk of failure. A case study of the turbocharger system of a diesel engine is applied to demonstrate the usefulness of the method. The result obtained from the EDAS method were compared with approaches in the literature previously used to address risk analysis of a turbo charger. The result of the analysis indicated that the EDAS method is a feasible alternative technique for risk analysis.