Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (FMEA) for Small Business Owners and Non-Engineers

Most people take pride in the work that they do. Hand-in-hand with the pride of job well done is work that is "done right," meaning meeting and satisfying expectations in a timely manner and without problems.

When setting out to establish specifications or decide what is best for an organization, its customers, or its clients, initial efforts pursue, "What do we want? What do our customers need?"

"Getting it right" entails more than knowing what is needed or desired. It also entails preventing problems, because along with achieving the desirable, it is important to know what is not wanted.

Addressing the undesirable includes avoiding minor problems as well as worst case scenarios, such as
• the risks that could be incurred if business, regulatory, and safety mandates are unrecognized or overlooked, and
• the types of error possibilities in operations, process, or everyday tasks.

Once the areas at risk or the activities presenting potential problems are
identified, then it becomes possible to mitigate or eliminate
harm by
• implementing new designs or policies
• changing current designs, work methods, processes, or policies
• clarifying workflows, responsibilities, or how to perform tasks
• designing tests that would prohibit errors from continuing through the workflow
• designing "stops" that would shut down the process or system until corrections can be made, or
• designing "corrections" that would automatically correct errors after they have occurred so that the work activities can continue uninterrupted.

This book is intended for small business owners and non-engineers such as researchers, business analysts, project managers, small non-profits, community groups, religious organizations, and others who want an assessment tool that can provide methods for
• identifying the areas or actions that may be at risk for failure
• ranking the risks that they may be facing, and
• determining the degree of threat being faced.