Three Reasons Why You Should Wait to Purchase AIAG-VDA FMEA Handbook Training
Even though we sell FMEA training and could be making a lot of money, we have advised our customers and are now advising you to wait before purchasing AIAG VDA FMEA Handbook related training from any company including ours.
New FMEA manuals provide a great opportunity for companies like ours who sell FMEA training to make a lot of money. Depending on where you go it is going to cost you anywhere from $1500 to $2300 per person for AIAG VDA DFMEA and PFMEA training.
You may be asking yourself why a company that sells FMEA training is advising companies to hold off on purchasing AIAG VDA FMEA Handbook training.
Simply put, we put our customers first and we believe there are three good reasons why you should wait:
- your company may not have to use the new DFMEA and PFMEA methodologies
- your company may be allowed to use different DFMEA and PFMEA methodologies that are very similar to the DFMEA and PFMEA methodologies you have been using
- the new DFMEA and PFMEA methodologies contained in the AIAG VDA FMEA Handbook are fundamentally flawed and if used will result in DFMEAs and PFMEAs that take longer to create and cannot be used to manage design and process risk. The existing training on the market currently does not identify these weaknesses and how to mitigate them
Reason 1: Why You May Not Have to Use the New DFMEA and PFMEA Methodologies
The AIAG VDA FMEA Handbook is not a standard. The only way it becomes a standard is if the major automotive companies identify compliance with it as an IATF Customer Specific Requirement. Once thought to be guaranteed, evidence exists that the declaration of compliance with the AIAG VDA FMEA Handbook as an IATF Customer Specific Requirement by the major automotive companies is now in doubt.
Reason 2: Alternative DFMEA and PFMEA Methods May Be Available for Use
The AIAG and VDA are not the only source of FMEA manuals. The SAE J1739 “Potential Failure Modes and Effects Analysis in Design (Design FMEA), Potential Failure Modes and Effects Analysis in Manufacturing and Assembly Processes” standard is considered by many to be the FMEA standard for the automotive industry. For eighteen years, the SAE J1739 standard and AIAG FMEA manuals have declared themselves as being technical equivalents. A revision of the SAE J1739 standard is going to be released soon. Evidence exists that when the revised SAE J1739 standard is published there will be significant differences between the AIAG VDA FMEA Handbook and the SAE J1739 standard.
Reason 3: AIAG VDA FMEA Handbook DFMEA and PFMEA Methodologies are Fundamentally Flawed
The core DFMEA and PFMEA methodologies found in the AIAG VDA FMEA Handbook are twenty-four years old. FMEA methodology has changed considerably over that time period as companies learned more about the proper implementation and use of FMEAs. Unfortunately, the VDA FMEA methodologies that form the foundation of the AIAG VDA FMEA Handbook have experienced only cosmetic changes since their introduction in 1996. The reason for this is simple. The VDA FMEA methodologies are software based. The implementation of the lessons learned since 1996 about FMEA implementation would require a complete redesign of the existing VDA FMEA software. The financial cost would be considerable.
If used in their current form, the dated software based VDA FMEA methodologies found in the handbook contain seven fundamental flaws that will severely increase FMEA creation time and/or create DFMEAs and PFMEAs that cannot be used to effectively manage risk. Any AIAG VDA FMEA training must identify these fundamental flaws and provide instructions on how to mitigate them. As of the writing of the article, none of the training currently on the market does.
To Learn More
Click on the link below if you want to learn more about:
- why adoption of the new AIAG VDA FMEA Handbook as a standard is in doubt
- the evidence supporting that different DFMEA and PFMEA methodologies may soon be available
- what any AIAG VDA FMEA Handbook training must teach you about the fundamental flaws of the FMEA methodologies contained in the AIAG VDA FMEA Handbook to prevent increased FMEA development time and decreased FMEA effectiveness
Just because you should hold off on AIAG-VDA FMEA training doesn’t mean you can’t learn more about what makes up good FMEAs. Check out the webinars below to take a deeper dive on both the Design and Process FMEA: