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PFMEA Worksheet with Automatic RPN

A process FMEA lists how each manufacturing step can fail, what that does to the customer, and what you already do to prevent or catch it. This worksheet calculates RPN as you type so you can see where to act first. Export it to Excel or PDF when the team review is done.

Download:

Process step	Potential failure mode	Potential effect	Severity (S)	Potential cause	Occurrence (O)	Current controls	Detection (D)	RPN	Recommended action	Owner	Target date
								140
								192
								81
								36

Highest RPN

192

Average RPN

112

Lines

Gap between highest and average RPN

A large gap means one or two lines dominate the risk.

Rate S, O and D on 1 to 10 scales agreed by your team. The RPN has known weaknesses: always review high severity lines (9 or 10) regardless of RPN. Use the sort and export controls to hand the sheet to your customer or auditor.

Link your FMEA to ERP defect data

Optional: talk to an expert about pulling scrap and nonconformance history into your risk reviews.

Optional. The tool and every export work without this. No spam.

How to use the worksheet

Add one row per process step, failure mode and cause combination. Describe the failure mode as a loss of the step's intent, such as bore oversize or missing weld. Record the effect on the next operation and on the end customer, then rate severity for the worst effect. Rate occurrence for the cause and detection for the current control that would catch the cause or the failure mode before it ships. Edit the example rows or delete them and start fresh.

One failure mode can have several causes, each on its own row
Rate detection on current controls only, not planned ones
Fill the action columns for every line above your risk threshold
Re-rate S, O and D after an action is verified, not before

The RPN formula and its limits

The classic risk priority number is severity times occurrence times detection, giving a value from 1 to 1000. It ranks lines so the team knows where to look first. The weakness is that very different combinations give the same number: S9, O2, D2 gives 36 while S3, O4, D3 also gives 36, yet the first involves a possible safety effect. Many customers now use severity-first rules or the AIAG-VDA action priority method instead. Use RPN as a sorting aid, never as the only reason to close a line.

Reading the result

Sort the table by RPN and work from the top, but also scan the severity column. Any line with severity 9 or 10 needs an action or a documented justification, whatever its RPN. Compare the highest RPN with the average: if one line towers over the rest, fix it first and re-rate. Set a threshold with your customer, such as action required above 100, and record it in your FMEA procedure so audits find a consistent rule.

Common mistakes and ERP links

Teams often fill the sheet alone at a desk, rate detection on inspection that does not exist, or lower occurrence without evidence. Use real scrap, rework and nonconformance data to support occurrence ratings. In ERP or MES, link each process step to the routing operation so a failure mode points to the right work center, and pull defect history from quality records to justify the ratings. Keep the PFMEA, process flow and control plan aligned when any one of them changes.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a good RPN value?

There is no universal limit. Many companies use 100 as an action trigger, others use a Pareto of the top lines. What matters is a documented rule agreed with your customer, plus mandatory review of any line with severity 9 or 10.

Is RPN still used in the AIAG-VDA method?

The 2019 AIAG-VDA handbook replaced RPN with action priority, rated High, Medium or Low. Many plants still keep an RPN column for legacy customers or internal trending, so this worksheet supports both ways of working.

How many rows should a PFMEA have?

As many as the process needs. A simple machined part might have 20 to 40 lines, a complex assembly several hundred. Prefer clear cause level rows over a short sheet that hides real failure paths.

Can I save my work?

Everything runs in your browser. Export to Excel, CSV or PDF before closing the page to keep your data, then re-enter or paste it later.

If your defect and scrap history lives in your ERP, Netray can help pull it into FMEA reviews so occurrence ratings rest on data. This tool works fully without us.

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