The automotive industry is constantly evolving. New designs, new features, new models, new ways of getting around.
Including through the air.
It seems likely that the first flying consumer automobile will hit the skies soon—maybe as early as next year. As with any other vehicle, it’s incumbent upon automakers to prepare for what could go wrong through a thorough failure modes and effects analysis (FMEA).
As Narenderpal Marwaha, Sphera’s principal solution architect, and James Tehrani, Sphera’s content marketing manager, write in the recent e-book, “How Quality Soars With FMEA”: “A lot can go wrong with automotive product design, from the innocuous parts such as doors, handles, lighting, wipers, etc., to the immensely complex integrated systems housed inside the dashboard. Similarly, the manufacturing process also needs to be thoroughly risk-evaluated and tested before a ride is ready to hit the roads or the skyways in our example.”
From using out-of-spec parts to airbag malfunctions because a chemical drying agent wasn’t used and everything in between, vehicle recalls are fairly common, but they are also very expensive for manufacturers. More importantly, any part or system in a vehicle that fails could lead to serious safety issues for consumers.
“The quality, reliability and safety of cars and indeed any consumer product depends on a well-thought-out enterprise quality management software that ties together the various inductive and deductive operational risk techniques,” according to the authors.
Download the e-book to learn more about the FMEA process, and how it helps ensure vehicles are safe for the roads.
