New in Version 11: Xfmea, RCM++ and RBI

Here's a quick overview of the main new and improved features in Xfmea, RCM++ and RBI Version 11.

Parameter Diagrams (P-Diagrams)

New in Version 11, a Parameter Diagram (P-Diagram) is a structured tool that identifies the inputs from a system and relates those inputs to the desired system outputs, while considering the controlled and uncontrolled factors. It is useful in brainstorming and documenting input signals, noise factors, control factors, error states and ideal responses, and helps the FMEA team understand and make visible the robustness of the design that is being analyzed. It can provide important input to System and Design FMEAs.

Item Risk

For items, you can use the Item Risk feature to quickly evaluate the risk for items in the system hierarchy using the same Severity and Occurrence rating scales that are available to calculate RPNs in FMEAs.

New Options for Risk Discovery Ratings

For risk discovery analysis (e.g., preliminary risk analysis, change point analysis, equipment selection, etc.), you can choose to use either questions or ratings. The risk discovery ratings method uses a set of factors and ratings that calculate a numerical value. New in Version 11, you can specify how the ratings will be calculated — product, sum, max or average.

Analysis Plan - Updated Way of Entering Team Members

The Analysis Plan utility allows you to keep track of team members, ground rules, estimated completion dates, scheduled work sessions and other details that will help you to plan and manage your analysis projects. In Version 11, you can now import existing users as team members without having to manually enter their information.

Change Log for Control Plans and P-Diagrams

Change logs allow you to control when users will be able to edit analyses, and record a history of revisions. The change log functionality is now available for control plans and P-Diagrams in addition to FMEAS and DVP&Rs.

Mechanism of Failure is Now Available for Cause Records

The Mechanism of Failure field is now available for cause records in addition to failure records. The user can choose whether to enable it for each record type.

Ability to Link Multiple Actions to a Single Control

You can now associate multiple actions with a single control.

Ability to Repeat Data in the Grayed Out Area of a Worksheet

A new Application Setup option allows you to display relevant text from a prior row in the gray areas of analysis worksheet views. For example, if there are 3 failures for the same function, the worksheet will show the function description in all 3 rows.

Ability to Set the Quantity of an Item that Affects the FMRA

In the Operation properties of an item, you can now define how many identical sub-items the item represents. This affects the calculations in the FMRA.

Updated Select Existing Utility

In the Select Existing Text window, there are now more options to identify and select the different sources of data (e.g., you can copy function descriptions from another FMEA, a phrase set, the PFD Worksheet, the system hierarchy or the P-Diagram).

In the FMEA and P-Diagram, you can now use this utility to select multiple descriptions and create new records.

New Query Options

The Query utility includes several new features, among them:

You can now query for Cause records that do not have associated actions and/or control records. This is particularly useful when searching for causes with high RPN values and no assigned actions.
You can now query for Action records that are associated with control records.

Improved Excel Import/Export

There is now more flexibility for importing/exporting system hierarchy and FMEA data via Excel, including options to:

Match record IDs during import (to update existing records in the FMEA)
Import system hierarchy items below the selected item
Export data from linked FMEAs

Batch Update Reliability Policies

You can now define separate options for items with dependents and items without dependents when using the batch update utility (e.g., you can choose to define the reliability at the component level unless the item has an FMEA).

Ratings Update

When using risk priority numbers in an FMEA, you can now set the revised ratings to match the initial rating values in an FMEA if they are not already defined. For example, if the recommended actions do not reduce the severity of an effect, then you can leave the Revised Severity field blank while recording the analysis and later use the utility to set all of the empty revised rating fields to match the initial ratings.

Remove Links to FMEAs in Reference Projects

If you used FMEAs linked from a reference project to build your FMEA, you will need to remove the links when you finalize the project so that the FMEAs are no longer updated automatically when there is a change in the external source. You can now quickly remove the links to all external FMEAs with a single command, replacing the records with new unique records in the local FMEA.

Option to Define a Default FMEA Structure for a Database

You can now set a default FMEA structure (i.e., Effects Before Causes, Grouped Causes and Effects or Causes Before Effects) for all projects created in a database.

Configure Color Spectrum

For features in BlockSim, Lambda Predict and Xfmea/RCM++/RBI that use a color spectrum to highlight results of high, medium or low concern, the Application Setup now provides the option to select the color that will be used for each range.

In Xfmea/RCM++/RBI, these colors are used in the FMRA to highlight blocks that need improvement in each calculated result column.

Auto Creation of Scheduled Tasks (RBI Only)

In RBI when you calculate the results, RBI will automatically create an Inspection or Preventive task at the appropriate date.

More Flexibility in Project Manager

For all Synthesis desktop applications, the project filter now gives the option to select specific projects (instead of only filtering by specific criteria such as "Project Owner"). If you’re working in an enterprise repository with many projects, this makes it easier for you to quickly access the specific projects of interest to you.

Major Interface Updates for the Synthesis Enterprise Portal (SEP)

If your organization chooses to implement a web-based Synthesis Enterprise Portal (SEP) for an enterprise database, the entire team – including managers and colleagues who don't have Synthesis desktop applications installed – will be able to access key analysis and project management details from any web-enabled device.

In Version 11, the SEP has a fresh new look with responsive design for better performance on mobile devices and more control for quickly accessing the information that’s of interest to you. The website provides at-a-glance summaries of the project plans, actions, messages, metrics, dashboards and reports that you need to stay on top of, and makes it easy to drill down for more detail. It also allows users throughout your organization to view the FMEAs and published reports created in ReliaSoft’s Xfmea/RCM++/RBI without having the desktop application installed.

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