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The Failure Mode and Effects Analysis is a quality method used by the automotive industry to ensure perfect quality of products before an introduction into mass production. Two industry standards are established on the market: on the one hand the approach by VDA (in German: Verband der Automobilindustrie) on the other hand the method according to QS-9000. If somebody is familiar with one method, working with the other one will result in misunderstanding and communication problems. Both standards do have the same principal ambition but the execution is totally different as common word definitions like “Function, Failure Modes, Effects and Causes” are interpreted differently. As a consequence information can be found in different columns of the chosen format sheet. For a better understanding of the two approaches the existing case study shown by VDA will be taken as an example to describe the equivalent steps according to QS-9000.

Nature does not know any problems! All problems are created by people who either know or do not know what they are doing. Therefore problems can only be solved by humans. Modern vehicles consist of more than 10.000 single parts which are connected by a huge amount of interfaces. In order to fulfill the lifetime requirement for all systems many theoretical and physical investigations are required in the development phase. The task of this article is to describe a simple analysis method - the Cause and Effect Diagram (CE Diagram) to identify and visualize problems during the product development as well as during the manufacturing process. The original application of the forties will be enhanced by some new aspects.

Automobile systems are often linked with a high amount of interfaces in a vehicle. An essential assumption for a trouble-free application is a clearly defined information-flow over the life time period of a product. If any information is not included or not communicated to the responsible technical departments the consequence may be an unintended visit to a repair shop or perhaps even a vehicle recall. To avoid such uncomfortable situations Ford Motor Company applies and recommends a systematic approach to analyze all affected interfaces for successful system integration. The primary task of this article is to present all necessary steps and tools-in-theory. For demonstration an ideal example is attached which can be used as a practical guideline.