A novel IPF-AHP-FMEA approach for prioritizing failure modes in the automotive industry

Abstract

Determining the priorities of failure modes is a problem tackled in practice through the application of FMEA analysis. This method has particularly found application in the automotive industry, where its use is both conducted and mandated by standard and various procedures. However, numerous drawbacks and limitations of conventional FMEA analysis have been identified in relevant literature, and authors have proposed several ways to overcome them. The approach defined in this paper relies on the application of the Interval Valued Pythagorean Fuzzy Analytic Hierarchy Process (IPFAHP) approach and two novel approaches for determining the priorities of failure modes based on Interval Valued Pythagorean Fuzzy Numbers (IVPFNs) algebra and a modified Pareto (ABC) approach. The model was tested on real data, namely an FMEA report originating from a first-tier supplier in the automotive supply chain. The results obtained through the proposed approaches were compared with those obtained through traditional FMEA analysis. The comparative analysis showed that the proposed models provide a holistic approach to determining the priorities of failure modes and offer a better way to analyze the considered failure modes.