Mini course · Intermediate level
FMEA: Proactive Risk Assessment
Find the ways a process can fail before a patient is harmed, and fix the riskiest ones first.
What is FMEA: Proactive Risk Assessment?
Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (FMEA) is a proactive risk assessment method that examines a process step by step to identify what could go wrong, why, and how serious the consequences would be. Many accreditation standards expect organisations to assess high-risk processes proactively. This course covers selecting and mapping a process, identifying failure modes and causes, scoring severity, occurrence and detection, prioritising risks and redesigning the process to make failure less likely.
- Duration
- 1.5 hours
- Lessons
- 5
- Level
- Intermediate
- Format
- Online, self-paced
What you'll be able to do
- Select a high-risk process suitable for FMEA
- Map a described process into clear steps and sub-steps
- Identify potential failure modes, causes and effects for a process step
- Score failure modes for severity, occurrence and detection
- Prioritise risks using risk priority numbers and severity
- Propose process redesigns and measures that verify risk reduction
Who this course is for
Course content
5 lessons · 27 activities · 1.5 hours total · free preview available
1Proactive Risk Thinking: Prevent Failure Before It Happens
Free previewProactive Risk Thinking
Proactive Risk Thinking: Prevent Failure Before It Happens
Video coming soon. Continue with the interactive activities below to explore proactive risk assessment.
2FMEA or RCA? Choose the Right Approach
4 minProactive Risk Thinking
FMEA or RCA? Choose the Right Approach
Available after you enroll.
3Is This Process a Good FMEA Candidate?
4 minProactive Risk Thinking
Is This Process a Good FMEA Candidate?
Available after you enroll.
4Maya’s First Decision: Define the Risk Problem
4 minProactive Risk Thinking
Maya’s First Decision: Define the Risk Problem
Available after you enroll.
5Proactive Risk Thinking Check
4 minProactive Risk Thinking
Proactive Risk Thinking Check
Available after you enroll.
6Choosing and Mapping the Process
Choosing and Mapping the Process
Choosing and Mapping the Process
Available after you enroll.
7Build a Clear FMEA Scope
5 minChoosing and Mapping the Process
Build a Clear FMEA Scope
Available after you enroll.
8Map the Workflow in the Right Order
4 minChoosing and Mapping the Process
Map the Workflow in the Right Order
Available after you enroll.
9How Much Detail Is Enough?
5 minChoosing and Mapping the Process
How Much Detail Is Enough?
Available after you enroll.
10Scope and Process Mapping Check
4 minChoosing and Mapping the Process
Scope and Process Mapping Check
Available after you enroll.
11Failure Modes, Causes and Effects
Failure Modes, Causes and Effects
Failure Modes, Causes and Effects
Available after you enroll.
12Separate Failure Mode, Cause and Effect
5 minFailure Modes, Causes and Effects
Separate Failure Mode, Cause and Effect
Available after you enroll.
13Build the First Failure-Mode Table
5 minFailure Modes, Causes and Effects
Build the First Failure-Mode Table
Available after you enroll.
14Improve a Weak Failure-Mode Statement
5 minFailure Modes, Causes and Effects
Improve a Weak Failure-Mode Statement
Available after you enroll.
15Failure Mode Analysis Check
5 minFailure Modes, Causes and Effects
Failure Mode Analysis Check
Available after you enroll.
16Scoring and Prioritising Risk
Scoring and Prioritising Risk
Scoring and Prioritising Risk
Available after you enroll.
17Understand Severity, Occurrence and Detection
4 minScoring and Prioritising Risk
Understand Severity, Occurrence and Detection
Available after you enroll.
18Calculate and Interpret Risk Priority Numbers
5 minScoring and Prioritising Risk
Calculate and Interpret Risk Priority Numbers
Available after you enroll.
19Which Risk Should the Team Review First?
5 minScoring and Prioritising Risk
Which Risk Should the Team Review First?
Available after you enroll.
20Risk Scoring Check
4 minScoring and Prioritising Risk
Risk Scoring Check
Available after you enroll.
21Redesign and Monitor: From Analysis to Safer Processes
Redesign and Monitor
Redesign and Monitor: From Analysis to Safer Processes
Available after you enroll.
22Choose Stronger Risk Controls
3 minRedesign and Monitor
Choose Stronger Risk Controls
Available after you enroll.
23Build an Action Plan for a Priority Failure Mode
3 minRedesign and Monitor
Build an Action Plan for a Priority Failure Mode
Available after you enroll.
24Maya’s FMEA Review Meeting
3 minRedesign and Monitor
Maya’s FMEA Review Meeting
Available after you enroll.
25From Analysis to Improvement
2 minRedesign and Monitor
From Analysis to Improvement
Available after you enroll.
26FMEA: Proactive Risk Assessment — Final Assessment
6 minRedesign and Monitor
FMEA: Proactive Risk Assessment — Final Assessment
Available after you enroll.
27Your FMEA Learning Summary
1 minRedesign and Monitor
Your FMEA Learning Summary
Available after you enroll.
Earn a credential employers can check
Every AIHCM credential has a unique ID that anyone can verify online in seconds.
Issued: on completion
How it works
- Finish all 5 lessons at your own pace.
- Get your digital credential with a unique ID.
- Share it — employers can verify it at aihcm.us.
Questions people ask
What is the difference between FMEA and RCA?
FMEA is proactive: it looks for failures before they happen. RCA is reactive: it investigates an event that has already occurred.
Is the risk priority number the only way to prioritise?
No. Failures with very high severity should be addressed even if their overall RPN is modest. The course explains how to balance both.
Which processes are good candidates for FMEA?
High-risk, complex or new processes, such as medication administration, blood transfusion, patient identification or a new equipment rollout.
How long does a real FMEA take?
Usually several team meetings over a few weeks, depending on how complex the process is.