Failure Mode, Effects, and Criticality Analysis is the engineering technique that

• A. identifies failure modes, effects, and criticalities
• B. determines how it should be performed
• C. sets maintenance budgets
• D. determines who will perform maintenance

Answer: (A)

Failure Mode, Effects, and Criticality Analysis is used to identify potential failure modes, describe the effects of those failures on the system, and gauge how critical each failure is to performance, safety, or mission success. By systematically listing possible failures and analyzing their consequences, you establish risk priorities to guide where to apply design changes, maintenance/monitoring, or other mitigations. It isn’t about deciding how the analysis should be performed, nor about setting budgets or assigning personnel—those are management decisions, while FMEA/FMECA’s purpose is to reveal where failures could occur and how severe their impact would be.