A new impetus for the topic of FMEA

With its wide range of in-house developed products, the company is working on the power grid of the future: reliable, sustainable and innovative. For several years, Symbol has been assisting Alfen in the area of FMEA. The demand for FMEA training arose in 2020. Given by Symbol, of course.

This question did not arise overnight. Manager QHSE at Alfen, Hans Nagtegaal explains, “We wanted to further embed the initiatives that Nicole Mak, FMEA specialist at Symbol, initiated with us a few years ago. Our organization has grown rapidly in recent years, and because of that growth, the initiatives kind of got forgotten. We now wanted to embed it back into the organization, assign process owners to it and bring new employees up to speed. So the goal was to reinvigorate Alfen-wide on the topic of FMEA.”

Not just sweeping one’s own street

The Alfen organization consists of three business units – Alfen Charging Equipment for Electric Vehicles, Smart Grids Solutions and Energy Storage Solutions – the first two of which have now completed the two-day FMEA training. “This was done in a multidisciplinary way, meaning that everyone involved in design FMEAs or process FMEAs was connected – from product developers to test engineers and people from service. Everyone was able to contribute from their own expertise,” Nagtegaal says. “That was a conscious choice, because it means that these two units are now deployable as a multidisciplinary team. And that, of course, gives the best results.” Nicole Mak adds, “Design and process have a lot to do with each other – they are not islands, as is still sometimes thought in some organizations. It is therefore important that the two departments not only clean up their own street, but work together. That, as Hans says, ensures overall optimization.”

The value of multidisciplinary collaboration

Mak continues, “To give a very concrete example: during a design FMEA session after one of the training sessions, we talked about the IP ratings of a charging station – the degree to which the product is waterproof. Someone from service was also at this session, and he mentioned that in the past there have been failures caused by a slug on the circuit board. The designers had never heard of that. So you see what the value of multidisciplinary collaboration can be: people all see the risks from their own expertise, but also the opportunities. That always benefits a product.”

Actively undergoing the theory

Nagtegaal has heard only positive feedback from participants. “The training has been extremely well received. This is particularly in the interactive way of transferring knowledge that is so common to Symbol. If you actively undergo the theory, using assignments and exercises, it sticks better. I have organized the necessary trainings in the past, also with previous employers, and afterwards there is always some feedback or criticism. In these trainings, there was none. And this despite the challenges related to corona measures. With hybrid training, everyone was sufficiently involved.”

Incorporating FMEA into one’s own way of working

Mak also experienced the trainings as positive. “It was two groups with well-trained and also experienced professionals. The conversations that arise then greatly increase the value of the training. I was able to explain and explain things that are going on with the people, that they have experienced themselves. This makes it come alive. Important, because the FMEA is originally an automotive standard that leaves a lot of room for individual interpretation. So the standard is a good manual that you have to interpret and use according to your own culture and to the nature of your own company. By basically following the standard, you ensure that everyone who sees it knows: this is a real FMEA. This minimizes the chance of discussion, for example with customers. But you must also not take the standard too literally and, above all, fit it into your way of working. And that really requires training.”

Always be just a little bit better than customers expect

The purpose of the trainings, as mentioned, was to give a new impetus to FMEAs. And that incentive certainly came. Mak: “I notice that people are now getting to the point with the content. They no longer have questions or comments about the FMEA methodology. That makes for effectiveness in execution.” Nagtegaal adds: “For new products, the knowledge gained is already being used now, and in 2021 all existing FMEAs will also be updated. So we are making sure that the topic of FMEA does not fall back into oblivion. My team now also engages in an annual conversation about all FMEAs. If there are significant changes, they are proactively implemented. They have to be dynamic FMEAs – piece by piece. The more we are on top of risks and opportunities, the faster we can deploy control measures and the better we can meet our customers’ expectations. Even better: then we can exceed expectations and thus always be just a little bit better than our customers expect. And that is what we want.”

Turning a theoretical concept into something company-specific

To (continue to) achieve this, the knowledge among the various multidisciplinary teams must always be up to date. “If it is no longer up to par, or new people are hired, we initiate refresher training. And then, of course, we do that again with Symbol,” Nagtegaal says. “I really appreciate Symbol’s knowledge and expertise. They give us the right support to really be that step ahead of our customers. And they do this in such a way that it is not muddled and woolly – which a subject like FMEA lends itself to – but practically applicable. Turning a theoretical concept into something company-specific: that is Symbol’s added value.”

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