Free on-demand masterclass · ~21 minutes
Process Flow & PFMEA — the AIAG-VDA 7-step method explained
A control plan is only as good as the two documents upstream of it. This masterclass builds them: the process flow diagram the analysis stands on — including the storage, transport and rework steps most flows leave off — and the Process FMEA to the current AIAG & VDA 7-step method, walked step by step on one welded bracket: structure, function and failure analysis, prevention versus detection controls, rating S, O and D against the right thing, why RPN was retired and what the Action Priority letters oblige your team to do, optimization with a real High-to-Low arc, and the special-characteristic thread that ties flow, PFMEA and control plan together.
Free companion tool
The PFMEA starts one document earlier than most training does. The free Process Flow Template is that document — the blank flow with step-type symbols, the same welded-bracket worked example the masterclass uses, and a ten-point health check for the flows you already have.
Get the free Process Flow Template (a blank flow with step-type symbols, the bracket worked example, and a 10-point health check)
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What you'll learn
01 · Where fiction starts
Why the control plan inherits every missed step and optimistic rating from upstream — and the one numbering rule that ties flow, PFMEA and control plan together.
02 · The process flow that feeds the PFMEA
Four properties of a usable flow: the unglamorous steps, rework loops with a written re-entry rule, shared op numbers, and what each step creates and depends on — shown on the bracket.
03 · The AIAG & VDA handbook
Two FMEA worlds harmonised in 2019, still the current edition; why you need a licensed copy, and why customer-specific requirements sit above it.
04 · Steps 1–3 — Planning, structure, function
The five Ts, the item / step / work-element structure straight off the flow, and why a failure is only definable as the loss of a function.
05 · Step 4 — Failure analysis
The effect–mode–cause chain on the weld line, which rating belongs where, and the three habits that separate a chain from a guess.
06 · Step 5 — Risk analysis
Prevention versus detection controls in separate columns, rating S, O and D against the right thing — and why detection is the easiest number to flatter.
07 · Why RPN is gone
Equal RPNs hiding unequal risks, gamed thresholds, an illusory scale — and three real combinations where Action Priority flips the ranking.
08 · What the AP letters oblige you to do
Must, should, could; justification in writing as a legitimate close-out; the surprising corners; and management visibility on every S9–S10 line.
09 · Step 6 — Optimization
Owners, dates, status; prevention beats detection; re-rate on verification — and the weld line's High-to-Low arc that created control plan lines 3–4.
10 · Step 7 and special characteristics
The report-out, and the SC thread: same symbol on drawing, flow, PFMEA, control plan and work instruction.
11 · At audit — and keeping it alive
The six findings auditors actually write, and the standing rule that reopens the PFMEA on events rather than anniversaries.
Put it into practice
The masterclass shows you the method. The PFMEA Toolkit is the 7-step form as a working Excel workbook — Action Priority calculated for you from the full S-O-D logic, a linked process flow tab and the control plan handoff, on this same bracket. Start free with the Process Flow Template below, and read the written guide for the detail.
Interpretive guidance on the AIAG & VDA FMEA method in Qlause's own words. It reproduces no handbook text, forms or rating tables — rate against your licensed copy of the AIAG & VDA FMEA Handbook, and follow your customer-specific requirements, which take precedence throughout.