FAILURE MODE ANALYSIS AS AN IMPLEMENTATION OF AXIOM 2 IN THE AXIOMATIC DESIGN FUNCTIONAL DECOMPOSITION PROCESS

Of the two central axioms of Axiomatic Design Theory, Axiom 2, the Information Axiom, is the more powerful concept in directly addressing the performance issue that most plagues design efforts: product failures. Prior work has described a complementary relationship between Axiomatic Design and Failure Modes and Effects Analysis (FMEA). This paper proposes that failure mode analysis is more than just a complementary tool to Axiomatic Design. Failure mode analysis processes are an embodiment of the second axiom and a practical method of applying the second axiom during the decomposition process.