Component Failure Mode

A Component Failure Mode is a component failure that represents the specific way in which a component fails functionally at the component level.

Context:
- It can (typically) describe the manner in which a component ceases to perform its intended function.
- It can (often) be identified by specific symptoms or failures in the component's operation.
- It can include various factors like corrosion, welding of contacts due to abnormal electric current, fatigue failure, unintended command failure, and dust accumulation blocking mechanisms.
- It can seldom be attributed to a single cause, with multiple factors usually playing a role simultaneously.
- It can (often) trace its root causes back to some form of human error, such as design failure, operational errors, management failures, maintenance-induced failures, and specification failures.
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Example(s):
- A Relay Failure Model such as: failing to open or close contacts on demand, possibly due to welding of contacts or return spring fatigue failure.
- A Mechanical Component Failure Mode, such as: breaking due to material fatigue or corrosion.
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Counter-Example(s):
- A System Failure, where the failure is not at the component level but at the system level.
- A Process Failure, where the failure is in the process or method rather than a physical component.
See: Human Error.

References

(Wikipedia, 2024) ⇒ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Failure_cause#Component_failure_/_failure_modes Retrieved:2024-1-23.
- A part failure mode is the way in which a component failed "functionally" on the component level. Often a part has only a few failure modes. For example, a relay may fail to open or close contacts on demand. The failure mechanism that caused this can be of many different kinds, and often multiple factors play a role at the same time. They include corrosion, welding of contacts due to an abnormal electric current, return spring fatigue failure, unintended command failure, dust accumulation and blockage of mechanism, etc. Seldom only one cause (hazard) can be identified that creates system failures. The real root causes can in theory in most cases be traced back to some kind of human error, e.g. design failure, operational errors, management failures, maintenance induced failures, specification failures, etc.