PFMEA

The PFMEA is one of the most useful yet underutilized tools for analysing a process to find potential problems and assign controls. Do you find that the failure modes for quality problems we find at the customer are usually well known and not documented in the PFMEA or not well controlled? Any comments about effective PFMEA usage?

QualityTrainingPortal has a description of the PFMEA.

What It Is Used For
To methodically examine a process or product design to identify where failures can occur and what the relative risks are for each mode of failure.
When to Use It
Start using this tool during the design stage for any process or product.
On existing products and processes, this tool can be used at any time as part of improvement efforts.
Important Notes
FMEAs are a complex undertaking and should always be conducted by a team.
FMEAs need to be updated whenever changes are made to the process or product.