Design review based on failure mode

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DRBFM stands for Design Review Based on Failure Modes. It is a preventative tool developed by Toyota to catch design problems that can arise when changing a proven design. It was created by Tatsuhiko Yoshimura, a quality expert and professor at Kyushu University, who believed that changes must be well documented to avoid failures. DRBFM relies on the idea of prevention (Mizenboushi) and requires discipline and involvement from everyone to meet engineering requirements and customer expectations.

Key ideas:
- Make changes visible and discuss them in depth.
- Introduce changes in small, localized steps to avoid new failure modes; avoid changing many things at once.
- Focus discussions on the proposed changes and all possible failure modes, especially at interfaces between parts and between systems.
- If a proven design is used in new products, risk is lower, but changes increase risk, so it’s important to understand the changes.
- Validation testing helps identify weaknesses, but good early design discussions can achieve similar results.
- DRBFM is related to FMEA: a thorough FMEA can feed a DRBFM, but an FMEA is not required because DRBFM centers on changes and interfaces.

DRBFM applies to any new change in design, process, or supply and aims to surface issues that affect quality, cost, or delivery. It is now recognized as a standard process by SAE and AIAG. SAE published the DRBFM Recommended Practice (SAE J2886) in 2013, and AIAG released the DRBFM Reference Guide in 2014, with Bill Haughey chairing both to ensure consistent use.

A related concept is DRBTR: Design Review Based on Test Results. In DRBTR, validation tests are observed before, during, and after testing, led by the test engineer and involving the designer and other functions to discuss potential problems. DRBTR considers manufacturing variation, test profiles, and quality targets, and is described in detail in Bill Haughey’s materials.