FMEA and DVP&R Discipline for Plastic Programs (AIAG-VDA)

Seminar Overview

Most DFMEAs are written backwards — a form filled to satisfy a customer, backwards from occurrence ratings nobody derived. This seminar teaches the AIAG-VDA FMEA method as a design tool: function first, failure mechanism second, severity-occurrence-detection as engineering judgment you can defend, with the entire failure taxonomy drawn from plastic parts — creep rupture, ESC, weld-line knockdown, snap-arm fatigue, warp-driven interference, CTE mismatch cracking.

The second half builds the DVP&R: verification planning that actually predicts field survival. You map every failure mechanism to the test that would catch it — accelerated methods, environmental exposure, fatigue cycling — and learn the ETS distinction between testing to pass and testing to learn. The output is a DVP&R your customer's SQE reads as engineering, not paperwork.

Attendees rebuild a real program's DFMEA in class, workshop-style, then walk the DVP&R that the mechanism list demands. The pairing is the point: FMEA without a verification plan is a list; a DVP&R without mechanism logic is a test calendar.

Ideal Learner

• Design engineers owning DFMEA on molded programs
• Quality and reliability engineers linking FMEA to test plans
• Program engineers assembling launch documentation
• Suppliers preparing FMEA for customer design reviews

Learning Objectives

• Build an AIAG-VDA DFMEA function-first, mechanism-grounded
• Rate S/O/D with defensible engineering reasoning on polymer failure modes
• Map every mechanism to a verification test with acceptance criteria
• Assemble a DVP&R that predicts field survival instead of listing tests
• Link FMEA, DVP&R, and the control plan into one traceable chain

Consulting Sessions

Seminar attendees can sign up for individual consulting sessions with the instructor. Sessions are free for registered attendees, first-come first-served — sign up when registering by calling 248-539-0473 or during the seminar.