{"id":8975,"date":"2022-09-20T05:21:20","date_gmt":"2022-09-20T11:21:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/limblecmms.com\/?p=8975"},"modified":"2025-05-30T13:04:46","modified_gmt":"2025-05-30T19:04:46","slug":"fracas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/limblecmms.com\/blog\/fracas\/","title":{"rendered":"What is FRACAS? Failure Reporting, Analysis, and Corrective Action System"},"content":{"rendered":"

[vc_row kd_background_image_position=”vc_row-bg-position-top”][vc_column][vc_column_text]As we become more reliant on hardware and software, high reliability is becoming a necessity for an increasing number of systems. Over the years, various methodologies have been developed in an effort to improve reliability and maintenance<\/a> processes.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

We will explain one of those today.<\/span><\/p>\n

Join us as we discuss what hides behind the FRACAS acronym, what the process looks like, and how to successfully implement it into your organization.<\/span><\/p>\n

What is FRACAS?<\/span><\/h2>\n

A <\/span>failure reporting, analysis, and corrective action system (FRACAS)<\/b> is a framework that provides a disciplined and iterative method for solving reliability and maintenance issues throughout the life cycle of a system. It is an important part of many reliability programs.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span>\"What<\/a><\/p>\n

The US defense department developed the FRACAS process back in the 1970s, publishing MIL-STD-2155 in the mid-1980s, and finally <\/span>MIL-HDBK-2155<\/span><\/a> in the mid-1990s, with the title, Failure Reporting and Corrective Action Taken.<\/span><\/p>\n

Despite its military roots, FRACAS can be applied in any industry.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

What is the purpose and applicability of FRACAS?<\/span><\/h2>\n

The FRACAS process is a business-wide methodology. It usually uses <\/span>CMMS software<\/span><\/a> to capture a failure event in a standardized format, allowing engineering and maintenance personnel to classify and analyze it, develop actions to prevent its reoccurrence, and monitor whether the action has been successful.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

At first sight, it can be challenging to tell the difference between FRACAS and <\/span>FMECA<\/span><\/a>. Reliability engineers will tell you that FMECA is considerably more abstract and conceptual, and it\u2019s more often used at the design stage.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span>In contrast, FRACAS is an operational process used across the entire system lifecycle. It immediately follows an in-service failure with the goal of preventing the same thing from happening in the future.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

There are no templates you can copy and paste when implementing a FRACAS system. As the methodology is generic, each business must do the work required to implement a FRACAS system aligned with and pertinent to its operating situation.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

However, that doesn\u2019t mean it is not worth looking at a few examples. There are some industry-specific FRACAS programs out there you can use as a guide. One of the best known is <\/span>ISO 14224:2016<\/span><\/a>, used within the petroleum, petrochemical, and natural gas industries to standardize failure data collection and failure modes.<\/span><\/p>\n

Implementing FRACAS comes with significant benefits<\/span><\/h2>\n

What are the benefits of implementing FRACAS? It is like asking what the benefits of a smoothly functioning reliability system are. They include:<\/span><\/p>\n