What are the best practices for communicating with risk owners in FMEA?

1 Role of risk owners

Risk owners are the individuals or groups who have the authority and accountability to take actions to reduce or eliminate the risks identified in FMEA. Generally, these individuals or groups are selected based on their expertise, experience, or influence on the process, product, or service under analysis. Risk owners are expected to review and validate the failure modes, causes, effects, and risk ratings assigned by the FMEA team, develop and implement risk mitigation plans for corrective and preventive actions, contingency plans, and monitoring mechanisms. Additionally, they must report and document the progress and results of risk mitigation activities as well as escalate any issues or challenges that may affect the risk management process or the desired outcomes.

2 Responsibilities of risk owners

Risk owners have various responsibilities throughout the FMEA process, from the planning stage to the review. They must collaborate and communicate with the FMEA team and other stakeholders, such as customers, suppliers, regulators, or management. It is also their duty to provide relevant information, data, and feedback to the FMEA team. Risk owners must take part in risk assessment and prioritization sessions and allocate adequate resources, time, and budget for risk mitigation activities. Additionally, they must ensure that risk mitigation actions are aligned with the objectives and requirements of the process, product, or service. Lastly, risk owners should evaluate the effectiveness and efficiency of the risk mitigation actions and share the lessons learned and best practices from the risk management process.