A risk priority number (RPN) is a numerical assessment of the risk assigned to a failure mode when conducting a Failure Modes and Effects Analysis (FMEA). It involves rating a failure mode’s severity, probability of occurrence, and likelihood of detection on a numeric scale, usually ranging from 1 to 5 or 1 to 10. The RPN is calculated by multiplying the rating for each factor. Based on the RPN, organizations can rank failure modes based on their relative risk.
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