Risk Priority Number (RPN)
RPN helps teams compare failure modes and decide where to focus improvement resources.
It is a staple output of FMEA analysis sessions used in manufacturing and service industries.
Calculating RPN
Each failure mode receives a severity rating for customer impact, an occurrence rating for likelihood, and a detection rating for control effectiveness.
Multiplying the three values generates the RPN; higher numbers indicate higher priority for action.
Using RPN wisely
Teams should look beyond the numeric score to understand underlying risks and consider severity on its own when safety is involved.
High-risk items flow into CAPA plans that assign owners and timelines.
Tracking RPN in KaizenQ
KaizenQ dashboards visualise RPN trends by product, supplier, or process so leaders can confirm whether mitigations worked.
Version history preserves the rationale behind rating changes for future audits.
- RPN prioritises failure modes based on severity, occurrence, and detection.
- Context matters—teams shouldn’t rely on the number alone.
- KaizenQ tracks RPN values and improvement progress over time.