What is a more sophisticated way to avoid having failure modes with the same RPN be treated equally?

Choosing to plot Severity on the X Axis and Occurrence on the Y-axis offers a visual representation that helps prioritize failure modes in a more nuanced manner. This method enables you to distinguish between different failure modes based on two critical factors: how severe a failure could be and how likely it is to occur.

By organizing data in this format, you create a scatter plot that allows you to see at a glance where failure modes stand in relation to each other. Modes with the same Risk Priority Number (RPN) can be differentiated based on their specific severity and occurrence rates, thus providing clarity and enhancing decision-making. This sophisticated visual analysis facilitates a more in-depth understanding of the risk profile associated with different failure modes, enabling better prioritization and management.

Analyzing failure modes purely based on a checklist method, cost factor, or random sampling lacks the comprehensive and visual approach that plotting provides. These alternative methods may not effectively differentiate between modes that have the same RPN, as they might focus on a single metric or lack the interactive data visualization that helps in understanding relationships between variables.