Certified Maintenance & Reliability Professional (CMRP) Practice Exam 2026 – All-in-One Guide to Master Your Certification!

The Risk Priority Number (RPN) is a critical metric used in failure mode and effects analysis (FMEA) to evaluate and prioritize potential risks associated with different failure modes. RPN is calculated by multiplying three key factors: Severity, Probability, and Detection.

- **Severity** represents the potential impact or consequence of a failure. This factor is rated on a predetermined scale, with higher values indicating more severe impacts.

- **Probability** (often referred to as Occurrence) measures the likelihood that a specific failure mode will occur. Like severity, it is rated on a scale, where a higher score signifies a greater chance of occurrence.

- **Detection** reflects the likelihood that the failure will be detected before it reaches the customer or has an impact on operations. Lower scores indicate that the failure is difficult to detect.

By multiplying these three scores together, the RPN provides a comprehensive quantification of risk, allowing organizations to prioritize issues based on the combined effects of severity, likelihood of failure, and ability to detect the failure. A higher RPN indicates a more critical risk that may require immediate attention or intervention.

The other potential calculations presented do not accurately reflect the standardized method of determining RPN in FMEA. Instead of providing a multiplicative risk assessment