Abstract

The aim of this paper is to implement the Failure Mode and Effect Analysis (FMEA) approach to assess, mitigate, and prioritize risks in the dairy industry, with a particular emphasis on a specific company. The values of occurrence (O), severity (S) and detection (D) of failures will be determined. These estimated values will be used to calculate a risk priority number (RPN), for each potential failure, ultimately allowing to us to develop a well-defined and comprehensive risk prioritization list. Through this paper, we apply a practical and refined FMEA approach, tailored specifically for the dairy industry. While our findings draws on commonalities shared with other dairy companies all around the world, it is necessary to recognize that each dairy business has distinct characteristics and challenges. Since this case study focuses on a particular dairy company in Lebanon, a country that is currently in the midst of an economic crisis, we gain valuable insights into the unique risks and corrective actions undertaken by the company. Moreover, this paper presents an innovative and enhanced version of the traditional FMEA approach by incorporating two additional factors, the application rate and the weight-based model. While the application rate (A) enriches the FMEA analysis by assessing how effectively and efficiently the studied company applies the corrective measures, the weight-based model enables a more comprehensive evaluation of the analyzed risks by taking into consideration the relative collective expertise of members involved in the supply chain. Once the most substantial threats were identified, we were able to provide and improve risk mitigation strategies for those threats. Eventually, by improving the firm’s decision-making on risks, we intend to minimize potential future losses associated with specific scenarios. Moreover, future research
paths are highlighted as a result of this study.