Electrical enclosure criticality study
Not all your electrical enclosures carry the same weight for your site. These online studies rank them for you, from what your teams can observe: no measuring instrument is needed and no prior intervention either. At the end, you know which ones to deal with first and which ones to protect against fire, with the reasoning behind every decision.
Two routes are offered, depending on the time you have. They complement each other: the quick walkthrough sorts, the full study analyses. Both are free and need no sign-up.
Quick walkthrough
A first pass, enclosure by enclosure, to find out which ones deserve a closer look. Four questions each, no rating to do.
- Area, impact of a failure, visual observation
- Dimensions and photos if you want them
- Three piles out: study as a priority, to be studied, no warning sign
Ideal for a first stocktake, or for a set of enclosures you do not know yet.
Full FMECA study
The criticality analysis proper, following the FMECA method. It produces the risk priority number, the A/B/C classification and the fire-protection recommendations.
- Seven operating factors per enclosure
- Failures rated on severity, occurrence and detectability
- Decisions D1 to D4 and a full, reasoned report
The one to pick if you are after an action plan, an insurance file or a budget.
The two follow on from each other
At the end of the quick walkthrough, a button carries the flagged enclosures into the full study: their name, their area, their dimensions, your photos and the impact of a failure are already in place. You re-enter nothing, you complete.
What you get
Here is an extract from the report produced at the end of the study, on a fictitious site of thirteen enclosures. The full report downloads as a single file, readable by your management and by your insurer alike.
CRITICALITY REPORT — ELECTRICAL ENCLOSURES
ReflexOFeu · FMECA to IEC 60812 · observable criteria & operating factors
| Area | Criticality | Enclosures | Class A | To protect | Max RPN |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Utilities (air, cooling, steam) | 4/4 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 288 |
| Production — main line | 4/4 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 216 |
| Packaging | 3/4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 90 |
| Logistics / dispatch | 2/4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 48 |
Class A · high fire risk · protect as a priority
Failures that could start a fire: loose connections (RPN 288), fouling (RPN 90). Aggravating factors: ageing enclosure, load near maximum.
Class A · high fire risk · protect as a priority
Failures that could start a fire: visible overheating (RPN 216), ventilation failure (RPN 120). Aggravating factors: harsh environment.
Class B · moderate fire risk · to be protected
Failures that could start a fire: contact oxidation (RPN 135). Aggravating factors: harsh environment.
| Factor | Level | Rating | Weight | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plant area | Utilities — major shutdown / safety | 4/4 | ×1 | 4 |
| Production impact | The whole site | 4/4 | ×1 | 4 |
| Redundancy | None | 4/4 | ×1 | 4 |
| Age | 15–25 years | 3/4 | ×1 | 3 |
| Load | 70–90 % | 3/4 | ×1 | 3 |
| Safety systems supplied | Fire detection | 3/4 | ×1 | 3 |
Extract from a fictitious report, for illustration.
FMECA method — IEC 60812
The study applies failure mode, effects and criticality analysis as defined by IEC 60812. For each failure considered on an enclosure, three criteria are rated from 1 to 10, independently of one another. Their product gives the risk priority number (RPN), from 1 to 1000.
Severity (S)
What happens if the failure occurs: from a minor nuisance to fire ignition, by way of a line stoppage and a site shutdown.
Occurrence (O)
How often it is liable to occur: from never observed to constant, in the light of the enclosure's age, environment and history.
Detectability (D)
How far it would go unnoticed: from an alarm that flags it to a fault undetectable without dismantling. The fainter the signs, the higher the rating.
The RPN alone is not enough: a high-RPN failure on a secondary enclosure does not carry the same weight as the same failure on the main switchboard. The study therefore combines the RPN with the enclosure's class, which adds up the criticality of its area and seven operating factors.
The decision scale
Every rated failure receives a decision, based on its RPN and the enclosure's class. The thresholds are adjustable in the tool: those shown here are the defaults.
Should this enclosure be protected?
The study answers that question enclosure by enclosure. The fire risk level is established from the failures liable to set the enclosure alight alone — connection overheating, corrosion, fouling, insulation faults, ventilation, pest intrusion — and from the aggravating factors noted: age, load, environment.
Quick walkthrough or full study?
Both rest on the same field observations and need no measuring instrument. What separates them is the depth of analysis — and therefore what you can do with the result.
| Quick walkthrough | Full FMECA study | |
|---|---|---|
| Duration | 10 minutes for 15 to 30 enclosures | 15 to 20 minutes for about ten enclosures |
| Questions per enclosure | 4 | 7 factors, plus the rating of each failure |
| Rating to do | None | Severity, occurrence, detectability out of 10 |
| Method | Triage on stakes and visual observation | FMECA — IEC 60812 |
| Result | Three piles: study as a priority, to be studied, no warning sign | RPN, A/B/C class, decisions D1 to D4, reading by area |
| Fire protection | Not covered | Priorities P1, P2, P3 with reasoning |
| Adjustable scale | No — fixed scale | Yes — weightings, thresholds and areas |
| Report | Sorted list, downloadable | Full reasoned report, photos included |
| Who for | A first stocktake, a poorly known set of enclosures | An action plan, an insurance file, a budget |
If you are unsure, start with the quick walkthrough: it will tell you on how many enclosures the full study is worth running, and you will find them already entered when you come to run it. Quick walkthrough
How the full study runs
You set the scale
You pick your industry to load a pre-rated breakdown of areas, which you then adjust. The defaults suit most sites.
You describe your enclosures
Name, area, dimensions, then seven simple questions on their role and condition. You can attach photos, taken straight from your phone.
You list the possible failures
For each enclosure, you pick the plausible failures from a library of twelve, then you rate them on three criteria.
You get the report
Action priorities, enclosures to protect, a reading by area and the full reasoning behind each decision.
Allow about fifteen minutes for ten enclosures. The study can be run on a phone, standing in front of the enclosures, or at a desk from your own records. If you arrive from a quick walkthrough, the first two steps are already done.
Industries covered
Twelve sector breakdowns are offered, each with its areas already rated. They are starting points built by trade, to be adjusted against your own site.
Frequently asked questions
Is the criticality study free?
Yes, both of them. The tools are freely accessible and the reports download at no cost and with no commitment.
What is the difference between the quick walkthrough and the full study?
The quick walkthrough asks four questions per enclosure and sorts them into three piles: study as a priority, to be studied, no warning sign. It computes neither a risk priority number nor an A/B/C class, and does not cover fire protection. The full study applies the FMECA method to seven operating factors and to each rated failure: it produces the RPN, the classification, decisions D1 to D4 and the protection recommendations.
Which one should I start with?
The quick walkthrough if you have many enclosures, or if you do not yet know which ones are a problem: ten minutes are enough to sort them. Straight to the full study if you have already identified about ten sensitive enclosures and need a costable action plan.
Do I have to re-enter everything to move from the walkthrough to the full study?
No. At the end of the walkthrough, a button carries the flagged enclosures into the full study, with their name, their area, their dimensions, their photos and the impact of a failure. The six other operating factors remain to be filled in, along with the rating of the failures observed. Until that is done, the report states clearly that the classification is provisional.
Is a measuring instrument or a site visit required?
No. Every rating rests on visual observations and operating data your teams already know: heat marks, corrosion, fouling, failure history, equipment age. No thermal camera and no prior inspection are needed.
Which standard is the method based on?
On IEC 60812, which defines failure mode, effects and criticality analysis. The rating scales have been adapted to the particular case of industrial electrical enclosures, and the rule that the three criteria must be rated independently is respected.
Can I adapt the thresholds and the areas to my site?
Yes, and it is recommended. You weight each factor, you set your own class and decision thresholds, and you define your areas with their criticality. The report records the parameters applied, which makes the classification verifiable by a third party.
What does the report contain?
The summary of decisions, the reading by area, the fire-protection recommendations ranked by priority, then for each enclosure the detail of its classification and of every rated failure, with the reasoning behind the decision. Attached photos appear in it, and the study's parameters are restated at the end of the document.
Is my data kept?
Your details are stored so that the study can be sent to you and, where relevant, so that we can support you on the critical enclosures identified. They are kept for three years. You can request access to them or their deletion at any time.
Going further
- Managing electrical fire risk — what your insurer expects
- Compliance — the applicable regulatory framework
- Case studies — sites already protected
- Contact us — to talk through your critical enclosures
The ratings rest on your statements and on visual observations. The study replaces neither the statutory inspection of your electrical installations nor an on-site survey. It is a prioritisation tool, to be reviewed once a year.
Free, no sign-up — the tool opens in your browser.
Ten minutes to sort your enclosures, then automatic carry-over into the full study.
A question, a project?
Contact our team to study the fire protection of your electrical cabinets.
Contact us