How do you calculate cryogenic supplier risk?

Multiply three scores: failure severity x defect occurrence x detection difficulty. With severity 6, occurrence 4, and detection 3 the underlying RPN is 72, which the calculator normalizes to a 4.55 risk score on its scale. Rank all suppliers by that number.

What is a good cryogenic supplier risk score?

Lower is better. There is no universal pass line, but the practical move is to sort your supplier list and act on the top decile. Any component touching cryogenic containment or pressure retention with a high score should get a source inspection before release.

Why does detection make the score worse, not better?

A high detection number means the problem is hard to catch with your current inspection, so it can reach the vessel undetected. A leak path you can only find with a full vacuum-integrity test scores worse than a defect visible at receiving.

Severity vs occurrence: which should I weight more?

The formula weights them equally by multiplying, but in cryogenic service severity tends to dominate because a failure at -160C is catastrophic. A rare defect on a primary containment weld can still outrank a frequent cosmetic issue.

How is this different from a standard FMEA RPN?

It is the same three-factor RPN logic, scoped to suppliers of cryogenic and LNG hardware rather than to process steps. It lets you compare a valve vendor against a tank fabricator on one axis.

How often should I re-score suppliers?

Re-score after every nonconformance, at each annual requalification, and whenever a supplier changes a material grade, sub-tier source, or welding procedure that affects cryogenic performance.

Cryogenic Storage & LNG Equipment calculator

Cryogenic Supplier Risk Calculator

Cryogenic Supplier Risk is an FMEA-style risk priority number applied to the vendors who supply vacuum-jacketed tanks, 9% nickel plate, cryogenic valves, and weld consumables for LNG and storage equipment. Quality and supply-chain engineers use it to rank suppliers on a single comparable number instead of arguing from anecdote. It matters because a single porous weld in a perlite-insulated annulus or an out-of-spec valve seat can scrap a six-figure vessel and stall a turnaround. The score multiplies how bad a failure would be, how often the supplier causes trouble, and how likely you are to catch it before it ships. Higher numbers point your limited audit and source-inspection hours at the suppliers that actually threaten the project.

What this calculator does

Score risk from suppliers of cryogenic vessels, relief devices, vacuum-jacketed pipe, vaporizers, controls, or LNG equipment packages.
Use it when cryogenic supplier risk in cryogenic storage and lng equipment needs a defensible ranking against other cryogenic storage and lng equipment risks for the next review.
It multiplies a supplier's failure severity, defect occurrence, and your detection capability into a single risk priority score for cryogenic and LNG components.

Formula used

Cryogenic supplier risk score = supplier impact severity × supplier issue occurrence × supplier control detection
Use the same scoring scale across suppliers and critical cryogenic components.

Inputs explained

Severity of failure if this cryogenic supplier slips:
Likelihood of a defect or delay from this supplier:
Ability of incoming inspection to catch the problem:

How to use the result

Use it during vendor qualification, before awarding critical cryogenic work, and when planning where to spend source-inspection and audit budget.
The score is only comparable when every supplier is rated on the identical scale; mixing 1-5 and 1-10 anchors or letting different engineers anchor severity differently makes the ranking meaningless.

Current U.S. benchmarks

Global copper trades at $13,484 per tonne (IMF via FRED, May 2026), up 41.5% in a year, and U.S. industrial electricity averages 8.66 cents per kWh. Both feed electrified-hardware unit economics.
Steel mill PPI stands at 348.53 (BLS, May 2026), up 6.7% from a year earlier. New factory orders are up 2.3% year over year (Census).

Common questions

How do you calculate cryogenic supplier risk? Multiply three scores: failure severity x defect occurrence x detection difficulty. With severity 6, occurrence 4, and detection 3 the underlying RPN is 72, which the calculator normalizes to a 4.55 risk score on its scale. Rank all suppliers by that number.
What is a good cryogenic supplier risk score? Lower is better. There is no universal pass line, but the practical move is to sort your supplier list and act on the top decile. Any component touching cryogenic containment or pressure retention with a high score should get a source inspection before release.
Why does detection make the score worse, not better? A high detection number means the problem is hard to catch with your current inspection, so it can reach the vessel undetected. A leak path you can only find with a full vacuum-integrity test scores worse than a defect visible at receiving.
Severity vs occurrence: which should I weight more? The formula weights them equally by multiplying, but in cryogenic service severity tends to dominate because a failure at -160C is catastrophic. A rare defect on a primary containment weld can still outrank a frequent cosmetic issue.
How is this different from a standard FMEA RPN? It is the same three-factor RPN logic, scoped to suppliers of cryogenic and LNG hardware rather than to process steps. It lets you compare a valve vendor against a tank fabricator on one axis.

Last reviewed 2026-05-12.