  This research article presents a methodical data-based approach to
systematically identify key factors in safety-related failure scenarios, with a
focus on complex product-environmental systems in the era of Industry 4.0. The
study addresses the uncertainty arising from the growing complexity of modern
products. The method uses scenario analysis and focuses on failure analysis
within technical product development. The approach involves a derivation of
influencing factors based on information from failure databases. The failures
described here are documented individually in failure sequence diagrams and
then related to each other in a relationship matrix. This creates a network of
possible failure scenarios from individual failure cases that can be used in
product development. To illustrate the application of the methodology, a case
study of 41 Rapex safety alerts for a hair dryer is presented. The failure
sequence diagrams and influencing factor relationship matrices show 46
influencing factors that lead to safety-related failures. The predominant harm
is burns and electric shocks, which are highlighted by the active and passive
sum diagrams. The research demonstrates a robust method for identifying key
factors in safety-related failure scenarios using information from failure
databases. The methodology provides valuable insights into product development
and emphasizes the frequency of influencing factors and their
interconnectedness.
