(1) To Reduce Severity (S) Ranking: Only a design revision can bring about a reduction in the severity ranking.
High severity rankings can sometimes be reduced by making design revisions that compensate or mitigate the resultant severity of failure.
For example: The requirement for a tire is to “retain applied air pressure under use”. The severity of the effect of the failure mode “rapid loss of air pressure” would be lower for a “run flat” tire.