3.4.1 Deming
The Union of Japanese Scientists and Engineers (JUSE) invited Dr W. Edwards Deming to Japan in July 1950. He held a series of lectures and seminars during which he taught the basic principles of statistical quality control to executives, managers and engineers of Japanese industries and to assist in their post-war rebuilding effort, particularly to build quality into their products. ( Japan was then known for the poor reliability of its products - examples of kamikaze aircraft that failed to explode on impact are documented, just as unexploded allied munitions are still being discovered in various parts of the world.) Deming focused on improving conformance to specification through reducing variability in the various processes involved. In other words, his focus was consistency to defined specifications. To continuously improve quality, Deming proposed a sequence of activities that followed the principle of design, produce, test, sell, obtain feedback, improve design, and on. This is the PDCA Cycle (Plan - Do - Check - Act), originally defined by Walter Shewhart. While advising the Japanese, Deming called it the Shewhart Cycle but the Japanese renamed it the Deming Cycle. This name has stayed with it ever since.
The cycle is very commonsensical. Plan means analyse the current situation, and plan improvement. Do means implement the plan as a pilot study, and check means analyse the implementation. This allows the comparison of expected or desired outcomes with what obtains as well as to identify new opportunities. Act implies that the lessons learnt from check are included in the process. The cycle then starts again. This is the basis if continuous improvement, or kaizen . We will come across examples of the implementation of kaizen , in organisations such as Motorola, a little later in our study.
The essence of Deming's thinking is in the 14 points that he lists in his book Out of the Crisis:
- Create and publish to all employees a statement of the aims and purposes of the company. The management must demonstrate constantly their commitment to this statement.
- Learn the new philosophy, top management, and everybody.
- Understand the purpose of inspection, for improvement of processes and reduction of cost.
- End the practice of awarding of business on the basis of price tag alone.
- Improve constantly and forever the system of production and service.
- Institute training.
- Teach and institute leadership.
- Drive out fear. Create trust. Create a climate of innovation.
- Optimise towards the aims and purposes of the company the efforts of teams, groups, and staff areas.
- Eliminate exhortations for the work force.
- (a) Eliminate numerical quotas for production. Instead learn and institute methods for improvement.
- (b) Eliminate M.B.O. Instead, learn the capabilities of processes, and how to improve them.
- Remove barriers that rob people of pride of workmanship.
- Encourage education and self-improvement for everyone.
- Take action to accomplish the transformation.
In appreciation, JUSE created a prize to commemorate Deming's contribution and friendship and to promote the continued development of quality control in Japan . The prize was established in 1950 and annual awards are still given each year.
Activity 3.4
Go to the website at http://www.deming.org/ and discover the philosophies and values of W.E. Deming.
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