Re: I've got a 2000 Cavalier with 286,000 miles on it, and I drive it every day
Posted by:
W. Edwards Deming
()
Date: April 08, 2018 11:35PM
The US also largely is responsible for Japan's reputation for quality...
HISTORY OF JAPAN'S QUALITY MOVEMENT
The quality movement in Japan began in 1946 with the U.S. Occupation Force's mission to revive and restructure Japan's communications equipment industry. General Douglas MacArthur was committed to public education through radio. Homer Sarasohn was recruited to spearhead the effort by repairing and installing equipment, making materials and parts available, restarting factories, establishing the equipment test laboratory (ETL), and setting rigid quality standards for products (Tsurumi 1990). Sarasohn recommended individuals for company presidencies, like Koji Kobayashi of NEC, and he established education for Japan's top executives in the management of quality. Furthermore, upon Sarasohn's return to the United States, he recommended W. Edwards Deming to provide a seminar in Japan on statistical quality control (SQC).
Deming's 1950 lecture notes provided the basis for a 30-day seminar sponsored by the Union of Japanese Scientists and Engineers (JUSE) and provided the criteria for Japan's famed Deming Prize. The first Deming Prize was given to Koji Kobayashi in 1952. Within a decade, JUSE had trained nearly 20,000 engineers in SQC methods. Today Japan gives high rating to companies that win the Deming prize; they number about ten large companies per year. Deming's work has impacted industries such as those for radios and parts, transistors, cameras, binoculars, and sewing machines. In 1960, Deming was recognized for his contribution to Japan's reindustrialization when the Prime Minister awarded him the Second Order of the Sacred Treasure.
In 1954, Dr. Joseph M. Juran of the United States raised the level of quality management from the factory to the total organization. He stressed the importance of systems thinking that begins with product designs, prototype testing, proper equipment operations, and accurate process feedback. Juran's seminar also became a part of JUSE's educational programs. Juran provided the move from SQC to TQC (total quality control) in Japan. This included company-wide activities and education in quality control (QC), QC circles and audits, and promotion of quality management principles. By 1968, Kaoru Ishikawa, one of the fathers of TQC in Japan, had outlined the elements of TQC management:
- quality comes first, not short-term profits
- the customer comes first, not the producer
- customers are the next process with no organizational barriers
- decisions are based on facts and data
- management is participatory and respectful of all employees
- management is driven by cross-functional committees covering product - - planning, product design, production planning, purchasing, manufacturing, sales, and distribution (Ishikawa 1985)
By 1991, JUSE had registered over 331,000 quality circles with over 2.5 million participants in its activities. Today, JUSE continues to provide over 200 courses per year, including five executive management courses, ten management courses, and a full range of technical training programs.