Biography and role of W. Edwards Deming
To simultaneously translate English-language videos into Russian, use the new Yandex Browser feature - real-time video translation.
Edwards Deming is deservedly considered one of the creators of the Japanese “economic miracle”, the founder of the process of revival of the Japanese economy in the post-war years. His name is associated with a phenomenon that another American scientist, who also contributed to this process, Dr. Joseph Juran, called the “revolution in quality.”
Edwards Deming is a world-famous scientist, especially revered in Japan, the author of numerous works in the field of management, quality and efficiency management, including the famous book "Overcoming the Crisis", the head of an independent consulting company founded in 1946.
Deming was born in 1900 and lived to be 93 years old. Until the last day of his life, Deming conducted four-day seminars on the basics of management, methods of quality and efficiency management.
After graduating from the University of Wyoming, Edwards Deming became a doctor of physical and mathematical sciences at the age of 28, completing graduate school at Yale University.
In the 1930s, while working at a USDA research laboratory, Edwards Deming became an active developer of statistical quality control methods. Developing the approach proposed by the famous American statistician Walter Andrew Shewhart for managing production processes. Deming extended the use of Shewhart's methods to the sphere of control of complex systems. Edwards Deming combined his work in government agencies with active teaching, heading the department of mathematical statistics at the Institute of the US Department of Agriculture from 1933 to 1953, as well as lecturing at other higher educational institutions.
With the direct assistance of Deming, during the Second World War, the US Department of Education organized 8-day intensive courses at many universities to train employees of Defense Department contractors in statistical process control methods.
It is especially important for managers of large corporations to know about what is presented in the paragraph above. We explain some important aspects in the open solution: "When designing in CAD, do you rely on testing a digital model built at nominal value? Then expect problems with the assembly of components and the behavior of the finished product in real conditions" .
Deming was one of the founders of the American Society for Quality Control (ASQC), created in 1946, now renamed American Society for Quality (ASQ) .
"Now more than ever, we must remember the teachings of Dr. Deming. Simply put, quality comes first. There is not a day that I don't think about what Dr. Deming meant to us. Deming is the core of our management."
"I am a student of Deming. Those enterprises that do not embrace a culture of quality will not survive."
"My entire business approach is based on Deming's focus on quality. And that's picking up steam again at Ford."
"When Dr. Deming came here (to Xerox), he was very hard on us."
Having visited Japan for the first time in 1946 on behalf of the scientific and economic department of the US Department of Defense, Edwards Deming, with the assistance of the Japanese Union of Scientists and Engineers, gave a series of lectures on methods of statistical quality control, first to a group of specialists, and then to an audience of 45 people - senior managers Japanese companies (analogous to the Forbes ranking of the richest businessmen in Russia). Their merit lies in the fact that the need to study and implement methods of statistical process control was instantly recognized. In Japan, a massive process of training managers at all levels, scientific and technical personnel, ordinary workers and company employees in these methods was organized, which was the starting point of the “quality revolution.” Since then, Deming was regularly invited to Japan to give lectures and consultations, and the widespread introduction of statistical control methods into the practice of companies brought results in the form of a significant increase in product quality and production efficiency, which determined Japan's leadership in the field of competitiveness in world markets.
Photo. Edwards Deming Lecture in Japan in Osaka.
Edwards Deming drew the chain reaction on the blackboard during all his meetings with top Japanese management since 1950. As soon as the Japanese management realized the meaning of this chain reaction, all residents of the country, starting from 1950, have found a common goal, and its name is quality.
Improve quality
Costs will be reduced due to fewer errors, rework and delays, as well as better use of machine time and materials.
Productivity will increase
Capture the market by offering better quality at a lower price
Stay in business
Save and increase the number of jobs
In recognition of the merits of Edwards Deming in 1951 in Japan on the initiative Union of Japanese Scientists and Engineers (JUSE) A highly prestigious award was established in his name, which has since been awarded annually to companies for outstanding achievements in quality improvement and to individuals for significant contributions to the theory and practice of quality management. The award comes in the form of a diploma and a silver medal with the profile of Dr. Edwards Deming. The Deming Prize ceremony is broadcast on national television in Japan. More than 200 companies and more than 70 individuals have been awarded the Deming Prize. See detailed information on the website JUSE - Union of Japanese Scientists and Engineers (Union of Japanese Scientists and Engineers).
Drawing. The most famous companies and the years they received the Deming Prize. For a complete list of companies awarded the Deming Prize, visit the website JUSE .
Figure 4. Professor Edwards Deming and Toyota President Fukio Nakagawa at the Deming Prize ceremony (1965). Source: global.toyota
Dr. Edwards Deming has been a consultant to major companies in the United States and Japan, including General Motors, Ford, Nashua and others, which have achieved significant results in improving product quality and production efficiency.
Dr. Edwards Deming is the recipient of numerous honorary titles, he was awarded the US National Medal of Technology, and his name is engraved in the “Hall of Fame” for his achievements in the field of science and technology. In 1960 Dr. Edwards Deming was awarded the Order of the Blessed Treasure, 2nd class. This is one of the highest orders of Japan, awarded on behalf of the emperor.
He was a professor emeritus at New York University, where he lectured for 30 years and annually conducted more than twenty 4-day seminars on the topics: “Quality, Efficiency and Competitiveness”, “Management methods aimed at improving quality and efficiency.”
The Deming Center has been established at Columbia Business School in New York, where students study his methods. At the end of each year, leaders of large businesses participate in the Deming Cup of Columbia Business School. Watch the 2019 awards ceremony below:
Video. Deming Cup Award Ceremony at Columbia Business School in New York
Fordham University of New York , has an 18-month MBA curriculum that integrates Deming's principles with the regular MBA curriculum.
Dr. Edwards Deming is the author of the theory of quality management, in which statistical methods are just a tool, and most importantly - a moral philosophy based on respect for the employee as an individual, involvement in the process of solving current problems of all company employees, creating a psychological atmosphere that eradicates fear and creates the basis for revealing human creative potential.
Four Edge Qualities:
1. Product and service innovation.
2. Process innovation.
3. Improvement of existing products and services.
4. Improvement of existing processes.
Despite the clear acceptance of Edwards Deming's management philosophy in Japan, his popularity in America only exploded in 1980 with the release of the NBC NEWS documentary If Japan Can, Why Can't We? (If Japan Can, Why Can't We?). When the film was first broadcast in America, the Deming Prize was already the most coveted industry award in Japan. Today this film, after 35 years of being banned from public viewing, thanks to the efforts of Deming Institute , available to everyone. Soon after the film's release, American industry icons such as Ford , General Motors , Dow Chemical Company , Xerox And Hughes Aircraft , asked Edwards Deming to help them.
Video. NBC NEWS Film: If Japan Can Do It, Why Can't We? (If Japan Can, Why Can't We?)
Below are some excerpts from Edwards Deming's speech in the NBC NEWS film, "If Japan Can, Why Can't We?" (If Japan Can, Why Can't We?):
The Japanese realized that the benefit you get with statistical methods is the benefit you get without new equipment, without new people.
Statistical thinking and statistical methods are a second language for Japanese production workers, foremen, and all company employees.
With statistical control, you have a repeatable product, hour after hour, day after day. Management knows what they can produce and what their costs will be.
I think that here in the US people expect miracles. American leadership thinks they can just copy from Japan - but they don't know what to copy!
I ask managers how much of their problems stem from their production workers. And the answer is always: everything! Completely false.
None of the business school graduates know what management is and what its shortcomings are. No one who has graduated from business school has ever heard of the answers I give to your questions - or perhaps even thought about them.
In the 80s, Deming was also invited to give lectures before senior Pentagon officials .
In 1991, to commemorate Edwards Deming's outstanding achievements and contributions to the automobile industry, he was honored with inclusion in Automotive Hall of Fame (Dearborn, Michigan, USA).
Video. Film about Edwards Deming. Part 1 (1984)
Video. Film about Edwards Deming. Part 2 (1984)
Video. Film about Edwards Deming. Part 3 (1984)
In the following video, William W. Scherkenbach, director of statistical methods at Ford Motor Company, speaks with Edwards Deming (1984):
Video. William W. Scherkenbach, director of statistical methods at Ford Motor Company, talks with Edwards Deming (1984)
In the following video, W. Edwards Deming talks with Gary McDonald (General Motors Research Laboratories), Fred C. Leone (Executive Director, American Statistical Association), Churchill Eisenhart (US National Bureau of standards ) and Lloyd Nelson (Nashua Corporation) in 1981. The video was sponsored by General Motors Research Laboratories in collaboration with the American Statistical Association.
Video. W. Edwards Deming talks with Gary McDonald (General Motors Research Laboratories), Fred C. Leone (Executive Director, American Statistical Association), Churchill Eisenhart (US National Bureau of standards) and Lloyd Nelson (Lloyd Nelson, Nashua Corporation) in 1981.
In the following video, Edwards Deming talks about teaching simple statistical management techniques for the industrial crisis facing the Western world (1981), 54 minutes. Lead and project director Gary McDonald (General Motors Research Laboratories), project director Dr. Harry O. Posten (University of Connecticut). The video was sponsored by General Motors Research Laboratories in collaboration with the American Statistical Association.
Video. Edwards Deming talks about teaching simple statistical management techniques in the face of the industrial crisis facing the Western world (1981)
See below, the interview of Yuri Pavlovich Adler (Professor MISIS) with Sergei Turko (Editor-in-Chief of the Alpina Publisher), Philosophy of Edwards Deming:
Video. Interview of Yuri Pavlovich Adler (Professor at MISIS) to Sergei Turko (Editor-in-Chief, Alpina Publisher).