Father, Grandfathers and Gurus of Quality: Part-1

Posted on: October 14th, 2017  /  By:  /  Posted in: #QUALiTYViVA, Quality, Quality Circle  /  Comment: 1

Today starting a series of article under caption “Father, Grandfathers and Gurus of Quality”, giving the brief introduction on their work in field of Quality, happy to mention here, that this is coming on the day Oct 14, when we are celebrating birth anniversary of Dr. W. Edwards Deming.

WALTER A. SHEWHART

WalterShewhart Full name: Walter Andrew Shewhart Born On: March 18, 1891 New Canton, Illinois, U.S. Died On: March 11, 1967 Troy Hills, New Jersey, U.S. Walter Shewhart graduated from the University of Illinois with bachelors and master’s degrees, and he received a doctorate in physics from the University of California at Berkeley in 1917. Shewhart determined the “problem of variability” in terms of assignable cause and chance cause (Deming referred to this as common cause) in around 1924. From 1918 to 1924 Shewart was working as an engineer at Western Electric Co. in Hawthorne and then at Bell Telephone Laboratories from 1924 to 1956 till his retirement. During 1947 – 1948 Walter Shewhart visited India and toured the country, attended conferences and propelled interest in statistical quality control.  Quote: “In other words, the fact that the criterion we happen to use has a fine ancestry of highbrow statistical theorem does not justify its use. Such justification must come from empirical evidence that it works”.

Dr. W. EDWARDS DEMING

Deming Full name: William Edwards Deming Born On: Oct. 14, 1900, Sioux City , lowa U.S Died On: Dec. 20, 1993, Washington, D.C. Dr. Deming completed his education from the University of Wyoming ,B.S., 1921, University of Colorado ,M.S., 1924, and Ph.D. in mathematical physics in 1928, Yale University,. Deming is best known in for his 14 Points, Out of the Crisis, and his system of thought he called the “System of Profound Knowledge”. Various sampling technique were developed by William Edwards Deming in 1940, also he taught SPC technique during war time production and these technique widely use during world war two. Japanese Union of Scientists and Engineers (JUSE) called William Edwards Deming after world war two to participate in various projects and learn the SPC techniques; this is part of Japan’s reconstruction. As William Edwards Deming declined to receive royalties for his lectures, JUSE board established the Deming Prize (December 1951), this prize awarded annually to Japanese industries who work in field of Quality.  Quote: “It is not enough to do your best; you must know what to do, and then do your best.”

JOSEPH M. JURAN

Juran Full name: Joseph Moses Juran Born On: December 24, 1904, Romania Died On: February 28, 2008, Rye, New York, U.S. Joseph M. Juran, completed his graduate from University of Minnesota with a degree in electrical engineering in 1924. Juran joined Western Electric’s Hawthorne Work. Juran was head of the Department of Industrial Engineering at New York University. While there, he wrote and edited the Quality Control Handbook. During his 1966 visit to Japan, Juran learned about the Japanese concept of “quality circle”. Juran founded, The Juran Institute in 1979, with a mission to “Create a global community of practice, to empower organizations and people to push beyond their limits.”  Quote: “It is most important that top management be quality-minded. In the absence of sincere manifestation of interest at the top, little will happen below.”