Walter Shewhart (1891 - 1967), known by all as the 'father of statistical

process control', became famous, not only for being the master of Deming,
but especially for his contributions in the field of statistics and for
having developed the theory of common and special causes of variations.

His background, life and work

Walter A Shewhart was born in Illinois, USA in 1891, and his work still
influences what we do today in Quality Improvement. He studied at
University of Illinois and University of California, Berkeley and spent
most of his career working as an engineer at Western Electric (from 1918
to 1924) and Bell Laboratories (from 1925 until his retirement in 1956).

As the creator of Statistical Process Control (SPC), and the PDCA (Plan-
Do-Check-Act) cycle, his ground-breaking work helped shape the
methodologies and thinking that we use today in QI.

While working at Bell Laboratories, Shewhart was already familiar with the
statistical theories of the time, but he managed to expand them to
identify and illustrate differences in the sources of variation in a
process. He pointed out that while some sources were not ‘natural’ to the
process, some of these sources were. His invention of control charts stems
from identifying that these sources of variation were either ‘in control’
or ‘not in control’ – and from this - to develop statistical quality
control. This enables teams to identify and get rid of ‘special sources
of variation’ and thus improve the process, while avoiding wasted effort.

He worked on this theme, which led to the development and invention of

control charts, which in turn went on to be recognised as benefitting
manufacturing processes, and used to support the production of munitions
for World War 2 and in many other areas.

It would be true to say that his ground-breaking work launched ‘Quality’

as a profession and that Walter A Shewhart created a ‘quality revolution’.

Walter A. Shewhart: The father of Statistical Process Control

(lifeqisystem.com)
W. Edwards Deming
American statistician and educator
W. Edwards Deming (born Oct. 14, 1900, Sioux City, Iowa,
U.S.—died Dec. 20, 1993, Washington, D.C.) was an
American statistician, educator, and consultant whose
advocacy of quality-control methods in industrial
production aided Japan’s economic recovery after World
War II and spurred the subsequent global success of many
Japanese firms in the late 20th century.
The son of a small-town lawyer, Deming attended the
University of Wyoming (B.S., 1921), University of
Colorado (M.S., 1924), and Yale University (Ph.D. in
mathematical physics, 1928). He then taught physics at
several universities, worked as a mathematical physicist
at the United States Department of Agriculture (1927–39),
and was a statistical adviser for the U.S. Census Bureau
(1939–45). From 1946 to 1993 he was a business consultant
and a professor of statistics at New York University’s
graduate school of business administration. He was also
appointed a distinguished professor in management at
Columbia University in 1986.

In the 1930s Deming became interested in ways that

statistical analysis could achieve better quality control
in industry. Deming’s quality-control methods were based
on a systematic tallying of product defects that included
the identification and analysis of their causes. Once the
causes of defects were corrected, the outcomes were
tracked to measure the effects of those corrections on
subsequent product quality.
In 1950 Japanese business leaders invited Deming to Japan
to teach executives and engineers about the new methods.
Japanese companies quickly adopted his methods, with the
result being a commitment to quality control that helped
Japanese firms dominate some product markets in many
parts of the world. The Deming Prize (established 1951),
awarded annually to Japanese corporations that win a
rigorous quality-control competition, is named in
Deming’s honour. It was not until the 1980s that Deming’s
ideas were adopted by American corporations seeking to
compete more effectively in the world market.
W. Edwards Deming | Quality Control, Management Theory,
Total Quality Management | Britannica
Joseph m duran
 Born: Dec 24, 1904
 Died: Feb 28, 2008
Joseph M. Juran was a management consultant specializing in
managing quality. He has authored hundreds of papers and 12
books, including Juran's Quality control handbook, Quality
Planning and Analysis, and Juran on Leadership for Quality.
1951: Joseph Juran publishing Quality Control Handbook.
The Mid-50s: Like W. Edwards Deming, Joseph Juran travelled to
Japan to conduct Quality Management seminars for top and middle-
level executives.

Juran is best known for:

Juran's Trilogy - Juran's trilogy consists of Quality
Planning, Quality Control, and Quality Improvement.
10 Steps of Quality Improvement - Juran proposed ten
steps to quality improvement
Quality Control Handbook — Juran published the first
edition of the Quality Control Handbook in 1951.
Cost of Quality - Juran defined the Cost of Quality as
tangible and intangible costs.
Pareto Principle - Juran emphasized applying the Pareto
Principle (80:20 rule) in the field of Quality
Management.

Life and Works of Quality Guru Joseph Juran | Quality

Gurus
Armand V. Feigenbaum is an American quality specialist
who devised the concept of Total Quality Control (TQC).
This concept later became the foundation stone of the
stream of TQM (Total Quality Management).
Armand V. Feigenbaum earned his master’s and doctorate
degrees from MIT. During his doctoral studies, he started
writing his book “Total Quality Control.” From 1958 to
1968, he served as the Director of Manufacturing
Operations at General Electric.
In 1968, he founded General Systems Company at
Massachusetts, which was mainly operational into the
field of defining Business Operating Systems for
companies. Dr. Feigenbaum shared his concepts and
processes through a number of articles, books, and
interviews.

Today, he is one of the most revered personalities in the

field of quality and process improvement. His name cannot
be missed in any discussion of the concept of total
quality. He also served as the president of prestigious
societies such as ASQ (American Society for Quality) and
IAQ (International Academy for Quality). He passed away
at an age of 94.

Approach to Quality and Six Sigma: Process Improvement

Armand V. Feigenbaum is most known for his major

contributions in the field of quality and Six Sigma
techniques, helping improve processes through his
innovative strategies.

Armand Vallin Feigenbaum and His Contributions to Process

Improvement - (opexlearning.com)
Born: Jun 18, 1926

Died: Aug 18, 2006

Philip Crosby is best known for:

Quality is Free - His first book that made him famous.
Zero Defects - One of his four absolutes of quality.
The Four Absolutes of Quality - See the details below.
The Crosby Vaccine - for management to prevent poor quality
The Fourteen Steps of Quality Improvement
The founder and chairman of the board of Career IV, an executive
management consulting firm. Crosby also founded Philip Crosby
Associates Inc. and the Quality College. He has authored many
books, including Quality is free, Quality without tears, Let's
talk Quality, and Leading: The art of becoming an executive.
Crosby originated the concept of zero defects.

1979: Philip Crosby started the management consulting company

Philip Crosby Associates, Inc.
1979: Crosby published his first business book; Quality Is Free.
Four Absolutes of Quality
Crosby's response to the quality crisis was the principle of
"doing it right the first time" (DIRFT). He also included four
major principles:
The First Absolute
The definition of quality is conformance to requirements (not as
goodness)
The Second Absolute
The system of quality is prevention (not appraisal)
The Third Absolute
The performance standard is zero defects (not "that's close
enough").
The Fourth Absolute
The measurement of quality is the price of nonconformance (not
indexes)

The Crosby Vaccine

In the Crosby style, the "Vaccine" is explained as medicine for
management to prevent poor quality. It is in five sections that
cover the requirements of Total Quality Management.
Integrity
Treat quality seriously throughout the whole business
organization from top to bottom. The company's future will be
judged on its performance on quality.
Systems
Appropriate measures and systems should be put in place for
quality costs, education, quality, performance, review,
improvement and customer satisfaction.
Communication
The communication systems are of paramount importance to
communicate requirements and specifications and improvement
opportunities around the organization. Customers and operators
know what needs to be put in place to improve, and listening to
them will give you the edge.
Operations
Work with and develop suppliers. Processes should be capable, and
improvement culture should be the norm.
Policies
Policies must be clear and consistent throughout the business.
The Fourteen Steps to Quality
Improvement
1. Management Commitment
Make it clear that management is committed to quality.
2. Quality Improvement Teams
Form Quality Improvement Teams with senior representatives from
each department.
3. Measure Processes
Measure processes to determine where current and potential
quality problems lie.
4. Cost of Quality
Evaluate the cost of quality and explain its use as a management
tool.
5. Quality Awareness
Raise the quality awareness and personal concern of all
employees.
6. Correct Problems
Take actions to correct problems identified through previous
steps.
7. Monitor Progress
Establish progress monitoring for the improvement process.
8. Train Supervisors
Train supervisors to actively carry out their part of the quality
improvement program.
9. Zero Defects Day
Hold a Zero Defects Day to reaffirm management commitment.
10. Establish Improvement Goals
Encourage individuals to establish improvement goals for
themselves and their group.
11. Remove Fear
Encourage employees to tell management about obstacles to
improving quality.
12. Recognize
Recognize and appreciate those who participate.
13. Quality Councils
Establish Quality Councils to communicate on a regular basis.
14. Repeat the Cycle
Do it all over again to emphasize that the quality improvement
process never ends.
Philip Crosby: The Man Who Said “Quality is Free” | Quality Gurus

Born: July 13, 1915

Died: April 16, 1989
Ishikawa is best known for:
Ishikawa Diagram - Also known as Cause-and-effect Diagram or
Fishbone Diagram.
Seven Basic Quality Tools - Seven Basic Quality Tools were first
emphasized by Ishikawa.
Quality Circles - Ishikawa introduced the concept of Quality
Circles. This is an essential part of Total Quality Management
(TQM).
Company-wide Quality - Ishikawa believed that quality must be
company-wide.

Kaoru Ishikawa served as president of the Japanese Society for

Quality Control and the Musashi Institute of Technology and co-
founded and served as president of the International Academy for
Quality. Upon retirement, he was named professor emeritus of the
University of Tokyo, Honorary Member of ASQ and an honorary
member of the International Academy for Quality.
He wrote 647 articles and 31 books, including two translated into
English: "Introduction to Quality Control" and "What Is Total
Quality Control? The Japanese Way".
He is well known for coming up with the concept for the fishbone-
shaped diagram, known as the Ishikawa or cause and effect
diagram, used to improve teams' performance in determining
potential root causes of their quality problems.
He developed and delivered the first basic quality control course
for the Union of Japanese Scientists and Engineers (JUSE),
Credited with creating the Japanese quality circle movement.
ASQ named a national medal after him, recognizing him as a
distinguished pioneer in achieving respect for humanity in the
quality disciplines.
1949 - Developed and delivered the first basic quality control
course for the Union of Japanese Scientists and Engineers (JUSE)
1962 - Credited with creating the Japanese quality circle
movement.
1993 - ASQ named a national medal after him, recognizing him as a
“distinguished pioneer in the achievement of respect for humanity
in the quality disciplines.”
The Ishikawa Diagram is also called the Fishbone diagram and the
Cause-and-Effect-Analysis. This is the most commonly used to
analyze a problem and to find out the potential causes creating
the problem.
Ishikawa Diagram is one of the Seven Basic Quality Tools promoted
by Ishikawa.
Kaoru Ishikawa | Quality Gurus
Born: Jan 1, 1924
Died: June 2, 2012
Genichi Taguchi is best known For:
 Taguchi Methods
 Taguchi Loss Function
 Design of Experiments
 Robust Design
 Quality Engineering

The executive director of the American Supplier Institute, the

director of the Japan Industrial Technology Institute, and an
honorary professor at Nanjing Institute of Technology in China.
Genichi Taguchi is well known for developing a methodology to
improve quality and reduce costs, which, in the United States, is
referred to as the Taguchi Methods. he also developed the quality
loss function.
Mid 50's: Genichi Taguchi was the Indian Statistical Institute's
visiting professor, where he met Walter Shewhart.
1960: Genichi Taguchi was awarded the Deming Application prize
for his contributions to the field of quality engineering.
1986: Willard F Rockwell Medal by the International Technologies
Institute
Taguchi's methodology is geared toward pushing the concepts of
quality and reliability back into the design stage, i.e. before
manufacturing.
His method provides an efficient technique for designing product
tests before beginning manufacturing.

Taguchi methodology is fundamentally a prototyping technique that

enables engineers/ designers to produce a robust design that can
survive repetitive manufacturing to deliver the functionality
required by the customer.
Taguchi considered design more critical than Quality Control in
manufacturing processes. Taguchi methods improve product quality
during product development by incorporating quality into the
product designs.

Taguchi specified three situations:

1. Larger the better (for example, process yield);
2. Smaller the better (for example, emissions, rejection rate);
and
3. On-target, minimum-variation (for example, a mating part
dimensions in an assembly).

Robust Design - Taguchi's Three

Stages of Product Development:
The philosophy of off-line quality control, designing products
and processes so that they are insensitive ("robust") to
parameters outside the design engineer's control.
System design stage
The non-statistical stage for engineering, marketing and customer
knowledge.
Parameter stage
How should the product perform against defined parameters? The
robust solution of cost-effective manufacturing irrespective of
the operating parameters.
Tolerance design stage
Tolerance around the desired settings. Finding the balance
between manufacturing cost and loss.
Genichi Taguchi | Quality Gurus

Taiichi Ohno, popularly known as the pioneer of the

Toyota Production System was born in Dalian, China in
1912. He graduated from the Nagoya Technical High School
in Japan and joined Toyoda Spinning in 1932. He joined
the Toyota Motor Company as a shop-floor supervisor in
the year 1943 and rose to the position of an executive.

In the early 1950s, Ohno, then working as an assembly

manager in Toyota, developed significant improvements
that eventually took the shape of the Toyota Production
System (TPS). Toyota was on the verge of becoming
bankrupt and was not in a position to afford large
investments in major inventories or equipment. In the
1950s, a major collaboration with Shigeo Shingo started
and further refinement in the direction of framing an
integrated manufacturing strategy took shape.

The Rise of Toyota Production System

The oil crisis of 1973 hit Japan just as it affected

America and Europe. By 1974, Japan’s economy collapsed
and crashed to a state of zero. At the Toyota Motor
Company, profits witnessed a downfall; however, greater
earnings were reported and sustained in 1975, 1976, and
1977 as compared to other Japanese companies.

The huge gap between Toyota and other Japanese companies

resulted in the other firms in Japan adopting the Toyota
Production System, and began spreading its roots rapidly
in the country.

Ohno’s success resulted in his career acceleration from

an Assembly Shop Manager to the Executive Vice President
in 1975. He retired from Toyota in the early 1980s and
joined the Toyota subsidiary and supplier, Toyota Gosei,
as the President.

Ohno strongly believed that “Having no problems is the

biggest problem of all.” He stated that problems are not
the cause of worry; rather it is a Kaizen opportunity to
improvise and grow. He also stressed that each problem
has to be seen without any set of preconceived notions.

Taiichi Ohno: Contribution to Six Sigma & Lean

Manufacturing

Ohno was strongly of the opinion that waste &

inefficiency are the two major reasons why Toyota’s
production was suffering. He personally took charge of
the elimination of wastes and reducing the inefficiency
in the production area.

His efforts finally took the shape of the Toyota

Production System. Ohno’s principles influenced people in
the areas outside of manufacturing, including the service
arena.

Ohno also played an instrumental role in identifying ways

by which organizations identify waste with his model
known as the Seven Wastes which forms the core of many
academic studies to date.

A Muda’ is a Japanese term that stands for any entity

that doesn’t have any further value and should be
eliminated from the organization without any further
delay. It is critical to examine the values that each
activity contributes to the organization and identifying
those that do not contribute any value. After reaching
this point it is easier to see what it is that the
customer pays for. Organizations can then start working
on the elimination of waste. These seven wastes are as
follows:

4. Any time wasted in delays or waiting in the queue

with no value addition
5. The production is more than the demand
6. Resources (physical or material) being wasted in a
non-strategical activity
7. Unorganized or unplanned transportation
8. Unplanned movements or motion
9. Non-utilized inventory
10. The defects, for the inspection of the
inventory, cost time and money
A few parts of the Toyota Production System are
frequently used in the United States such as kanban (the
tagging/signal in JIT stock control system), jidoka (the
injection of quality), and muda (the elimination of
waste).

Conclusions

Taiichi stated that progress cannot be possible if one

stays happy with the present conditions. He took the
elimination of the inefficiency in Toyota as his personal
goal and kept working until he devised the well-known
Toyota Production system.

He was very proactive in removing defects and unusable

stock from any organization. He devised seven categories
of wastes through which organizations can easily proceed
with systemic waste removal from their businesses. His
contributions have made Toyota a world-renowned
organization with respect to quality excellence.

Taiichi Ohno: Contributions to Process Improvement -

(opexlearning.com)
Dr. Shigeo Shingo is a name highly respected amongst
engineers and the scores of people currently associated
with quality control across industries. He is said to
have attained Kaizen, the Japanese word associated with
improvement. To be more precise, the concept in business
it refers to the perfect synergy between all the
activities of an organization. This may be from the level
of the CEO himself down to the assembly line workers on
the floors of thousands of factories across the world.

Early Life, Work, and Contributions

Dr. Shingo earned a degree in mechanical engineering at

the Yamanashi Technical College in 1930 and soon after,
gained employment at the Taipei Railway Factory. Whilst
there, he became interested in quality improvement
initiatives and scientific management across the company.

By 1946, he was working at the Japan Management

Association Technical Conference where he began looking
into productivity problems associated with the plant. He
began his research in early 1951 on Statistical Quality
Control, after which Toyota leveraged his project and
work. After achieving excellent results with his
theories, they hired him as a consultant.

By 1955 Dr. Shingo was already leading the industrial

engineering and factory improvement training team at the
Toyota Motor Corporation. In 1956, he led a three-year
study on shipbuilding at Mitsubishi Shipbuilding and came
up with a system that halved the production time. He is
also credited with the completion of the SMED, or single-
minute-exchange of die method which is a type of Lean
manufacturing method. He achieved zero quality defects by
leveraging the improved version of SMED.

His principles still form the backbone of what quality

control is all about to this day.

Shingo’s contributions to Quality Control

During his lifetime Shingo contributed quite a bit to

further quality control processes in the industry. His
teachings can be bucketed into three main topics

11. Just In Time (JIT)

12. Single Minute Exchange of Dies (SMED)
13. Zero Quality Control
Just In Time (JIT): This concept in quality control was
developed mainly by Dr. Shingo in collaboration with Mr.
Taichii Ohno from the Toyota days. To summarize the
concept, this is a planned way to eliminate all waste
along with continuous improvement in productivity. It
encompasses a perfect synergy of all activities related
to manufacturing a particular product. A few primary
elements of JIT would be:

14. To have only the required amount of inventory at

a given time
15. Improve quality to have zero defects
16. To reduce lead time by reducing setup times
17. Optimize queue lengths and lot sizes
The key thing to remember is to accomplish the above at
minimum costs. If a company were to apply the above
tenets, they would be able to cut costs in an optimized
and effective manner. Also, the use of statistical
methods helps ensure that the product is met with desired
results consistently.
Single Minute Exchange of Dies (SMED): Dr. Shigeo Shingo,
as part of JIT, also helped advance and develop the
existing SMED process. The basic tenets which drove the
study were:

18. Reduce setup time of dies

19. Smaller batch sizes for parts
The above becomes very beneficial to companies looking to
cut costs as it allows the manufacturing system to adjust
quickly to changes in design with a very little cost to
the company. In addition to the cost benefits, this new
and improved SMED process also allowed for zero defects,
higher machine efficiency, and in turn results in a high
production rate.

His brilliance lay in the way he approached the SMED

process. His idea was to isolate and identify the time
required for setup into two main entities: internal time
and external time. Many companies that have stamping
operations have found great success using his methods.

Zero Quality Control (ZQC): Dr. Shingo’s ZQC method are

based on a few principles as stated below

20. Quality inspections should be done at the source

of the process instead of routine sampling
inspections
21. Quick feedback from the quality checks and self-
checks
22. Poka-yoke designed manufacturing devices
His basic idea was to target the defect at its root cause
to eliminate it from the process effectively. He firmly
believed that in addition to statistical methods, sound
manufacturing processes would go a long way in
eliminating defects altogether.
Conclusion

Dr. Shigeo Shingo was perhaps one of the greatest

contributors to the study of total quality management and
modern manufacturing methods. Although his name isn’t as
well known as some others in this space, his principles
have slowly but gradually formed the backbone to
manufacturing processes in Asia and South East Asia.

Shigeo Shingo and His Contributions to Total Quality

Control - (opexlearning.com)

A cause and effect diagram, also known as an Ishikawa or

"fishbone" diagram, is a graphic tool used to explore and display
the possible causes of a certain effect. Use the classic fishbone
diagram when causes group naturally under the categories of
Materials, Methods, Equipment, Environment, and People. Use a
process-type cause and effect diagram to show causes of problems
at each step in the process.
 A cause and effect diagram has a variety of benefits:
 It helps teams understand that there are many causes that
contribute to an effect.
 It graphically displays the relationship of the causes to
the effect and to each other.
 It helps to identify areas for improvement.

Cause and Effect Diagram | Institute for Healthcare Improvement

(ihi.org)

A check sheet is a structured, prepared form for collecting and analyzing

data. This is a generic data collection and analysis tool that can be
adapted for a wide variety of purposes and is considered one of the seven
basic quality tools.

WHEN TO USE A CHECK SHEET

 When data can be observed and collected repeatedly by the same person or
at the same location
 When collecting data on the frequency or patterns of events, problems,
defects, defect location, defect causes, or similar issues
 When collecting data from a production process
 CHECK SHEET PROCEDURE

 Decide what event or problem will be observed. Develop operational

definitions.
 Decide when data will be collected and for how long.
 Design the form. Set it up so that data can be recorded simply by making
check marks or X's or similar symbols and so that data do not have to be
recopied for analysis.
 Label all spaces on the form.
 Test the check sheet for a short trial period to be sure it collects the
appropriate data and is easy to use.
 Each time the targeted event or problem occurs, record data on the check
sheet.
Check Sheet - Defect Concentration Diagram | ASQ
A flowchart is a visual representation of the sequence of
steps and decisions needed to perform a process. Each
step in the sequence is noted within a diagram shape.
Steps are linked by connecting lines and directional
arrows. This allows anyone to view the flowchart and
logically follow the process from beginning to end.
A flowchart is a powerful business tool. With proper
design and construction, it communicates the steps in a
process very effectively and efficiently.
Flowchart - Process Flow Charts, Templates, How To, and More
(smartdraw.com)
areto analysis is a technique used for business decision-
making, but it also has applications in several different
fields from welfare economics to quality control. It is
based largely on the "80-20 rule." As a decision-making
technique, Pareto analysis statistically separates a
limited number of input factors—either desirable or
undesirable—which have the greatest impact on an outcome.

Pareto analysis is premised on the idea that 80% of a

project's benefit can be achieved by doing 20% of the
work—or, conversely, 80% of problems can be traced to 20%
of the causes. Pareto analysis is a powerful quality and
decision-making tool. In the most general sense, it is a
technique for getting the necessary facts needed for
setting priorities.
What Is Pareto Analysis? How to Create a Pareto Chart and Example
(investopedia.com)

A frequency distribution shows how often each different value in a set of

data occurs. A histogram is the most commonly used graph to show frequency
distributions. It looks very much like a bar chart, but there are
important differences between them. This helpful data collection and
analysis tool is considered one of the seven basic quality tools.

What are Histograms? Analysis & Frequency Distribution | ASQ

A run chart is a type of chart that displays the measurement of a
series over time. Run charts are often used to monitor the
performance of a process, with the focus on process improvement.
Run charts can be used for any process or activity where you need
to track how well it's performing and the trend. For example, you
may use a run chart to determine the shift in the process over
time or to check if the quality of your products is improving or
deteriorating.
What Is a Run Chart?
You "might not" find the run chart in the seven basic quality
tools list. However, it replaces Stratification at some places
and is shown in the list of seven basic quality tools.
A run chart is similar to a Point Chart, where a line connects
points. You have the time (or date) on which data was collected
on the X-axis. Y-axis shows the value of data. In the case of the
point chart, each point represents one sample.
Seven Quality Tools – Run Chart | Quality Gurus
A control chart is a statistical tool used to monitor process
variation. A control chart is a graphical representation of data
over time. It is used to detect and correct deviations from the
desired condition.
What Is a Control Chart?
The Control Chart is one of the Seven Basic Quality Tools.
A control chart is a graphic display of data that shows how well
a process or system performs over time. The control chart
displays the performance of a process in terms of its ability to
meet specifications.
Control charts help determine if a process is working correctly,
identify trends, and take necessary corrective action before it
is too late.
Seven Quality Tools – Control Charts | Quality Gurus