The Statistician Who Changed the World: W. Edwards Deming, 1900-1993
Journal article by Thomas J. Boardman; The American Statistician, Vol. 48, 1994
Journal Article Excerpt
The statistician who changed the world: W. Edwards Deming, 1900-1993 by Thomas J. Boardman 1. BRIEF BIOGRAPHY W. Edwards Deming, Consultant in Statistical Studies, died on December 20, 1993 at his home surrounded by his family. He was 93. His battle with cancer finally ended but not before he had changed how the world thinks about quality. Judging from his letterhead, business cards, and personal conversations, he considered himself to be a statistician. Yet we know that he was so much more. The New York Times obituary headlined him as "Expert on Business Management" (Holusha 1993). Others described him as the "world-famous quality expert" (Hillkirk 1993). Japan named their prestigious quality award in his honor in 1951. His name is well known in Japan, perhaps even more widely recognized than Japan's top political figures. Many in this country are now realizing that Deming fathered an industrial renaissance (see Moore and Hovelson 1993). How many of us in the statistics profession really understand his contributions to the world and to our profession? 2. CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE WORLD 2.1 NBC White Paper: 1980 Long before the NBC documentary "If Japan Can, Why Can't We?" appeared on television in 1980, some people knew of the contributions Deming was making in Japan and elsewhere. Companies in the United States had consulted with Deming on problems associated with statistical procedures such as interstate motor freight. He was a busy consultant with an office in the basement of his Washington. DC, home. Nevertheless, few in this country knew Deming. Fewer still knew the breadth of his consulting expertise. Remember that, in 1980 when the NBC telecast aired. Deming was 80. Indeed, the producer for the NBC broadcast, Clare Crawford-Mason, told me that when she visited Japan and heard about the contributions that Deming had made, she assumed he had already died. (She shares more insights in the video "The Prophet of Quality," Dobyns and Crawford-Mason 1992.) Is this an example of the axiom: You can not be a prophet (consultant) in your own country? Until this program aired Dr. Deming was not well known in this country. And then his life changed dramatically! Corporate America asked itself, "Could it be that an American had played a major role in the changes that occurred in Japan?" Yes, and he was not alone. Joseph Juran, Homer Sarason, and others helped too. Still, it was Deming who received most of the recognition in Japan. In 1960, some 27 years before our President awarded Deming the National Medal for Technology, Japan again recognized his contributions. The Emperor of Japan decorated him with the Second Order Medal of the Sacred Treasure. Not surprisingly, Deming treasured this award greatly. His lapel was hardly ever without the pin that was part of this award. Earlier the Japanese recognized his contributions by creating the Deming Prize. The first prizes were awarded in 1951--one to an individual, Dr. M. Masuyama, and one to a company, Fuji Iron & Steel. Both awards were for outstanding contributions in quality control. After the NBC broadcast requests came from all over the US. "Could Deming help us? When can he begin? How long will it take? What statistical tools should we be using? What other techniques are involved? Here is the name of the person in my company that Deming should talk too. My people will let me know how we are doing with your help." 2.2 Deming's Message to Management In the beginning, many in top management were surprised to hear from Deming that he would not even consider working with a company unless the person at the top was committed and willing to take the leadership. They assumed that Deming's approach was to implement some sort of statistical methods--to essentially measure everything in sight and then determine what to change. They were even more surprised to learn that they would need to change. "Management is the problem," he so often would say. Such was the lack of understanding of Deming's message to management. In 1981 he began his four-day seminars to help managers understand. Deming's message to management sounds so simple. If you begin by improving the quality of your goods and services, you automatically increase your productivity. This follows from less scrap, rework, more throughput, less frustration, and more. The Deming Chain Reaction of Figure 1 shows how the results follow. [Figure 1 ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]By the way, the most important component in the chain from his point of view is the change in the work ... |
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