W. Edwards Deming
1900 - 1993
Thankfully, he lived beyond
fourscore
John 4:44 – “For Jesus himself
testified that a prophet hath no
honor in his own country.” (KJV)
Deming Quick Facts
• Born in Sioux City, Iowa
• Worldwide consulting practice for more than 40
years
• Doctorate in Mathematical Physics form Yale
(1928)
• Awarded the Second Order Medal of the Sacred
Treasure by the Emperor of Japan (1960)
• Author of several books and 170 papers
• Noted for his “4-Day Seminars”
• The most contemporary man listed in the ’91 U.S.
News & World Report which identified 9 people or
events that had changed the world.
The Deming Prize
The Deming Prize
• Established in 1951 by resolution of Union of
Japanese Scientists and Engineers (JUSE) board of
directors.
• Many parallels (but some differences) to the
Malcolm Baldrige Award for quality in the United
States.
• Competition for the Deming Prize was opened to
non-Japanese firms in 1984. Florida Power & Light
and AT&T are the only U.S. company who have
won.
• The Deming Prize for Individuals and the Quality
Control Award for Factories are open only to
Japanese candidates.
Deming on Management
Deming describes present-style
management as a “prison” created by the
way people interact, which has caused
long-range losses in government,
industry, education, and healthcare …
leading us into decline.
Deming on Competition
We have grown up in a climate of
competition … between people, teams,
pupils, etc.. We have been led to believe
that competition will solve our problems.
COMPETITION is DESCTUCTIVE.
Everyone needs to work together as a
SYSTEM.
TRANSFORMATION …NOW
As a result of competition (intrafirm),
what we need now is a new style of
management.
TRANSFORMATION …HOW?
The route is through Profound Knowledge
Profound Knowledge
It is a System, composed of 4 parts:
1. Appreciation for a system
2. Knowledge about variation
3. Theory of knowledge
4. Psychology
a System
What is it?
A network of interdependent
components that work together to
try to accomplish the aim of the
system.
a System
It’s Aspects
• Must have an aim (i.e., a value judgment that
contains plans for the future).
• It must be managed
• Co-operation is key to a successful system
Flowcharting
"Draw a flowchart of what you are
doing. Until you do, you do not fully
understand what you are doing. You
just have a job."
-Dr. W. Edwards Deming
Production Viewed as a System
Suppliers of
materials and
equipment
A
Design
and
redesign
Consumer research
Receipt and
test of
materials
Production, assembly, inspection
B
C
D
Test of processes,
machines, methods,
costs
This chart appears as Fig . 6, pg. 60 of Dr. Deming 's The New
Economics for Industry, Government, and Education .
It is the chart used in Japan beg inning August, 1950, and was on the
blackboard at every conference with Japanese top manag ement since
then.
C
O
N
S
U
M
E
R
S
Example of a Cause and Effect Chart
Workers
Materials
6-4
Size
Small
Large
OverExperienced
2.6
6
Central Axle
G axle bearing
Experienced
Content
Material Quality
Material Quality
Under-Experienced
Training
Threads
11-6
Nuts
Uneven
Personality
Know ledge
F-cover
Loose
Axle Hole
Tight
Interval
Wobble
Of f -center
Measurement
Errors
Measuring
tool
Adjustment
Training
Of f -center
G-axle cover
Cover Hole
Inspector
Experience
Metal Drill
Judgement
G-axle bearing cover
Axle Stop
F-axle cover
Uneven
Judgement
Method
Punch w idth
Inspection
Plating
F-cover
Tools
source: Ishikawa,Guide to
Quality Control
Variation
• Variation is inevitable
• Every system has variation. Just monitor
the system
Two Common Mistakes Relating to Variation:
1. React to an outcome as if it came from a special
cause, when actually it came from common causes of
variation.
2. Treat an outcome as if it came from common causes
of variation, when actually it came from a special
cause.
Knowledge
• Knowledge is built on theory (e.g., story of
the rooster crowing)
• Use of data requires prediction
• No true value
• Information is not knowledge
Psychology
Present Practice
Better Practice
Is to have in place a socalled merit system, i.e.,
annual appraisal of
people. This is a form of
ranking.
Abolish the merit
system in your
company. Study the
capability of the
system. Study the
management of
people.
Present Practice
Better Practice
Is to rank people,
salesmen, teams,
divisions; reward is
given to those at the top,
punishment to those at
the bottom.
Abolish ranking.
Manage the whole
company as a system.
The function of every
component, every
division, under good
management, contributes
toward optimization of
the system.
Present Practice
Better Practice
Is to have incentive pay
… pay based on
performance.
Abolish incentive pay
and other payment
programs based on
performance. Give
everyone a chance to
take pride in his work.
Present Practice
Better Practice
There is a failure to manage
the organization as a system.
Instead, the components are
individual profit centers.
Everybody loses.
Individuals, teams, divisions
in the company work as
individual profit centers, not
for optimization of the whole
organization. The various
components thus actually rob
themselves of long-term
profit, joy in work, and other
desirable measures of quality
of life.
Manage the company as a
system. Enlarge judiciously
the boundaries of the system.
The system must include the
future. Encourage
communication. Make
physical arrangements for
informal dialogue between
people in the various
components of the company,
regardless of position.
Encourage continual learning
and advancement.
Present Practice
Better Practice
Is to use M.B.O.
(Management by
Objectives)
Study the theory of a
system. Manage the
components for
optimization of the aim
of the system.
Present Practice
Better Practice
Is to set numerical goals.
Work on a method for
improvement of a
process. By what
method?
Present Practice
Better Practice
MBR (Management By
Results)
Take immediate action
on any fault, defect,
complaint, delay,
addident, breakdown.
Action on the last
datapoint.
Understand and improve
the process that produced
the fault, defect, etc.
Understand the
distinction between
common causes of
variation and special
causes, in order to
understand the kind of
action to take.
Present Practice
Better Practice
Buying materials and
services at the lowest
bid.
Estimate the total cost of
use of materials and
services – first cost
(purchase price) plus
predicted cost of
problems in use of them,
their effect on the quality
of final product.
Present Practice
Better Practice
Delegate quality to
someone, or to a group.
Accountability for
quality rests with the top
management.
Criticisms of Deming
• Opinionated and abrasive
• Contradiction between his statements within
the 14 points and his style of lecturing (e.g.,
“Drive Out Fear” vs. his public dressing
down of executives).
• Wholeheartedly dismissed some ideas and
programs, that, if properly implemented and
managed, have merit.
Point #1
Create constancy of purpose toward
improvement of product and service,
with the aim to become competitive
and to stay in business, and to provide
jobs.
Point #2
Adopt the new philosophy. We are in
a new economic age. Western
management must awaken to the
challenge, must learn their
responsibilities, and take on leadership
for change.
Point #3
Cease dependence on inspection to
achieve quality. Eliminate the need for
inspection on a mass basis by building
quality into the product in the first
place.
Point #4
End the practice of awarding business
on the basis of price tag. Instead,
minimize total cost. Move toward a
single supplier for any one item, on a
long-term relationship of loyalty and
trust.
Point #5
Improve constantly and forever the
system of production and service, to
improve quality and productivity, and
thus constantly decrease costs.
Point #6
Institute training on the job.
Point #7
Institute leadership (see Point 12). The
aim of supervision should be to help
people and machines and gadgets to
do a better job. Supervision of
management is in need of overhaul as
well as supervision of production
workers.
Point #8
Drive out fear, so that everyone may
work effectively for the company.
Point #9
Break down barriers between
departments. People in research,
design, sales, and production must
work as a team, to foresee problems of
production and in use that may be
encountered with the product or
service.
Point #10
Eliminate slogans, exhortations, and
targets for the work force asking for
zero defects and new levels of
productivity. Such exhortations only
create adversarial relationships, as the
bulk of the causes of low quality and
low productivity belong to the system
and thus lie beyond the power of the
work force.
Point #11
Eliminate work standards (quotas) on
the factory floor. Substitute
leadership.
Eliminate management by objective.
Eliminate management by numbers,
numerical goals. Substitute
leadership.
Point #12
Remove barriers that rob the hourly worker of
his right to pride of workmanship. The
responsibility of supervisors must be changed
from sheer numbers to quality.
Remove barriers that rob people in
management and in engineering of their right
to pride of workmanship. This means, inter
alia, abolishment of the annual merit rating
and of management by objective
Point #13
Institute a vigorous program of
education and self-improvement.
Point #14
Put everybody in the company to
work to accomplish the
transformation. The transformation
is everybody’s job.