Quality management is widely implemented today, and is regulated through standards like those set by the ISO. However, it wasn’t always a recognized field.
We owe our modern approach to quality management – and the improvements it has brought to products and services – to several visionary pioneers.
These individuals adopted innovative new approaches and systems, helping transform organizations and ways of thinking about quality, efficiency, and business success.
Edward Deming – 1900 to 1993
Edward Deming is best known for the P-D-C-A system (Plan-Do-Check-Act), his significant impact on post-World War II Japanese manufacturing, and his promotion of statistical quality control.
Deming taught many quality philosophies, including The Deming System of Profound Knowledge, The 14 points for Transformation of Management, Seven Deadly Diseases, The PDSA cycle, The Red Bead Experiment and The Funnel Experiment.
Joseph Moses Juran – 1904 to 2008
Joseph Moses Juran’s innovations include adding Human Dimension to quality systems and writing about the cost of poor quality (a theory that was later made popular by IBM’s James Harrington).
He also developed The Juran Trilogy – a cross-functional management approach that included quality planning, quality control and quality improvement.
Frederick Winslow Taylor – 1856 to 1915
Frederick Winslow Taylor was the originator of Scientific Management and Efficiency Movement. He also developed an early proponent of benchmarking and business process redesign.
His scientific management theory formed the early origins of Total Quality Control as well as re-engineering.
Shigeo Shingo – 1909 to 1990
Shigeo Shingo was the creator of concepts such as Zero Quality Control and mistake proofing.
He was also a major contributor to the now-famous TPS (Toyota Production System), which aimed to cut down on inconsistency, over-burden and waste.
Taiichi Ohno – 1912 to 1990
Taiichi Ohno was the creator of the TPS (Toyota Production System) that Shigeo Shingo contributed towards.
Ohno’s system went on to become Lean Manufacturing. He also created the seven wastes in Lean, and helped bring about the JIT (Just In Time) system.
Sakichi Toyoda – 1867 to 1930
Sakichi Toyoda implemented automation (Jidoka in Japanese) and also developed 5-Whys – the root cause analysis technique used by many quality practitioners today.
Kaoru Ishikawa – 1915 to 1989
Kaoru Ishikawa introduced the concept of Quality Circles also developed the Fishbone Cause and Effect Diagram – a handy statistical tool.
He was also one of the first to focus on the importance of the internal customer.
Armand V. Feigenbaum – 1920 – current
Working from previous theories done on the subject, Armand V. Feigenbaum created the Total Quality Concept that is known today.
He was also a major player in Quality Cost Management, which focuses on the cost of failures, prevention and appraisal.
Genichi Taguchi – 1924 to 2012
Genichi Taguchi applied statistics to improve the quality of manufactured products, using his now-famous Taguchi Methods.
He also did research on the design of experiments, and helped fields such as product design, manufacturing, sales process engineering and many others.
Philip B Crosby – 1926 to 2001
Phillip B. Crosby initiated the Zero Defects concept, and also helped bring about the conceptualization of the Quality Management Maturity Grid.
Modern quality management with isoTracker
As we move forward, it’s useful also to be aware of just how the early pioneers of quality management succeeded in driving excellence and transforming their organizations.
The best, most transformative innovations don’t come from nowhere. They begin with strong foundations!
At isoTracker, we facilitate quality management through our highly efficient, modular QMS software. The software is cloud-based and affordable. It’s designed to simplify, automate, and streamline quality processes.
Sign up for our 60-day free trial to try the software for yourself or contact us to discuss your organization’s needs.
