Mohammad Zaid

http://iso-qms.blogspot.com/

Dr. Kaoru Ishikawa

July 13, 1915 - April 16, 1989

Introduction
Dr. Kaoru Ishikawa is one of the world`s foremost authorities on quality control. He has helped thousands of companies, including IBM, Bridgestone, and Komatsu, to turn out higher quality products at much lower costs. His book "What is Total Quality Control?" The Japanese Way, Prentice Hall, Inc. was a best seller in business books.

Mohammad Zaid

http://iso-qms.blogspot.com/

Background
Kaoru Ishikawa July 13, 1915 - April 16, 1989) was a Japanese university professor and influential quality management innovator best known in North America for the Ishikawa or cause and effect diagram (also known as fishbone diagram) that is used in the analysis of industrial process.

Education
He graduated in 1939 from the Engineering Department of Tokyo University having majored in applied chemistry. In 1947 he was made an Assistant Professor at the University. He obtained his Doctorate of Engineering and was promoted to Professor in 1960.

Professional Career 1939- Graduated from the Department of Applied Chemistry, University of Tokyo
Employed in coal liquefaction and obtained experience in design, construction, operations, and research.

1939 - 1941 - Naval Technical Officer In charge of 600 workers to construct

a factory. - This experience he says was invaluable to QC activities later on.

1947 - Researcher, University of Tokyo, began studying statistical methods 1949- Joined JUSE QC research group and became an instructor. 1952- Director of the Chemical Society of Japan 1969- Member of ISO, Japan

Mohammad Zaid

http://iso-qms.blogspot.com/

1970- Commenced conducting quality control training seminars.

Consultant to Ford Motor Company, Bridgestone Co. Ltd, Komatsu Manufacturing, Ltd., IBM Japan, American Society for Quality Control and thousands of other companies.

1977 -Chairman of ISO, Japan 1981- Executive Member of ISO 1981- Published What is Total Quality Control? The Japanese Way, first edition.
Kaoru Ishikawa wanted to change the way people think about work. He urged managers to resist becoming content with merely improving a product's quality, insisting that quality improvement can always go one step further. His notion of company-wide quality control called for continued customer service. This meant that a customer would continue receiving service even after receiving the product. This service would extend across the company itself in all levels of management, and even beyond the company to the everyday lives of those involved. According to Ishikawa, quality improvement is a continuous process, and it can always be taken one step further.

Kaoru Ishikawa led the concept and use of Quality Circles. The intended purpose of a Quality Circle is to; Support the improvement and development of the company Respect human relations in the workplace and increase job satisfaction Draw out employee potential

He believed quality must be company wide including the product, service, management, the company itself and the people. Quality improvement must be companywide in order to be successful and sustainable.

Mohammad Zaid

http://iso-qms.blogspot.com/

Many, including Juran and Crosby, consider Kaoru Ishikawas teachings to be more successful in Japan than in the West. Quality circles are effective when management understand statistical quality management techniques and are committed to act on their recommendations. Ishikawa is also credited with developing the Cause and Effect Diagram, also known as the Ishikawa Diagram or more simplistic Fishbone Diagram. With the use of this diagram the user can see all the possible causes of any given result, and hopefully identity the root process of imperfections, thusly allowing quality improvement to be driven from the bottom up. In addition to his own developments, Iskikawa drew on, and expanded upon ideas and principles from other notable quality management gurus, even expanding Demings PDCA model into a six step plan Determine goals and targets Determine methods of reaching goals Engage in education and training Implement work Check the efforts of implementation Take appropriate action

In a speech to mark the 1000th quality circle convention in Japan in 1981, he described how his work took him in this direction.

'I first considered how best to get grassroots workers to understand and practice Quality Control. The idea was to educate all people working at factories throughout the country but this was asking too much. Therefore I thought of educating factory foremen or on-thespot leaders in the first place.'
Dr. Kaoru Ishikawa states that the following thought processes guided him:

1. Engineers who pass judgment based on their experimental data must

know statistical methods by heart.

Mohammad Zaid

http://iso-qms.blogspot.com/

2. Japan does not have an abundance of natural resources and must import
raw materials and foodstuffs from overseas. This means that exports must be expanded. The days of cheaply produced, poor quality goods for export are over. Japan must endeavor to make high quality goods at low cost. For that reason, quality control and statistical quality control must be conducted with utmost care.

3. The eight years that I spent in the non academic world after my graduation
taught me that Japanese industry and society behaved very irrationally. I began to feel that by studying quality control, and by applying QC properly, the irrational behavior of industry and society could be corrected. In other words, I felt that the application of QC could accomplish revitalization of industry and effect a though revolution in management." As with the other Japanese quality gurus, such as Genichi Taguchi, Kaoru Ishikawa has paid particular attention to making technical statistical techniques used in quality attainment accessible to those in industry. At the simplest technical level, his work has emphasized good data collection and presentation, the use of Pareto Diagrams to priorities quality improvements and Cause-and-Effect (or Ishikawa or Fishbone) Diagrams. Ishikawa sees the cause-and-effect diagram, like other tools, as a device to assist groups or quality circles in quality improvement. As such, he emphasizes open group communication as critical to the construction of the diagrams. Ishikawa diagrams are useful as systematic tools for finding, sorting out and documenting the causes of variation of quality in production and organizing mutual relationships between them. Other techniques Ishikawa has emphasized include control charts, scatter diagrams, Binomial probability paper and sampling inspection Ishikawas relentless pursuit of taking quality improvement one step further guarantees his status as a guru of continuous quality improvement, his legacy will remain within the TQM of businesses across the globe for many years to come.

Mohammad Zaid

http://iso-qms.blogspot.com/

At Ishikawa's 1989 death, Juran delivered this eulogy:

There is so much to be learned by studying how Dr. Ishikawa managed to accomplish so much during a single lifetime. In my observation, he did so by applying his natural gifts in an exemplary way. He was dedicated to serving society rather than serving himself. His manner was modest, and this elicited the cooperation of others. He followed his own teachings by securing facts and subjecting them to rigorous analysis. He was completely sincere, and as a result was trusted completely.

Writings
Ishikawa, Kaoru (1980) [original Japanese ed. 1970]. QC Circle Koryo : General Principles of the QC Circle. Tokyo: QC Circle Headquarters, Union of Japanese Scientists and Engineers. Ishikawa, Kaoru (1985). How to Operate QC Circle Activities. Tokyo: QC Circle Headquarters, Union of Japanese Scientists and Engineers. Ishikawa, Kaoru (1985) [First published in Japanese 1981]. What is Total Quality Control? The Japanese Way [Originally titled: TQC towa Nanika Nipponteki Hinshitsu Kanri]. D. J. Lu (Trans.). New Jersey: Ishikawa, Kaoru (1990). Introduction to Quality Control. J. H. Loftus (Trans.).

Awards and Honors

1972 American Society for Quality's Eugene L. Grant Award 1977 Blue Ribbon Medal by the Japanese Government for achievements in industrial standardization 1988 Walter A. Shewhart Medal 1988 Awarded the Order of the Sacred Treasures, Second Class, by the Japanese government.

Mohammad Zaid

http://iso-qms.blogspot.com/

For A rticle on Q uality visit my blog http:/ / iso-qms.blogspot.com/ Link to Previous A rticles
1.

Philip B. Crosby: Four Absolutes of Quality Management and 14-Step Quality Improvement Plan 2. Benefits of Implementing a QMS
3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16.

IS TQM A TOTAL SOLUTION?

ISO List
Twelve Obstacles to Implementing Quality Quality Control Tools PDCA Cycle Top Quality Gurus Quality management system - Summary of requirements Difference between Quality Assurance and Quality Control What is ISO 9000? Quality Glossary A to Z The Quality Control Audit - By Kaoru Ishikwa The eight principles of quality management Executive Summary of the 14 Toyota Way Principles Toyota Production System

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