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Quality Guru 04 - The Legacy of Ishikawa (Qp0404watson)
Quality Guru 04 - The Legacy of Ishikawa (Qp0404watson)
The Legacy
Of Ishikawa by Greg Watson
W
hen I first joined the quality depart- their efforts will make the most impact. Management
ment at Hewlett-Packard in the early should also illuminate the areas where its employees
1980s, I remember watching video- are weak and encourage teams to pursue excellence
tapes of Kaoru Ishikawa reviewing the quality per- in their tasks.
formance of Japanese companies. These reviews What else did Ishikawa contribute to the quality
formed the model Hewlett-Packard used to con- movement and quality profession? Why did he
duct internal quality reviews and served as a role make such an impact on my personal career as a
model for the site visits conducted by the board of quality professional?
examiners for the Malcolm Baldrige National He was the prime mover of quality in Japan. He
Quality Award. initiated many of the Japanese programs and was
Ishikawa’s factory visits and project reviews largely responsible for translating W. Edwards
exemplify the way a professional should conduct Deming’s and Joseph M. Juran’s early lessons into a
quality assessments. According to Ishikawa, man- uniquely Japanese approach to quality improvement.
agement should let employees self-regulate their Ishikawa epitomized the benevolent grandfa-
own work and steer them in the direction where ther. He appeared to be all knowing, all perceiving,
inherently wise and insightful and able to get to
the point of a problem, no matter how complex,
and offer sound advice. I guess my personal fasci-
In 50 Words nation stemmed from the fact I never knew my
Or Less own grandfathers.
Quality begins and ends with education: To ing himself. His manner was modest, and this
understand the true meaning of Ishikawa’s teach- elicited the cooperation of others. He followed his
ing about education, it is essential to recognize how own teachings by securing facts and subjecting
them to rigorous analysis. He was completely sin-
he differentiated between education and training. cere, and as a result was trusted completely.1
He believed training improves skills and compe-
tence, and education builds a person’s character The greatest impact Ishikawa and several of his
and develops a deeper level of understanding. students—most notably Yoshio Kondo, Noriaki
Ishikawa put his ideas together into a systematic Kano and Hitoche Kume—have had on me is to con-
perspective of quality that is pervasive today: vince me it is worthwhile to dedicate our time to
“Ninety percent of all problems can be solved by help improve the quality of life in the world by
using the techniques of data stratification, his- improving the quality of the way we work together.
tograms and control charts. Among the causes of One lesser known quote from Ishikawa illustrates
nonconformance, only one-fifth or less are attribut- the depth of his personal commitment to global
able to the workers.” quality: “I am convinced world peace and prosperity
Education accelerates life experience and enables need quality control. This is why quality control will
people to understand truth. Ishikawa taught that have to be taught and spread around the world.”
the next step in each work process is the customer,
who deserves attention, and processes should be The Gift of a Role Model
analyzed to uncover the facts and data about per- Those who were close to Ishikawa would know
formance from the viewpoint of the customer. he sometimes criticized them for not focusing their
Customer oriented quality requires breaking down attention on the important aspects of improvement.
functional boundaries that inhibit the flow of One of his most often used words was damyi—the
defect free products to the market. Japanese word used to rebuke children and cause
Education transforms workers into informed them to stop bad behavior. Maybe this word should
skeptics when they follow Ishikawa’s advice: be used more in our business environment where
“When you see the data, doubt them! When you see balance is often not achieved between participatory
the measurement instrument, doubt it! When you management and the strong coaching style needed
see the analysis, doubt it!” This epithet describes to get people to the point of self-discovery.
the philosophy of Six Sigma Black Belts, who quick- Ishikawa not only talked about how to manage
ly learn not all data are good—a point originally this way; he also provided a living example of it,
made by Ishikawa more than 25 years ago. giving quality professionals someone to emulate for
Education creates understanding and a willingness years to come. When Kano first told me about the
to doubt because doubters have confidence in their way he was constructively criticized by Ishikawa, it
ability to find the truth. If members of a management helped me understand my fascination with him.
team provide education for their workers, the work- Ishikawa always behaved as a benevolent grandfa-
ers can collectively determine the best way to man- ther to both his students and his clients. Kano’s
age the work processes and produce the outcomes insights helped me understand I saw Ishikawa as a
required by customers. Universal worker education grandfather of quality because that was how he
in basic quality tools and methods is another legacy acted. Now I know I am in good company.
of Ishikawa we accept as a standard work practice.
REFERENCE
Selfless personal commitment: Juran’s eulogy for
Ishikawa is one of the greatest tributes I have read: 1. Kenneth S. Stephens, editor, International Academy for
Quality: Best of Quality, Vol. 13, ASQ Quality Press, 2002,
There is so much to be learned by studying how p. 187.
Ishikawa managed to accomplish so much during
BIBLIOGRAPHY
a single lifetime. In my observation, he did so by
applying his natural gifts in an exemplary way. He Ishikawa, Kaoru, What Is Total Quality Control? The Japanese
was dedicated to serving society rather than serv- Way, translated by David J. Lu, Prentice-Hall, 1985.
REFERENCE
1. Kenneth S. Stephens, editor, International Academy for Quality: Best of Quality, Vol. 13, ASQ Quality Press, 2002.