As I’ve heard it, Deming was having trouble getting people to listen to him on this side of the pond, but the Japanese were all too happy to listen to his ideas.
There also seems to be a running disagreement about whether Mr Toyoda or Taiichi Ohno is responsible for the Toyota system.
To wit, the intro to Ohno’s Wikipedia page:
Re:The Toyota Way
by throw0101a on Wednesday June 26, 2019 @10:20PM
(#20291225)
> As I’ve heard it, Deming was having trouble getting people to listen to him
Ben Rockwood, then at Joyent, gave the keynote at LISA '11 on DevOps that touches on Deming and quality (45m45s):
> As I’ve heard it, Deming was having trouble getting people to listen to him
made me chuckle - its not like he did anything of value...
Deming has always been a reminder to think about counter tendencies. He might not have made sense to the Detroit execs in 1950-1975 but his relevance changed sharply after that.
Re:The Toyota Way
by windexh8er on Wednesday June 26, 2019 @07:11PM
(#20290244)
Deming didn't do "anything of value"? Considering Kaizen and the concept of continuous improvement in Japan is mostly attributed to him. The prime minister awarded him the Order of the Sacred Treasure and recognizes him for their post-war rebirth as an industrial power. Detroit did everything wrong at the time (see GM's disaster in automation at their Hamtramck facility [0]). Even when American execs were posed with a simple question of why their own employees didn't buy their product they didn't understand the disconnect between quality, reliability and the awareness of the buyer.
[0] https://www.leanblog.org/2016/06/gms-ceo-roger-smith-thought...
Re:The Toyota Way
by TotempaaltJ on Wednesday June 26, 2019 @07:24PM
(#20290337)
I think gp was being sarcastic...
Re:The Toyota Way
by windexh8er on Wednesday June 26, 2019 @07:50PM
(#20290501)
Probably, although I feel as though that perspective about Deming is, unfortunately, a reality for some.
Not for me. I had an uncle who was a Mech Engineering professor and I learned about his role in WWII and postwar Japanese rebuilding.
> Even when American execs were posed with a simple question of why their own employees didn't buy their product they didn't understand the disconnect between quality, reliability and the awareness of the buyer.
That's hilarious. Do you have a source for it?
See also Deming on quality control:
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/W._Edwards_Deming#Work_in_Japa...