The Legacy of Dr. Kaoru
The Legacy of Dr. Kaoru
The Legacy of Dr. Kaoru Ishikawa Dr. Kaoru Ishikawa was a Japanese consultant and father of the scientific analysis of causes/ problems in industrial processes. The purpose of this paper is to recognize the life works and address the impacts of Dr. Kaoru Ishikawa’s works on the world. The focus will help the reader understand his background, key ideas, influence on quality practices, and the correlation to total quality management (TQM). Dr. Kaoru Ishikawa was born in 1915 and died in 1989 (Lindsay & Evans, 2007). He was born in Tokyo and was the eldest of eight sons by Ichiro Ishikawa (Business and Companies). In 1943 Ishikawa graduated from the Engineering department at the University of Tokyo with a major in applied chemistry (De La Salle University, 2002). According to Business and Companies, “His first job was as a naval technical officer (1939-1941) then moved on to work at the Nissan Liquid Fuel Company until 1947. Later that year he was made assistant professor at his Alma Mater. He later received his Doctorate of Engineering and was promoted to professor and worked at the university for many years (De La Salle University, 2002). Ishikawa was also on the editorial review board for the Japanese journal: Quality Control for Foremen (Lindsay & Evans, 2007). The quality guru also presented some key ideas which had a major impact on Quality Control. Two of his major accomplishments were the Ishikawa Diagram (aka Fishbone Diagram) and Quality Circles. According to the book, Guide to Quality Control, in 1943 Ishikawa first used the Fishbone Diagram to help explain to a group of engineers at Kawasaki Steel Works how a complex set of factors could be related to help understand a problem (Ishikawa, 1986). The diagram is a tool used to identify all possible causes of a particular problem (Maze-Emery, 2008). Figure 1. illustrates the Fishbone Diagram.
Figure 1. Cause and Effect diagram
The Legacy of Dr. Kaoru Ishikawa Dr. Kaoru Ishikawa was a Japanese consultant and father of the scientific analysis of causes/ problems in industrial processes. The purpose of this paper is to recognize the life works and address the impacts of Dr. Kaoru Ishikawa’s works on the world. The focus will help the reader understand his background, key ideas, influence on quality practices, and the correlation to total quality management (TQM). Dr. Kaoru Ishikawa was born in 1915 and died in 1989 (Lindsay & Evans, 2007). He was born in Tokyo and was the eldest of eight sons by Ichiro Ishikawa (Business and Companies). In 1943 Ishikawa graduated from the Engineering department at the University of Tokyo with a major in applied chemistry (De La Salle University, 2002). According to Business and Companies, “His first job was as a naval technical officer (1939-1941) then moved on to work at the Nissan Liquid Fuel Company until 1947. Later that year he was made assistant professor at his Alma Mater. He later received his Doctorate of Engineering and was promoted to professor and worked at the university for many years (De La Salle University, 2002). Ishikawa was also on the editorial review board for the Japanese journal: Quality Control for Foremen (Lindsay & Evans, 2007). The quality guru also presented some key ideas which had a major impact on Quality Control. Two of his major accomplishments were the Ishikawa Diagram (aka Fishbone Diagram) and Quality Circles. According to the book, Guide to Quality Control, in 1943 Ishikawa first used the Fishbone Diagram to help explain to a group of engineers at Kawasaki Steel Works how a complex set of factors could be related to help understand a problem (Ishikawa, 1986). The diagram is a tool used to identify all possible causes of a particular problem (Maze-Emery, 2008). Figure 1. illustrates the Fishbone Diagram.
Figure 1. Cause and Effect diagram