Quality control during World War II

World War II turn to be a unique event and important historical change for the quality revolution.
World War II had a profound effect on the approach for the management for quality. In this event,
United states sent General Douglas McArthur to oversee the re-building of Japan and then McArthur
involved two key individuals in the development of modern quality concepts: W. Edwards Deming and
Joseph Juran which was the father of Total quality management. These two individuals greatly
contributed in the quality assurance of World war II (Dauz, 2015).

During World War II, factories became manufacturing company for weapons. As fast as possible war
plants are produced for the safety of the workers and for the service members who used this. Also the
Quality control was made that emphasizes consistency and accuracy.

In the history of United States quality movement, three waves of Statistical quality control was
included. Among the first tools of SQC were the Shewhart control chart and probability sampling. Walter
Shewhart from Bell Telephone Laboratories became a key figure in the history of quality management,
he also became one of the important person in World War II. The new quality control engineers learned
how to apply SQC in their companies. But once the war ended and economic recession increased, SQC
activities declined (Juran, 1991).

References:

Dauz, C., 2015. History of Quality insurance. Retrieved from https://prezi.com/m/pjpwa6d_9-

le/history-of-quality-assurance/

Juran, 1991. World War II and the Quality Movement. Retrieved from http://asq.org/qic/display-
item/index.html?item=12450
Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award

In 1987, the U.S. government created the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award (MBNQA) to
encourage the companies to improve their quality. It is annually awarded in the USA to American
organizations for performance excellence. This organizations may be for both profit and non- profit
sectors. It is also the only formal recognition of top-level business performance and is presented by the
President of the United States. It is managed by the Baldrige National Quality Program, which in turn is
managed by the National Institute of Standards and Technology. It strengthens the positions of the
organizations. This award was named for Malcolm Baldrige who was became famous for his role as
United States Secretary of Commerce from 1981 to 1987. He is also one of the most prominent leaders
in the world (Van, 2009).

Baldrige's was an award-winning managerial excellence that contributed to the long-term

improvement in economy, efficiency, and effectiveness in the government. Because of this award,
Baldrige reduced the budget by more than 30% and administrative personnel by 25%. Baldrige famous
quotation is “Success is finding something you really like to do and caring enough about it to do it well”
(NIST, 2010).

This is awarded for recognizing Americans in all sectors of the economy for demonstrating
performance excellence using the systems perspective and other core concepts and values of the
Baldrige Excellence Framework. In order for the applicants to gain the award, they will first evaluated
based on a criteria for performance excellence. Annually 18 Awards are given across six categories:
manufacturing, service, small business, education, healthcare and non-profit. In addition, the categories
are organized into seven criteria which is the Leadership, Strategic planning, Customer focus,
Measurement analysis and knowledge management, Workforce Focus, Operations Focus, and Results.
These criteria are factors in enhancing competitiveness and it help the organizations to improve their
opportunities, performance and results. It also serve as a working instrument in understanding
performance and it help steer planning in the right direction (Van, 2009).

References:

Van Vliet, V. (2009). Baldrige Award. Retrieved from ToolsHero https://www.toolshero.com/quality-

management/baldrige-award/

National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), 2010. Biography of Malcolm Baldridge. Retrieve
from https://www.nist.gov/baldrige/how-baldrige-works/about-baldrige/history/malcolm-baldrige-
biography
Growth and adoption of Six Sigma

Six Sigma (6σ) is an approach to quality management in the United States which was formulated
as Motorola in 1986. The name Six Sigma refers to a process that has six standard deviations from the
mean to either control limit that would ensure virtually zero defects. Six Sigma practices were based on
Deming’s work, TQM and others. It emphasized a clear focus on achieving quantifiable financial returns
from any Six Sigma project. Six Sigma also identifies specialists within the organization and assigns titles
like Master Black Belt. In order to determine the financial return on a quality initiative, the cost of
quality (COQ) must be determined and each quality project must evaluate the COQ to gain approval. In
1990s, most of the companies are using the Six Sigma projects this said companies are two-thirds of the
top five hundred companies in the United States including Ford, which had allowed its quality programs
to slip (Saylordo Organization, n.d.).

In 18th century, the set of principles that comprise Six Sigma has its origins in the quest for
quality in mass production. The German mathematician Friedrich Gauss who developed the Normal
Distribution curve (also called a ‘Bell Curve’) utilized the Six Sigma. The outliers on the normal
distribution lie is represented by the Greek alphabet ‘σ’ which means sigma, away from the mean. In the
context of statistical quality control, The processes and products of Six Sigma are measured and
evaluated to determine the variation from acceptable standards.

Six Sigma has been internationally accepted and it can be implemented in small-size to high-
profile firms. It is a highly structured and logical methodology which passes through five important
phases – DMAIC, these phase are Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, and Control which form a circular
chain of continuous improvement. Six Sigma follows the DMAIC model for quality improvement and
problem reduction. It became a quest or a journey for improvement that doesn’t end by reaching one
milestone. This process improvement tool can be used to continuous improvement. Hence, leading to
excellence.

Six Sigma follows the DMAIC model for quality improvement and problem reduction (For
existing processes).

References:

Saylordo Organization (n.d.).Development of Quality as a Competitive Advantage. Retrieved from

https://saylordotorg.github.io/text_project-management-from-simple-to-complex-v1.1/s12-02-
development-of-quality-as-a-co.html

Bhargav, R. (2019). History and Evolution of Six Sigma. Retrieved from

https://www.simplilearn.com/history-and-evolution-of-six-sigma-article