William Edwards Deming

Who is William Edwards Deming

Deming was inspired by Walter Shewhart´s thoughts on statistical process control methods. He continued to himself devote to this topic and to this day he is considered one of the most important persons in quality management.

W. Edwards Deming

Born: October 13, 1900
Birthplace: Sioux City, Iowa, USA
Death: December 20, 1993

“In God we trust; all others must bring data.”
W. Edwards Deming

William Edwards Deming was born on October 13, 1900 in Sioux City, Iowa, USA and died on December 20, 1993 in Washington, D.C., USA. He received a BSc in electrical engineering from the University of Wyoming at Laramie, a M.S. in mathematics from the University of Colorado and a Ph.D. from Yale University.

In 1927, he met Walter A. Shewhart whose thoughts on statistical process control methods inspired him. He therefore continued to devote himself to this topic and to this day he is considered one of the most important persons in quality management.

After WW2, he helped to plan the 1951 Japanese Census, after having receved an invitation from the Japanese Union of Scientists and Engineers based on his experience in statisticial quality control.

On Demings insistance, the Japanese intensively studied Shewhart’s techniques and Deming gradually trained hundreds of Japanese engineers, managers and students in statistical process control and quality management. Gradually, the Japanese industry applied Shewhart’s and Deming’s ideas. Deming’s main message to the Japanese was brief: “Improving quality will reduce expenses while increasing productivity and market share.” High quality combined with expenses reduction did indeed lead Japanese companies to success.

Note: Deming worked in Japan independently from Joseph Juran.

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