Dinner with Prof. Hiroshi OSADA (Deming Prize Winner 2009)

Tonight, HKSQ executive committee members had a dinner with Prof. Hiroshi Osada (Professor in Department of MOT (Management of Technology), Graduate School of Innovation Management, Tokyo Institute of Technology). He is the 2009 Deming Prize recipient from JSQC. Prof. Osada came over for a few days for IEEE conference organized in Hong Kong. We were glad to meet him this time and have opportunity to exchange views on quality.

(Center: Prof. OSADA)

The Deming prize was established in December 1950 in honor of W. Edwards Deming. It was originally designed to reward Japanese companies for major advances in quality improvement. There are four categories of Deming prize:
i) The Deming Prize for Individuals
ii) The Deming Application Prize
iii) The Quality Control Award for Operations Business Units
iv) The Japan Quality Medal

I would like to introduce the Deming Prize for Individuals below.
The Deming Prize for Individuals is an annual award grand to:
a) individuals who have made outstanding contributions to the study of TQM or statistical methods used for TQM, or
b) individuals who have made outstanding contributions in the dissemination of TQM.
(Note: The candidates’ primary activities are limited to outside Japan are not eligible for the prize.)

A new individual prize entitled “Deming Distinguished Service Award for Dissemination and Promotion (Overseas)” was established in 2009. It is an award given to individuals who have made outstanding contributions in the dissemination and promotion of TQM. The candidates’ primary activities must be limited to outside Japan. The first winner is Mr. Gregory H. Watson.

I am the lucky one and have met 5 Deming Prize winners during Asia Network for Quality (ANQ) Congress and ASQ conference since 2001. They are Prof. Yoji AKAO (Deming prize winner in 1978), Prof. Noriaki KANO (Deming prize winner in 1997), Prof. Yoshinori IIZUKA (Deming prize winner in 2006), Mr. Gregory H. WATSON (Deming prize (overseas) winner in 2009) and Prof. Hiroshi OSADA (Deming prize winner in 2009).

Photo with KANO (ASQ Conference in 2005)

Photo with AKAO (ASQ Conference in 2005)

(Left: Prof. Yoji AKAO; Right: Dr. Kozo KOURA)

Photo with IIZUKA (ANQ Congress 2007)

Photo with WATSON (ANQ Congress 2009)

All winners knew and had some relationship with Kaoru ISHIKAWA (Deming prize winner in 1952).

For more information,
OSADA Laboratory: http://www.geocities.jp/osada_lab/

The W. Edwards Deming Institute: http://deming.org/