By John Hunter, author of the Curious Cat Management Improvement Blog.
The Union of Japanese Scientists and Engineers (JUSE) has announced the 2015 Deming Prize winners.
One company was awarded the Deming Grand Prize this year:
3 years after a company has received the Deming Prize they may apply to the top prize. That prize has previously been named the Japan Quality Medal but was renamed, in 2012, to the Deming Grand Prize.
The companies awarded the Deming Prize this year are:
- Cataler Corporation (Japan)
- CPRAM Company Limited (Thailand)
- GS Yuasa Corporation, Industrial Battery Production Division, Industrial Batteries and Power Sources Business Unit (Japan)
Since 2000 organizations based in India have received the most Deming Prizes; Japan is second, just ahead of Thailand.
Distribution of winning organizations since 2000 (including prizes for 2015)
- India – 21
- Japan – 14
- Thailand – 12
- China – 2
- USA – 2
- Singapore – 1
- Taiwan – 1
2015 Deming Prize for Individuals
- Tadaaki Jagawa, Advisor, Toyota; Executive Adviser to the Board, Hino Motors (Japan)
Related: 2014 Deming Prize Winners – 2013 Deming Prize Winners – 2008 Deming Prize Awardees
Some background on the Deming Prize from the JUSE web site:
The Deming Prize examination does not require applicants to conform to a model provided by the Deming Prize Committee. Rather, the applicants are expected to understand their current situation, establish their own themes and objectives and improve and transform themselves organization-wide. Not only the results achieved and the processes used, but also the effectiveness expected in the future are subjects for the examination. To the best of their abilities, the examiners evaluate whether or not the themes established by the applicants were commensurate to their situation; whether or not their activities were suitable to their circumstance and whether or not their activities are likely to achieve their higher objectives in the future.
The Deming Prize Committee views the examination process as an opportunity for “mutual-development,” rather than “examination.” While in reality the applicants still receive the examination by a third party, the examiners’ approach to evaluation and judgment is comprehensive. Every factor such as the applicants’ attitude toward executing Total Quality Management (TQM), their implementation status and the resulting effects are taken into overall consideration. In other words, the Deming Prize Committee does not specify what issues the applicants must address, rather the applicants themselves are responsible for identifying and addressing such issues, thus, this process allows quality methodologies to be further developed.