I'm a subscriber to the Juran e-newsletter, below is an extract from the latest edition following Juran's death.
Dr. Joseph M. Juran, "Father" of Quality, Has Passed Away
Dr. Joseph M. Juran, noted author and "father" of modern day Quality Management, passed away on February 28th, 2008, from natural causes. He was 103 years old, and was physically and mentally active until his death. Born in Braila, Romania, in 1904, Dr. Juran's family immigrated to the United States, settling in Minneapolis, MN in 1912.
Joseph De Feo, Juran Institute's CEO and 20 year employee, states that, "Dr. Juran recently told me that he wanted everyone to know he had a wonderful life and hoped that his contributions to improving the quality of our society will be remembered. Although Dr. Juran has been retired from the Institute since 1995 he remained Chairman Emeritus and ensured that we could carry on his mission to improve the quality of our society. He was even still working hard at completing another text book, caring for himself and his wife of 81 years, Sadie, when he passed away."
Dr. Juran had many notable accomplishments in his life. His major contribution to society was in the field of quality management. Perhaps most importantly, he is recognized as the person who added the managerial dimension to quality - broadening it from its statistical origins.
Dr. Juran became well known to the world after his first visit to Japan in 1954, soon after World War II. Professor Kano of Japan recalls, "He impressed top executives here with his managerial aspect of quality and contributed to the quality development in Japan by helping to establish the reputation of "made-in-Japan" products."
In 1937, Dr. Juran coined the Pareto Principle, which millions of managers rely on to help separate the "vital few" from the "useful many" in their activities. He also wrote the first standard reference work on quality management, the Quality Control Handbook, first published in 1951 and now moving into its sixth edition.
His classic book, Managerial Breakthrough, first published in 1964, presented a more general theory of quality management. It was the first book to describe a step-by-step sequence for breakthrough improvement. This process has evolved into Lean and Six Sigma today and is the basis for quality initiatives worldwide.
The Juran Trilogy®, published in 1986, identified and was accepted worldwide as the basis for quality management. After almost 50 years of research, his trilogy defined three management processes required by all organizations to improve. Quality control, quality improvement, and quality planning have become synonymous with Juran and Juran Institute, Inc.
Dr. Juran traveled the world to teach others how to improve quality, and in 1979, at the age of 75, he founded Juran Institute, Inc. (JII). JII initially focused on providing training and techniques to improve enterprise quality. It grew over the years to provide clients and society with a full complement of tools and techniques to improve business results. Many of Dr. Juran's techniques to improve business performance are still in use today, such as the Lean and Six Sigma tools and principles used worldwide.
As a result of the power and clarity of Joseph Juran's thinking and the scope of his influence, business leaders, legions of managers and his fellow theorists worldwide recognize Dr. Juran as one of "the vital few" - a seminal figure in the development of management theory. Juran contributed more to the field and over a longer period of time than any other person, and yet, felt he had barely scratched the surface of his subject. "My job of contributing to the welfare of my fellow man," wrote Juran "is the great unfinished business."
In remembrance of Dr. Juran, we invite you to contribute your thoughts and memories by visiting our online blog.
