William Edwards Deming: biography of this statistician and consultant

There are many wars that have occurred both in the past and even today throughout history, breaking out for a large number of possible factors and motives: from ideological conflicts to invasions caused by the search for territory or resources. In these war conflicts there are a lot of losses, with an immense number of victims.

The intervention of external and professional forces that help promote regeneration and restructuring at the social and economic level it can be of great help, implementing useful strategies that improve the situation of the country's inhabitants.

An example of this is found in William Edwards Deming, one of the main ideologues who contributed to the socio-economic recovery of Japan after the events of the Second War World. It is about this relevant author that we are going to talk throughout this article, in which we are going to see a short biography of William Edward Deming.

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William Edwards Deming Biography

William Edwards Deming was born on October 14, 1900, in Sioux City, Iowa. He is about the first of three siblings children of attorney William Albert Deming and musician Feather Irene Edwards.

The family had very few resources and he lived in a humble home, in a precarious situation. Initially Deming and his family lived in Sioux City, later moving to a farm owned by their maternal grandfather in Camp Powell, Wyoming, something like that. That forced them to lose a lawsuit and the possibility of benefiting from the land grant that the government made to favor the farming.

Despite this, the farm was very unproductive and the family's situation was difficult and they barely had to eat, so William Edwards Deming had to go to work at the age of eight to survive. However, despite his poverty, the boy's parents gave great importance to raising his children, and Deming went to Powell's school despite working at different jobs. The young man excelled in mathematics and even various professors emboldened him to go to college.

Academic training and first years of work

When he turned seventeen in 1917, young Deming left for Laramie to enroll in the University of Wyoming, from which he pursued a degree in Electrical Engineering. He finished these studies in 1921, a year after his mother passed away.

A year later he married Agnes Bell, with whom he would have a daughter. Later He completed a master's degree in Physics and Mathematics at the University of Colorado and after that a Ph.D. in Physics at Yale University, in 1928, with the thesis "A Possible Explanation of the Packing Effect of Helium". At the latter university he was hired as a part-time professor.

In 27 he was hired by the Washington Department of Agriculture and the United States Census Bureau, where he served as a statistical advisor. During his exercise in such tasks he discovered different procedures proposed by Walter Shewhart, which would be the basis of many of his later ideas. He taught at the USDA Graduate School, and wrote multiple articles and publications.

Unfortunately three years later his wife died, and during that same year so did his father. It was not until 1932 that he resumed his love life by marrying Lola Elizabeth Shupe, with whom he would have two more daughters.

World War II and his role in Japan's recovery

During the first moments of the Second World War, he was commissioned to increase the quality of the army's armament, during the beginning of the First World War. In 1935 he began working as a professor of mathematics and statistics at the USDA Graduate School, while continuing to study statistical methodologies proposed by great professionals in the sector.

He retired from the Administration in 1946, to become a consultant and professor of statistics at New York University. That same year he was sent to Japan to study agricultural production and the problems derived from the damages generated during the war, a trip in which he would make numerous contacts interested in his theories (which had not been overly taken into account in States United).

Later in 1950 he would be contacted and would give numerous seminars in the Japanese country regarding statistical control, training a large number of professionals in statistical control of processes and in total quality management.

These lectures were transcribed and sold, enjoying enormous success. Despite the fact that they wanted to pay him the copyright, Deming decided to reject it and instead propose to use what they had given him to generate an award for exemplary companies (the Deming award, today one of the most relevant for Japanese companies). His theories and methods began to be applied quickly, something that contributed enormously to change the economy and mentality of the country: the need to control the quality of processes and materials and to generate plans that help manage it without waste. He also elaborated multiple principles and obstacles that served to favor the control of said quality.

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Prestige and homecoming

After his passage through Japan the popularity of William Edwards Deming increased greatly, conducting multiple conferences in different parts of the world and a large number of publications.

The ideas that helped improve the Japanese economy, and that until his passage through the country had not been valued in his country of origin, also began to be reviewed and applied in the United States. In 1975 Deming retired from teaching, but continued to publish publications of great international prestige. He also received a host of awards and honors, including the National Medal of Technology, as well as honorary doctorates from multiple universities.

Death

Death came to William Edward Deming on December 20, 1933, precisely the same year that he founded the W. Edward Deming. His death occurred in the city of Washington D.C.

The role of this important statistician, mathematician, teacher and consultant was enormous throughout his life, and even lasts beyond his death. His methods and principles are still valid in Japanese society and have been applied successfully in other parts of the world, still very useful in the world of management.

Bibliographic references

• The W. Edwards Deming Institute (s.f.). Deming The Man. [On-line]. Available in: https://deming.org/deming/deming-the-man.