Chairs Corner: Gregory J. Olson

That is all I can say to the 342 people who responded to the Section survey. The Long Range Planning Committee (LRPC) was extremely happy with the number of responses that were received along with the quality of the response comments. It has given the LRPC a lot to think about when it comes to the Section’s long range planning activities. The Voice of the Customer has been heard.

The LRPC will be holding planning meetings with the Section Board to review the data from the survey and develop long range plans for the Section. Improvements will be forthcoming.

The Section Board is very happy about those of you that indicated that you want information about involvement opportunities in our various committees. More than 70 of you indicated interest in involvement opportunities. The Board will be contacting each of you to find out your area of interest.

On a sadder note, Dr. Joseph Juran passed away on February 28th at the age of 103. A leader in the field of Quality, his work led to the business methodologies known as Six Sigma and Lean manufacturing. In 1979 at the age of 75 he established the Juran Institute providing a wide range of training and consulting services designed to improve overall business performance.

In 1937 he created the Pareto Principal which is used to separate the “vital few” from the “useful many”, it is also known as the 80-20 rule. He wrote the first text in 1951 on Quality Management known as the Quality Control Handbook which is still used today as a standard reference for quality professionals. In 1964 he wrote Managerial Breakthrough a methodology for improvement which is considered the starting point for Lean and Six Sigma. He published The Juran Trilogy in 1986 which defined the management process in order to improve. The trilogy is Quality Control, Quality Improvement, and Quality Planning; terms that are synonymous with his name.

He was born in Braila, Romania and migrated to Minnesota when he was 8. He earned a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from the University of Minnesota and a law degree from Loyola University. His name is on the Center for Leadership and Quality at the University of Minnesota. He was married for 81 years to his wife Sadie. When he passed away he was working on yet another book.

Read more about Dr. Juran and the Juran Institute at the institute’s web site.

“Whatever you do, make sure it improves society. Don’t just do it for the sake of profit.”

“My job of contributing to the welfare of my fellow man is the great unfinished business.”

“Quality planning consists of developing the products and processes required to meet customer's needs"

Joseph M. Juran (1904-2008)

I am dedicating this issue of The BenchmarQ to the remembrance of Dr. Juran.

The source for this information included the Juran Institute website and the St. Paul Pioneer Press