Lean 2003 Conference Report #2

In yesterday's blog, I summarized some of the big items that struck me while at Productivity Inc's Lean 2003 conferencethe last week. As I jumped back into the fray today after 2.5 days away, a very simple thing struck me.

In several sessions, while describing plenty of other sophisticated techniques, the speaker would say in one form or another, "Of course, most of this is just another use of Demming's Plan-Do-Check-Act cycle."

Indeed. First articulated by Shewart in 1931, Demming made it real for an entire generation. He had a particularly eager audience in post-war Japan. And, thus, drove the attitude of Continuous Improvement.

The more things change, the more they stay the same. And the PDCA cycle is so very, very valid. Keep using it yourself, please.

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