Improving a Process

The late David Kerridge on taking a system approach

Editor’s note: Distinguished statistician and essayist David Kerridge passed away last month in Aberdeen, Scotland, at the age of 81. The former head of statistics at Aberdeen University, Kerridge was a leader in the British Deming Association and lectured with W. Edwards Deming.

There is not one way to improve a process, but many. These are not alternatives. Used with understanding, all contribute to the continual improvement of every process and the whole system. Each makes other methods more effective, and so they should be used together. To illustrate this, we concentrate on the practical problems of using the Deming cycle, and show how other actions help it work.

Note: Deming called the cycle the “Shewhart cycle.” Others call it the “PDSA cycle (for plan-do-study-act),” and the Japanese call it the “Deming wheel.” It was certainly given its present form by W. Edwards Deming, so it seems fair to name it after him.

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A kind of humble wisdom

I had the privilege of trading e-mails with Dr. Kerridge for 10 years. He was always willing to help and teach and I learned a lot about statistics (and when not to use it) and Deming Management Philosophy. He deemed Walter Shewhart "one of the most profound thinkers of our time" and, many times, a simple debate on control charts operation was enriched by his knowledge of Information Theory, Systems Thinking, Systems Limits and Management. He used to give thanks for the questions I sent to him, from the simplest one to the most complex. His wisdom was surpassed only by his humility ("I wish I could learn faster").

Rest in Peace, my good friend.