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The Shingo Prize for Excellence in Manufacturing, recognizes companies that have demonstrated outstanding achievements in manufacturing processes, quality enhancement, productivity improvement, and customer satisfaction.
The award is based on the work of Shigeo Shingo, a prolific author and student of Deming. His work with Toyota is where he pioneered a number of the concepts discussed within this article. Most of his writings have been translated. I will teach you a few words in Japanese to expand your thinking and to honor his contributions.
AQP and the Shingo Prize - I have represented AQP on the Shingo Prize Council for four years. The AQP has been a co-sponsor of the award since its inception in 1988. I believe we can learn valuable lessons from studying the philosophy of the Shingo Prize and its winners. It has been a real joy exploring the tools and systems of lean manufacturing. The philosophy of the Shingo Prize is that world-class status may be achieved through improving manufacturing processes, implementing lean, just-in-time philosophies and systems, eliminating waste and achieving zero defects. These processes are used to continuously improve products and costs.
The Shingo Prize award process is similar to the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award in that it requires the submission of a written achievement report. The report is scored by a team of examiners and then a detailed feedback report is developed for the company's future use. Organizations scoring high enough receive a team site visit where even more feedback is provided on how the company could improve their processes.
How the Shingo Prize differs from the Baldrige Award -- Shingo believed that individuals conducting a review of a company's processes should...