The debate as to who invented "5S," "Kanban" and "Kaizen" has been a hot-topic amongst business management professionals around the world since the end of WWII.
Both Americans and Japanese take credit for their invention. Clearly, the Japanese were the first to universally apply many of these methods, processes and philosophies in their major factories and made some very substantial contributions to their current form and function.
However, the concept for all of these ideas has its roots in America. Since America was one of the first countries to formally apply very similar concepts to industry and formally study them as a science, one could argue these concepts should be credited as American inventions.
There is plenty of information out there to back this argument up... American universities were formally studying the mathematical subject, known today, as statistics by the late 1930s. During WWII, America was one of the first countries to formally apply these statistical methods to industry to improve efficiencies. This was best known as Training Within Industry (TWI). Although... their application in America was somewhat limited and far from universally accepted and led some early TWI promoters and industrial statisticians to seek further application... elsewhere.
After WWII, Japan might have been best described as "ripe" for putting these new statistical methods into practice in a very big way. With much of its infrastructure and industry destroyed, factories short on supplies and storage space... Japan was desperate for solutions.
To help bring the Japanese economy back from the brink of ruin, General Douglas MacArthur promoted Western ideas of industry and organization as the country's reconstruction leader. During this period MacArthur's staff helped establish Japan's national census. One of the more famous American inventors of industrial efficiencies, W. Edwards Deming, was invited to participate this national endeavor.
While working on the Japanese census, Demming made a huge impression on industrial leaders for his efficiency improving ideas. In fact, the Japanese eventually credited him with providing the groundwork for many of these processes and methods now known as 5S and Kanban. His expertise in quality control techniques, combined with his involvement in Japanese society, led to an invitation to lecture at the
Japanese Union of Scientists and Engineers (JUSE).
Although a number of efficiency methods were already being studied in Japan through the end of WWII, JUSE eventually credited him as the father of the "Quality Movement" and his ideas are still seen as core elements of today's 5S, Kanban and parts of Kaizen.
In 1951 the Deming Prize was instituted in honor of Deming and a Prize Committee was formed. The first prizes were awarded in 1951 to four Japanese companies. Prizes are awarded to individuals, for application and factory quality control.
Demming's more popularly known "Total Quality Management" or "TQM," essentially, gave birth to a long list of Japanese methods and processes used in post-WWII Japan and are also well known today.
Of course, Demming's ideas needed the help of a country ready and willing to embrace them and Japan was definitely ready and willing. As Henry Ford once said... "You can't build a reputation on what you are going to do."... and Japan was certainly the first to put these ideas into action in many of their largest facilities.
Still, whichever side you of the debate you stand, it's probably best to see the development of these methods, processes and philosophies as more than just the product of a single country and certainly not for use by that country alone. 5S, Kanban and Kaizen have all been influenced by an untold number of countries around the world... and each method, process and philosophy has greatly benefited.
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