ABSTRACT
In 1968, Dr. Kaoru Ishikawa wrote a book entitled Gemba no QC Shuho to introduce quality control techniques and practices to the workers of Japan. It was designed to be “used for self-study; training of employees by foremen; or in QC reading groups”1 in the Japanese workplace. It is in this book that the seven basic quality control tools were first presented. (Dr. Ishikawa did not call them the seven basic quality control tools. This descriptor came later.) In 1971, an English translation of Dr. Ishikawa’s book, entitled Guide to Quality Control, was published by the Asian Productivity Organization.2 This book has been widely used and is still a valuable resource when using the seven basic tools.
