QWorld Quality Month

A scrolling timeline

The story of quality, decade by decade.

From the first control chart in a Bell Labs basement to the AI assurance frontier — every entry below shaped how the modern world is built, audited and trusted.

  • 1924

    Birth of Statistical Quality Control

    Walter Shewhart at Bell Labs introduces the control chart, laying the foundation for modern statistical process control.

  • 1940

    Acceptance Sampling Plans

    Harold F. Dodge and Harry G. Romig develop acceptance sampling plans at Bell Labs, giving industry a rigorous statistical method for inspecting incoming and outgoing lots.

  • 1946

    JUSE Established in Japan

    The Japanese Union of Scientists and Engineers (JUSE) is founded, going on to host Deming and Juran and to lead Japan's post-war quality movement.

  • 1946

    ISO is Founded

    Delegates from 25 countries meet in London and agree to create the International Organization for Standardization, headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland.

  • 1946

    ASQC Formed

    On 16 February the American Society for Quality Control (ASQC), today's ASQ, is formed from the merger of wartime quality societies in the United States.

  • 1950

    Deming Goes to Japan

    W. Edwards Deming delivers his famous lectures on quality to Japanese industry, sparking a manufacturing revolution.

  • 1951

    Juran's Quality Control Handbook

    Joseph M. Juran publishes the seminal handbook that defines quality management for generations of practitioners.

  • 1951

    Deming Prize Instituted

    JUSE establishes the Deming Prize in honour of W. Edwards Deming, recognising organisations and individuals for excellence in Total Quality Management.

  • 1959

    Institute of Quality Assurance

    The IQA is established in the UK, the predecessor of today's Chartered Quality Institute (CQI).

  • 1960

    First Quality Control Circles

    The first quality control circles are formed in Japan, with shop-floor teams using simple statistical methods to drive improvement.

  • 1960s

    Kaizen Takes Shape

    The philosophy of Kaizen, continuous improvement through small, everyday changes, develops inside Japanese manufacturing.

  • 1961-1964

    Poka Yoke

    Shigeo Shingo develops Poka Yoke, mistake-proofing techniques that design errors out of processes rather than catching them after the fact.

  • 1966

    Quality Function Deployment

    Dr. Yoji Akao introduces Quality Function Deployment (QFD), a structured method for translating customer needs into product and process design.

  • 1968

    Ishikawa's Guide to Quality Control

    Kaoru Ishikawa publishes the Guide to Quality Control, popularising company-wide quality and the cause-and-effect diagram.

  • 1969

    SMED Pioneered

    As part of Just-in-Time, Shigeo Shingo pioneers Single Minute Exchange of Dies (SMED), slashing changeover times in manufacturing.

  • 1969

    The Seven Quality Tools

    Ishikawa emphasises the use of the Seven Basic Quality Tools, putting practical problem-solving methods into the hands of every worker.

  • 1969

    First International Congress on Quality Control

    ASQC co-sponsors the first International Congress on Quality Control, hosted by JUSE in Tokyo, marking quality as a truly global discipline.

  • 1970s

    Taguchi's Quality Loss Function

    Dr. Genichi Taguchi promotes the Quality Loss Function, reframing quality as the cost to society of variation from target.

  • 1977

    International Association of Quality Circles

    The International Association for Quality Circles is founded, spreading the participative improvement movement beyond Japan.

  • 1979

    BS 5750 Issued

    The British Standards Institution issues BS 5750, the quality management standard later adopted internationally as ISO 9001:1987.

  • 1979

    Quality is Free

    Philip Crosby publishes Quality is Free, arguing that doing things right the first time costs less than fixing defects later.

  • 1980

    If Japan Can, Why Can't We?

    On 24 June, NBC airs the documentary If Japan Can, Why Can't We?, introducing American executives to Deming and igniting the US quality revolution.

  • 1980s

    The Kano Model

    Professor Noriaki Kano develops the Kano model, classifying customer preferences into Attractive, One-Dimensional, Must-Be, Indifferent and Reverse categories.

  • 1982

    Deming's Out of the Crisis

    W. Edwards Deming publishes Out of the Crisis, presenting his 14 Points for Management and a system-wide theory of quality leadership.

  • 1986

    Six Sigma Emerges

    Motorola formalises Six Sigma, defining a data-driven approach to eliminating defects across processes.

  • 1987

    ISO 9001 Published

    The first edition of ISO 9001 is released, becoming the world's most widely adopted quality management standard.

  • 1990

    First World Quality Day

    The United Nations designates the second Thursday of November as World Quality Day, championed by the IQA.

  • 2006

    CQI Receives Royal Charter

    The Institute of Quality Assurance is granted a Royal Charter, becoming the Chartered Quality Institute.

  • 2009

    First Quality Week

    World Quality Week launches as a global, week-long celebration of the quality profession across more than 100 countries.

  • 2015

    ISO 9001:2015 Revision

    A landmark revision shifts emphasis to risk-based thinking, leadership and the context of the organisation.

  • 2020

    Quality in a Pandemic

    Quality professionals worldwide redesign processes for resilience as supply chains and healthcare systems face unprecedented strain.