Steve Moore Bio Quality Insider Deming’s Famous Red Bead Experiment With A Twist Improve the system, distort the system, or distort the data

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Author Archive n 1991, I had the privilege of attending one of W. Edwards Deming’s four-day seminars and I still proudly display the certificate of completion in my office. One of the highlights of the seminar, of course, was Deming’s famous red bead experiment. I had read about the red bead experiment, but this was the first time I saw it up close and personal. It truly was a profound moment in my professional education. Deming and the red beads During the red bead experiment, Deming announced that he had created a company whose mission was to produce white beads for its customers. He recruits from the audience four “willing workers,” two quality inspectors, a chief quality inspector, and an accountant. The “willing workers” are then “trained” to produce white beads by dipping a paddle with 50 holes to capture white beads from a box of 8,000 red (20%) and white (80%) beads. The red beads are “defects.” The “willing workers” are warned often against producing red beads. Like what you're reading? Log in or create FREE account to continue Enter your Quality Digest username OR email address. Enter your Quality Digest password. Remember me Create a FREE account Forgot My Password Quality Digest does not charge readers for its content. We believe that industry news is important for you to do your job, and Quality Digest supports businesses of all types. However, someone has to pay for this content. And that’s where advertising comes in. Most people consider ads a nuisance, but they do serve a useful function besides allowing media companies to stay afloat. They keep you aware of new products and services relevant to your industry. All ads in Quality Digest apply directly to products and services that most of our readers need. You won’t see automobile or health supplement ads.



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Quality Digest Discuss About The Author Steve Moore After 47 years, Steve Moore is retired from the pulp and paper industry. He is a graduate of North Carolina State University with a pulp and paper degree, and holds a master's degree from the Institute of Paper Chemistry in Appleton, Wisconsin. He has held various research and development, technical, engineering, and manufacturing positions in the paper industry. He has been a student, teacher, and practitioner of statistical methods applied to real-world processes for the past 35 years.