Download or read book The National Shipbuilding Research Program. Proceedings of the REAPS Technical Symposium. Paper No. 17: QC Circles for Improving Quality and Productivity written by and published by . This book was released on 1980 with total page 11 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In 1962, the first Quality Control Circle was launched in Japan under the auspices of the Japanese Union of Scientists and Engineers (JUSE). Today it is estimated that one worker out of six in Japanese Industry participates QC Circle. The foremost authority in the world on Quality Control, Dr. Juran, estimates that in the first 10 years of the QC Circles movement, Japanese industry saved an estimated $25 billion. The figure today wou over a $100 billion. na Joe the d be The dollar figures and improvement in quality, however, are only the most visible aspects of what has happened in Japan. The heart of the QC Circle program is a highly trained workforce engaged in identifying and implementing opportunities for improving their own immediate working situation, and the product which they make or service which they provide. This comes about in small groups or Circles of workers which have volunteered to be trained in QC Circle techniques. These Circles select and work on problems or opportunities for improvement, and then with management approval implement them. These small groups of 5 to 10 workers are normal work groups and usually include the supervisor or foreman (who is also a volunteer).