日本の品質管理の歩みと信頼性保証の課題

抄録

This paper looks back on quality control activities in Japan and discusses issues related to reliability assurance. The concept of statistical quality control (SQC) was introduced into Japan in the late 1940's with the aim of reviving Japanese production, which had been destroyed during the Second World War. Later, in the 1960's, Japan developed a new quality control concept : total quality control (TQC). It has aimed at helping Japan challenge the issues posed by trade liberalization, and in the middle of 1960's, quality assurance systems based on TQC were constructed that helped manufacturers assure the quality for customers and society. After explaining in some detail the history of quality control in Japan, this paper looks at issues related to reliability assurance and proposes an approach to meeting the growing requirements for assuring the safety of complex industrial products and systems.