H. James Harrington

Dr. H. James Harrington

Dr. H. James Harrington and some the books he has written
Born January 16, 1929(1929-01-16)
Johnson City, New York, USA
Occupation author, lecturer, consultant, international performance improvement and quality guru, entrepreneur, engineer and business man
Education BS in Electrical Engineering, MBA and Ph.D. in Engineering Management
www.harrington-institute.com

H. James Harrington (born 1929) is a American author, engineer, entrepreneur, and consultant in performance improvement. Over his career he has developed many concepts, including poor-quality cost and business process improvement.

Harrington has authored 35 books and created ten software packages on performance improvement. In addition, he has written a monthly column for Quality Digest magazine for over eleven years. His career in quality and performance improvement spans 65+ years. He spent forty years with IBM, working on reliability and quality. For a number of years he headed up the Quality Research Center for IBM in San Jose, California. For ten years he was a Principal at Ernst & Young and served as their International Quality Advisor. In 2010 he was named “The Global Leader in Performance Improvement Initiatives” by the Australian Organization for Quality.

He was honorably discharged from the U.S. Navy in 1952 after four years of service.

Harrington is the president and Chairman of the Walter L. Hurd Foundation that he founded and funds to honor his good friend and business associate, Walter L. Hurd. This foundation focuses on improving performance in the developing countries of Asia.

Some of Harrington’s major accomplishments include:

Contents

Bibliography

Harrington started working for IBM in July 1947 as an apprentice tool maker. When he retired from IBM in 1987, he joined with Walter Hurd and Wayne Rieker to start the Harrington, Hurd, and Rieker consulting company. In 1989 this company was bought by Ernst & Young. For the next ten years Harrington worked as Ernst & Young’s International Quality Advisor helping to develop performance improvement methodologies that were rolled out throughout the world. In January 2000 he retired from Ernst & Young to become the CEO of Systemcorp, a young struggling software development company that was located in Montreal, Canada. He worked for Systemcorp for about 2 years until it was sold to IBM. He then started the Harrington Institute, a consulting firm with branches in the U.S., Middle East, Asia and Canada and is still the CEO. In 2008 Harrington and the Harrington Institute were the subject of a 30-minute TV broadcast called “Heartbeat of America” hosted by William Shatner, who stated “You (Harrington) are obviously successful.” During the broadcast Harrington was awarded the Keeping America Strong award.

The Harrington Institute focuses on organizational alignment, performance improvement, and process improvement. The Institute has three divisions – Management Consulting, the Harrington Academy, and Technology Solutions.

Harrington is a member of a number of Boards of Directors and serves as Chairman for some of them. He likes to work with start-up organizations to help them get organized and bring their product to market in an expeditious manner and time frame.

Throughout the years Harrington has been very active in his professional activities, working his way up through the ranks to become President and Chairman of the American Society for Quality (ASQ) and President and Chairman of the International Academy for Quality (IAQ). He is now a Fellow of ASQ and Honorary Member of IAQ. When he was the head of the International Chapter of ASQ, he organized a program called “World Crusade for Quality” (1981–1985). This program annually scheduled a number of tours where the leading quality experts from the U.S. paid their own way to go to countries around the world to give free lectures on quality and performance improvement methodologies. Harrington led each of these very successful tours. These lectures were sponsored by the quality organizations in the countries that were visited. The project lasted for four years and some of the countries that were visited at least once (and many were visited two-four times) were China, Hong Kong, Philippines, Singapore, India, Germany, Italy, Russia, Yugoslavia, Poland, New Zealand, Australia, Brazil, Chile, Argentina, Columbia, Mexico and Portugal. As a result of these and other activities, Harrington was made an honorary member of many professional associations. Some of these associations are located in Taiwan, Brazil, Philippines, Chile, Columbia, Iran, India, Australia, Singapore and Argentina.

Harrington also served as an A level member of the ISO Technical Committee 176 (ISO/TC 176) for ten years; TC 176 wrote the ISO 9000 services standards. He also served as an A level member of ISO Technical Committee 207 (ISO/TC 207) for six years; TC 207 wrote the ISO -14000 series of standards.

Major Accomplishments

  1. 1967—Originated IBM’s process for Process Qualification which includes three levels of certification – development process and models, pilot process and models, and production process and products.[4]
  2. 1967—Originated the Poor-Quality Cost concept. This concept extended quality cost into indirect areas like customer-incurred quality cost, loss of reputation cost, and lost opportunity cost.[1] Harrington’s book entitled Poor-Quality Cost[2] was published in 1987 by Marcel Dekker Inc. Harrington developed at IBM a software package called “QC 1000” that reported on the Poor-Quality Cost from receiving, to sub-assembly, to final assembly, to final unit test, to system test, to shipping, to installation and first year performance. This software package included the customer impact cost of errors that occurred when the product was in use in the customer’s office. Hewlett Packard also developed a software package which they marketed that was based upon his book.
  3. 1979—Originated the procedures for internal benchmarking at IBM San Jose, Germany and Japan. The procedure required the teams from all locations worldwide that were producing the same product to meet twice a year. During these meetings they performed a detailed review of the way each step in the production process was being conducted and compared the cost and quality related to each step. Best concepts and procedures were then standardized across all locations.[17]
  4. 1985 - 1990—Developed the Business Process Improvement methodology. (This approach is sometimes referred to as “Business Process Management.”)
  1. 1986 - 1991—Developed the Total Improvement Management (TIM) methodology.

TIM was documented in Harrington’s book entitled Total Improvement Management published in 1995 by McGraw-Hill.[8]

Blending the Improvement Methodologies
To blend the many improvement facets, Harrington developed a combined methodology called, "Total Improvement Management (TIM)." It is pictured as a pyramid made up of five tiers.

Credentials

Harrington was elected to the honorary level of the International Academy for Quality, which is the highest level of recognition in the quality profession. He is one of the very few government-registered Quality Engineers,[18] a Certified Quality and Reliability Engineer by the American Society for Quality Control, and a Permanent Certified Professional Manager by the Institute of Certified Professional Managers. He is a certified Master Six Sigma Black Belt and received the title of Six Sigma Grand Master. H. James Harrington has an MBA and Ph.D. in Engineering Management and a BS in Electrical Engineering.

Harrington has served as the Chairman of the Advisory Board for E-TQM College and he is now an Honorary Advisory Board member for the Hamdan Bin Mohammed e-University Advisory Board.

Harrington’s contributions to performance improvement around the world have brought him many honors. He was appointed the honorary advisor to the China Quality Control Association in 1984 and was elected to the Singapore Productivity Hall of Fame in 1990. He has been named lifetime honorary President of the Asia-Pacific Quality Control Organization and honorary Director of the Association Chilean de Control de Calidad. In 2006 Harrington accepted the Honorary Chairman position of the Quality Technology Park of Iran.

Harrington has been elected a Fellow of the British Quality Control Organization and the American Society for Quality Control. In 2008 he was elected to be an Honorary Fellow of the Iran Quality Association and of the Azerbaijan Quality Association. He was also elected an honorary member of the quality societies in Taiwan, Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Australia and Singapore. He has been listed in the “Who’s Who Worldwide” and “Men of Distinction Worldwide.” He has presented hundreds of papers on performance improvement and organizational management structure at the local, state, national, and international levels.

Recognition

Harrington has received many awards, among them the Benjamin L. Lubelsky Award, the John Delbert Award, the Administrative Applications Division Silver Anniversary Award as the leading contributor to the advancement in quality management over the past 25 years, and the Inspection Division Gold Medal Award. He received five Testimonial Awards from ASQ for his outstanding contributions in 1974, 1978, 1981, 1983 and 1988. In 1996, he received the ASQC’s Lancaster Award in recognition of his international activities. In 2001 he received the Magnolia Award in recognition for the many contributions he has made in improving quality in China. In 2002 Harrington was selected by the European Literati Club to receive a lifetime achievement award at the Literati Award for Excellence ceremony in London. The award was given to honor his excellent literature contributions to the advancement of quality and organizational performance. Also, in 2002 Harrington was awarded the International Academy of Quality President’s Award in recognition for outstanding global leadership in quality and competitiveness, and contributions to IAQ as Nominations Committee Chair, Vice President, and Chairman. In 2003 Harrington received the Edwards Medal from the American Society for Quality (ASQ). The Edwards Medal is presented to the individual who has demonstrated the most outstanding leadership in the application of modern quality control methods, especially through the organization and administration of such work. In 2004 he received the Distinguished Service Award which is ASQ’s highest award for service granted by the Society. In 2008 Dr. Harrington was awarded the Sheikh Khalifa Excellence Award (UAE) in recognition of his superior performance as an original Quality and Excellence Guru who helped shape modern quality thinking. In 2009 Harrington was selected as the Professional of the Year (2009). Also in 2009 he received the Hamdan Bin Mohammed e-University Medal. In 2010 the Asian Pacific Quality Association (APQO) awarded Harrington the APQO President’s Award for his “exemplary leadership.” The Australian Organization of Quality NSW’s Board recognized Harrington as “the Global Leader in Performance Improvement Initiatives” in 2010.

Books by Harrington

Harrington has published hundreds of technical reports and magazine articles. He wrote a monthly column in the Quality Digest magazine from 1997 to 2010. He has authored 35 books, which are:

  1. The Improvement Process: How America's Leading Companies Improve Quality;[19] one of best selling business books of 1997.
  2. Poor-Quality Cost;[2] 1987.
  3. Excellence—The IBM Way;[20] 1988.
  4. The Quality/Profit Connection;[21] 1988.
  5. Business Process Improvement;[6] 1991—the first book on Process Redesign.
  6. The Mouse Story; 1991 (out of print).
  7. Of Tails and Teams;[22] 1994.
  8. Total Improvement Management;[8] 1995.
  9. High Performance Benchmarking;[23] 1996.
  10. The Complete Benchmarking Implementation Guide: Total Benchmarking Management;[24] 1996.
  11. ISO 9000 and Beyond: From Compliance to Performance Improvement;[25] 1996.
  12. The Business Process Improvement Workbook: Documentation, Analysis, Design, and Management of Business Process Improvement;[26] 1997.
  13. The Creativity Toolkit: Provoking Creativity in Individuals and Organizations;[27] 1998.
  14. Statistical Analysis Simplified: The Easy-to-Understand Guide to SPC and Data Analysis;[28] 1998.
  15. Area Activity Analysis: Aligning Work Activities and Measurements to Enhance Business Performance;[29] 1998.
  16. ISO 9000 Quality Management System Design: Optimal Design Rules for Documentation, Implementation, and System Effectiveness (ISO 9000 Quality Management System Design) – co author;[30] 1998.
  17. Reliability Simplified: Going Beyond Quality to Keep Customers for Life;[31] 1999.
  18. ISO 14000 Implementation: Upgrading Your EMS Effectively;[32] 1999.
  19. Performance Improvement Methods: Fighting the War on Waste;[33] 1999.
  20. Simulation Modeling Methods: To Reduce Risks and Increase Performance;[34] 2000.
  21. Project Change Management: Applying Change Management to Improvement Projects;[35] 2000.
  22. E-Business Project Manager;[36] 2002.
  23. Process Management Excellence: the Art of Excelling in Process Management (Five Pillars of Organizational Excellence);[12] 2005.
  24. Project Management Excellence: the Art of Excelling in Project Management (Five Pillars of Organizational Excellence);[13] 2005.
  25. Change Management Excellence: The Art of Excelling in Change Management (Five Pillars of Organizational Excellence);[14] 2005.
  26. Knowledge Management Excellence: The Art of Excelling in Knowledge Management (Five Pillars of Organizational Excellence);[15] 2005.
  27. Resource Management Excellence: The Art of Excelling in Resource Management (Five Pillars of Organizational Excellence);[16] 2005.
  28. Improving Healthcare Quality and Cost with Six Sigma;[37] 2006.
  29. Making Teams Hum; 2007.
  30. Advanced Performance Improvement Approaches: Waging the War on Waste II; 2007.
  31. Six Sigma Green Belt Workbook;[38] 2008.
  32. Six Sigma Yellow Belt Workbook;[39] 2008.
  33. Fast-Action Solution Technique: Save A Million Dollars in Two Days;[40] (2008).
  34. Strategic Performance Improvement Approaches: Waging the War on Waste III; 2008.
  35. Corporate Governance: From Small to Mid-Sized Organizations;[41] 2009.

Harrington’s books have been published in the following languages:

Software by Harrington

In 1993, he produced the interactive computer program, Benchmarking With H. James Harrington. In 1995, in conjunction with Systemcorp, he released two CD-ROMs, H.J. Harrington’s ISO 9000 - Step by Step and H.J. Harrington’s QS-9000 - Step by Step. Also in 1995, he developed a screen saver with 2000 key thoughts on performance improvement with a 50,000-word support text. In 1997, he released a CD-ROM entitled Management Mentor. He has also released a series of CD-ROMs related to performance improvement, as follows:

  1. Creative Suspenders – 1998
  2. Making Better Decisions with Numbers – 1998
  3. Area Activity Analysis – 1999
  4. Reliability Simplified – 1999
  5. ISO 14000 and Beyond – 1999
  6. War on Waste – 1999
  7. Project Change Management – 2000
  8. Simulation Modeling Methods – 2000

References

  1. ^ a b IBM Technical Report TR02.588-5/1967.
  2. ^ a b c Poor-Quality Cost (ISBN 978-0824777432)
  3. ^ IBM Technical Report TR02-834-3/1979.
  4. ^ a b IBM Technical Report TR02.901-8/1981.
  5. ^ His first document published for general public release was Ernst & Young’s Technical Report TR 90.006 HJH 8/1990
  6. ^ a b Business Process Improvement (ISBN 978-0070267688)
  7. ^ His first document published for general public release was Ernst & Young’s Technical Report – TR91.002.
  8. ^ a b c Total Improvement Management (ISBN 978-0070267701)
  9. ^ His first document published for general public release was Ernst & Young’s Technical Report TR91.002 and then in his book, Total Improvement Management – The Next Generation in Performance Improvement (ISBN 978-0070267701), published by McGraw-Hill in 1995.
  10. ^ Area Activity Analysis: Aligning Work Activities and Measurements to Enhance Business Performance (ISBN 978-0071347037), published by McGraw-Hill in 1998.
  11. ^ Harrington Institute Technical Report TR 03.003 and published by Quality Digest magazine in a series of five articles in 2003. In 2005 Paton Press published a series of his five books. Each book addressed one of the five pillars.
  12. ^ a b Process Management Excellence: the Art of Excelling in Process Management (Five Pillars of Organizational Excellence) (ISBN 978-1932828061)
  13. ^ a b Project Management Excellence: the Art of Excelling in Project Management (Five Pillars of Organizational Excellence) (ISBN 978-1932828078)
  14. ^ a b Change Management Excellence: The Art of Excelling in Change Management (Five Pillars of Organizational Excellence) (ISBN 978-1932828108)
  15. ^ a b Knowledge Management Excellence: The Art of Excelling in Knowledge Management (Five Pillars of Organizational Excellence) (ISBN 978-1932828115)
  16. ^ a b Resource Management Excellence: The Art of Excelling in Resource Management (Five Pillars of Organizational Excellence) (ISBN 978-1932828122)
  17. ^ IBM technical report TR02.834 -3/1979
  18. ^ Board for Professional Engineers, Land Surveyors, and Geologists, Sacramento, California, 95833-2944
  19. ^ The Improvement Process (ISBN 9780070267541)
  20. ^ Excellence—The IBM Way (ISBN 978-0873890373)
  21. ^ The Quality/Profit Connection (ISBN 978-0873890335)
  22. ^ Of Tails and Teams (ISBN 978-0873892704)
  23. ^ High Performance Benchmarking (ISBN 978-0070267749)
  24. ^ The Complete Benchmarking Implementation Guide: Total Benchmarking Management (ISBN 978-0070267725)
  25. ^ ISO 9000 and Beyond: From Compliance to Performance Improvement (ISBN 978-0070267770)
  26. ^ The The Business Process Improvement Workbook: Documentation, Analysis, Design, and Management of Business Process Improvement (ISBN 978-0070267794)
  27. ^ The Creativity Toolkit: Provoking Creativity in Individuals and Organizations (ISBN 978-0079137302)
  28. ^ Statistical Analysis Simplified: The Easy-to-Understand Guide to SPC and Data Analysis (ISBN 978-0079137296)
  29. ^ Area Activity Analysis: Aligning Work Activities and Measurements to Enhance Business Performance (ISBN 978-0071347037)
  30. ^ ISO 9000 Quality Management System Design: Optimal Design Rules for Documentation, Implementation, and System Effectiveness (ISO 9000 Quality Management System Design) – co author (ISBN 978-0873893985)
  31. ^ Reliability Simplified: Going Beyond Quality to Keep Customers for Life (ISBN 978-0070270510)
  32. ^ ISO 14000 Implementation: Upgrading Your EMS Effectively (ISBN 978-0070271098)
  33. ^ Performance Improvement Methods: Fighting the War on Waste (ISBN 978-0070271418)
  34. ^ Simulation Modeling Methods: To Reduce Risks and Increase Performance (ISBN 978-0070271364)
  35. ^ Project Change Management: Applying Change Management to Improvement Projects (ISBN 978-0070271043)
  36. ^ E-Business Project Manager (ISBN 978-0970850713)
  37. ^ Improving Healthcare Quality and Cost with Six Sigma (ISBN 978-0132618670)
  38. ^ Six Sigma Green Belt Workbook (ISBN 978-1932828177)
  39. ^ Six Sigma Yellow Belt Workbook (ISBN 978-1932828245)
  40. ^ Fast-Action Solution Technique: Save A Million Dollars in Two Days (ISBN 978-1932828252)
  41. ^ Corporate Governance: From Small to Mid-Sized Organizations (ISBN 978-1932828269)