Australian quality community were sad when I informed them that Don Dewar had died.

Don came to Australia many times and he was one of the foundations of our modern quality movement but in particular, his with his QCI International books and training films (yes 16mm vintage I know), then video format and supporting Adult Learning supporting texts.

Don was sought out by WD Scott Management Consultants, the first in Australia, in the early '80's to come to Australia as they had brought our Dr J Juran in the ealy '60's up to the early '90's. The link with Don is interesting for WD Scott, Sir Walter Scott and the Juran Medal as you said Mike, Dr Juran's support for Don to head to Japan with Lockhead, was crucial.

Sir Walter Scott won the inagural Juran Medal, I was fortunate to do so in 2008 and the Australian Organisation for Quality Inc, established in 1965, still conducts the Award. Don's influence was instrumental in Australia in how "People Engagement" through Quality Circles and Lean and Six Sigma improvement teams continues. We conducted the AOQ QUALCON Conference in Adelaide last year and we had 4 teams from Indonesia and Malaysia present  - Don would have loved it as we all did.

I attended and saw hundreds or QCC's and Team competing and singing at the Singapore and Malaysian IQCC Conventions and Don's passion for people and management participation and his statistical and problem solving techniques drawn from his establishment in the Association for Quality and 'Participation', was most evident across many Asian and Australian Teams and Circles today.

Don was a catalyst for change in Australia and I thought I would share some things this great person's legacy:

• QCI International Facilitator and Team Leader & Member Manuals supplied the Department of Defence and foundations for the Airforce, Navy and then Army Quality Management Programs that still continue, under different strategies
• Same for such Australian organizations as Australia's largest companies as BHP Mitsubishi Alliance; NRMA (AIG Insurance); Comalco Aluminium (CRA Rio Tinto); Boral and CSR Building Materials; CBA Bank
• His Process Cause and Effect technique resurrected Dr Ishkawa's 3rd type of Cause Analysis and was instrumental in its application for solving chronic issues in those companies mentioned and in General Motors Holden, Nissan, Zurich Insurance  
• Don's introduction and showing me the 1965 British Productivity Councils "Right First Time" 16mm film in the QCI Red Bluff training room was profound and after securing video, showed it as part of many executive sessions and still show it today - every time is the same response "how come we still do it those things now?" and "so this Lean and Sigma are not that new after all?". Don came into the room and just did his usual wry smile as I sat there dumbfounded by how powerful that film was and still resonates today
• Don gave me his copy of "Mogy autobiogrpahy by Allan H Mogensen - the Father of Work Simplifcation". Those techniqes are now manifested within "Lean" as we know today but also little know was the Flow Process Chart is the required direct input source of activities for the Process FMEA as AIAG FMEA Texts still in use world wide in the Automotive, Aerospace and Defence sectors.
• Don's work at Lockhead was I guess in tha back of his mind in seeing MOGY's techniques had application for those doing a Lean "Value Stream Map" - that Flow Process Chart is the ONLY technique that can unravel the value and non-value adding activities in a process hence its use in VA/VE studies
• Likewise as Don showed and reminded me from my Work Study and Industrial Engineering days, the FPC also included the Original '5 Why' and 1 H Analysis that Toyota made infamous but we have missed in our Western ways the originlality and power of 5W and 1H as Don implored me to re-embrace  and use to determine their voted and then Root Cause in Cause and Effect Analysis

There are many here in Australia that directly and indirectly owe much to Don as you can see from these quality and productivity stories but his enduring legacy was the man himself. Sitting in a Montreal Quality Conference was the last time I was with Don sharing a meal which he told me how Onions were his bane and laughing at the Australian and New Zealand banter my compatriot had and how he missed that sense of humour from his visits.

You made a difference to us all Don. I will remember you as I do every time I cook onions over a Barb-B-Q, train teams and individuals the Process Cause & Effect Technique, and show the Right First Time DVD to executives and use the Flow Process Chart to create the Process FMEA.

My family had the pleasure of meeting Don, wife Elizabeth, son Jeff, Scott Paton and the great QCI team, over in Red Bluff, CA. Their openness and friendliness were memorable, even for my now grown family as they remember Halloween with fondness and Elizabeth's rocking Horses.

On behalf of the Australian Quality community, Vale Don Dewar.

Miss you mate.

Michael

Your comments are very kind. I know dad had many friends in Australia, and in those early years I remember so many of you making the trip to Red Bluff. All the best, Jeff