Aerial view of Tata Steel Works, Jamshedpur

Awards, Recognitions and Certifications

The Deming
Application Prize

Deming Prize Committee, Juse

The Deming Application Prize, established in December 1950 in honour of W. Edwards Deming, was originally designed to reward Japanese companies for major advances in quality improvement. It has grown under the guidance of the Japanese Union of Scientists and Engineers (JUSE) and is now also awarded to non-Japanese companies. The Prize is awarded to an individual or company and other operating organisations and factories located outside Japan. Worldwide, 160 companies have won the Deming Application Prize since it was instituted. Of these 160, 15 companies are Indian, primarily from the automotive sector.

Tata Steel India Wins the Deming Application Prize-2008

Tata Steel India’s Award of the Deming Application Prize-2008 for excellence in Total Quality Management was a first to an integrated steel company outside Japan. Mr. B. Muthuraman, Managing Director, Tata Steel, received the coveted medal from Mr. Fujio Mitarai, Chairman of the Deming Prize Committee, at a formal function in Tokyo, Japan.

While accepting the award at the function, Mr. Muthuraman dedicated the award to the employees and workers of Tata Steel. He said in his speech, “ It is because we have taken the first steps, first firm and sure steps towards quality movement and because a large number of people in the entire organization are involved in that movement that we are being given this prestigious award.”

And he added, “Our efforts to challenge the Deming Prize and the questions the Deming Examiners asked us made us humble and made us realize that we now have a tool and a system with which we can improve everything we do in a continuous and predictable basis, that our results would be based on our efforts and that we would be able to overcome any obstacles put on us by the external environment.”

During the assessment process, the Japanese examiners were not only impressed by the quality parameters followed at Tata Steel, but also by the social commitment of Tata Steel and its work done in the rural areas over the last 100 years.

“I believe that this prize is coming to us at the right time with the financial and economic crisis all round the world. We believe that our work and our efforts to get this prize and the work and the efforts that we will do to justify our winning this prize will make us succeed even in the midst of this crisis and make us a better organisation than what we are today”, said Mr. Muthuraman while addressing the gathering in Tokyo.

Tata Steel’s leadership in sectors of economic, social and environmental significance brings a unique set of capabilities. The heritage of returning to society what the company earns evokes trust among all its stakeholders, including consumers, employees, shareholders, communities and government regulatory bodies. Because of its strong commitment to the cause of sustainable development, certification to environment management systems, quality standards, and the belief that better environmental management leads to superior business performance, the Company won a number of national and international awards and accolades during the year.