Andrew F. Kay '40
Building Quality in Computers and Work Flow
Andrew F. Kay '40, founder of the company that made the popular 1980s KAYPRO computer, is focused on the next great computer. The 86-year-old president and CEO of Kay Computers and his vice president Joseph Marcello '52 plan to take their small San Diego-based firm public in early 2006. The high quality of KAYPRO, which in 1983 was the world's third largest personal computer manufacturer but failed to adopt the MS-DOS operating system in time, is built right into his new machines.
"For buyers who want a quality machine, we have the most super-reliable personal computers in the business," Kay explains. "According to PC magazine, the annual repair rate for all office computers is about 28 percent. Our rate is 2 percent over a three-year period. We only use the highest quality parts. Our workers' assembly techniques are meticulous and prevent mechanical and or electrostatic damage. We've got a great machine here."
Kay's new venture continues his focus on innovation. His contributions to the computer industry include the 1953 invention of the digital voltmeter. Electronics Design magazine credited Kay, a member of the Computer Hall of Fame, for "leading the electronics industry into the digital revolution."
After graduating from MIT, Kay first worked in the defense industry. In 1952, he founded Non-Linear Systems (NLS) and manufactured his digital voltmeter and other precision instrumentation in a converted blimp hanger in Del Mar, Calif. His NLS product lines had a reputation for quality and tough durability in critical applications from submarines to spacecraft.
In the factory, Kay noticed that workers at the production line end were significantly happier, so he broke up his assembly lines into work teams responsible for the entire product. This workplace experiment caught the attention of psychologist Abraham Maslow, known for his concepts of hierarchy of needs and self-actualization. Maslow, who spent the summer of 1962 observing Kay's company, was amazed by the plant's collaborative spirit and productivity. In the resulting book, Maslow coined the concept "enlightened management" and stressed the advantages of workplace synergy and continual improvements. Clearly Andy Kay's work life embodies these concepts.
(First published in Technology Review, August 2005)
