After being in charge of production control for a while, Kōdate became a design engineer for a manufacturing company producing sawing machines and trying to emerge from the industrial void of the period.

Kōdate was willing to understand how to provide a greater contribution to the recovery of Japan and improve efficiency among its workers with the limited resources available (both material and human).

[3] Kōdate realized, especially, that all of the academic teaching he had received so far indulged in technical aspects, but almost no consideration had been given to notions or information referring to the way working activities were planned, done, and controlled (the PDCA or Deming Cycle); however, Shingō noted that a widespread interest for business management was arising at the same time all over the country.

His assistant for a few courses was a young Akira Kōdate, who had started his new job with JMA and therefore had the opportunity to follow his senior colleague and mentor Shingo closely.

As an assistant, Kōdate helped collect data, draw training material, and listen to the people attending the courses from several emerging Japanese companies.

Beyond opening key concepts and methods for upgrading the design process capability in time, quality, and cost management, Kōdate developed a few extremely relevant techniques.

A number of effective techniques could be applied to Western countries and provide businesses with results similar to those in Japan in the decades after World War II and throughout the economic boom had allowed the Japanese industry to rise and prosper.