Reduce Unique ICDs by Redesigning the Product or the Process

The objective of this activity is to reduce the number of ICDs by reducing the occurrence of an ICD in producing a unit of Output, or by reducing the number of separate ICDs used in the Output. A unique ICD is one of the key activities in the work center's contribution to the final product (O). It is separate and distinct from any other activity in the work center. For example, the fastening of a part onto a subassembly and a quality control check of the subassembly would be unique ICDs.

B. Redesign the process of producing the ICD or Output

Change the process used to produce the ICD or Output to eliminate activities.

3. Automate an ICD

Write software to automate a repetitive task:
Monitor situation

No.	Industry SIC	Year	Notes
1	3000	2001	New factory equipment comes with built-in Net connections so that machines can be monitored from a remote location. Production data can be captured more easily using the Net and plugged into corporate software systems. Unifi Inc., a textile fiber producer, runs 22 plants from its headquarters in N.C.
2	3576	2004	Cisco has integrated its suppliers through a network called Manufacturing Connection On-Line. Most of Cisco’s products are mass-produced, though the company owns just two of the thirty-eight plants that assemble its products. Its partners do all the manufacturing, assembly, product configuration and distribution and share in the responsibility for customer satisfaction. Beginning in 1992, Cisco outsourced manufacturing responsibilities for its products to partner firms like Solectron and Selestica but maintained its own quality control through digital procedures. It established procedures for quality control that were virtually infallible and then handed those to its partners. Cisco could access these quality control results remotely. The company maintained the intellectual property of this monitoring procedure that it named Autotest. This unique approach enabled the company to respond very flexibly to customer demand and enabled Cisco to buy new technology and put it into a large-scale production quickly.
3	3949	1996	Sports Authority invested in computer systems early on to monitor inventory at each store on a daily basis. Orders are automatically transmitted to suppliers, who ship to stores directly. Eliminates need for a distribution center.
4	3999	2003	LFI rebuilt the plant at a cost of $35 million and, in the process, vaulted ahead of foreign rivals. Its new 208,000 sq.-ft facility in Shelton, Conn., is a state-of-the-art digital plant. Using a factory management software suite from Siemens, LFI's engineers can monitor all the factory's operations- from the mixing of latex and the distribution of liquid rubber into mold beds (by mantis like hanging robots) to the heating, cooling, cleaning, and drying of finished foam cores.
5	4213	1998	Warner has used satellite communications and Qualcomm to keep in touch with its trucks, spot malfunctions quickly, advise the service provider that it is coming and provide detailed records on the truck.
6	4512	2006	The dramatic fuel conservation efforts of airlines have led to lower costs for fliers. JetBlue and America West moved toward paperless cockpits so pilots don't lug heavy cases with charts on board. AMR Corp's American Airlines says it is looking at "electronic flight bags" weighing less than the 40-lb cases pilots now tote.
7	4911	2005	Intron is a leading supplier of automated meter-reading technology, or AMRs. AMRs replace human readers. They automatically transmit data from a home's meter to the utility company. Productivity improves and consumers don't need to be bothered by folks coming into their homes to read their meter. AMRs are either added on to existing meters or incorporated into new ones. Many of the new models are state-of-the-art digital products. One advantage of digital meters is they can incorporate more functions with chips and other components than standard meters. The digital models have begun replacing standard electro-mechanical meters, which Intron also sells.
8	5311	1986	Dillard's built centralized computer system that links 115 stores in 11 Southern and Midwestern states. System keeps track of inventory, allowing management to peer into every cash register. Cuts overhead and savings spent on better customer service.
9	5411	2006	With $30 billion in theft, there's a revolution in surveillance systems. Since some shoppers use the rungs under the carts to hide packages from cashiers, seven grocery chains, including Pathmark Stores and Giant Eagle, recently began testing LaneHawk, a system by Evolution Robotics Retail Inc. that uses visual pattern recognition to spot hidden packages. Cameras mounted in cashier stands about six inches off the ground scrutinize the bottom racks of passing carts. If an item matches an image in a database, the system computes the price of the product and adds it to the customer's bill.
10	5941	1996	Sports Authority invested in computer systems early on to monitor inventory at each store on a daily basis.
11	6512	2008	Software start-ups such as Carbonetworks Corp., Optimum Energy LLC, and Verdien Corp. are making new programs to help businesses monitor their energy use and cut fuel bills. Glenborough LLC, a property-investment and management company, paid about $350,000 after rebates on one of its buildings for software designed to make air-conditioning chilllers use power at times of the day when power is cheapest. Optimum Energy's software was installed in the office building in La Jolla, CA, which Glenborough oversees. The energy savings are expected to run about $110,000 a year.

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