Reduce Unique ICDs by Redesigning the Product of 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.

4. Reduce movement of an Input (People, Purchases or Capital)

Reduce movement of people:
Place electronic sensors or measurement tools in remote locations

No.	Industry SIC	Year	Notes
1	3312	1987	New process uses a laser, remote computer & spectrograph to analyze samples of molten steel w/in a minute, right at the furnace. Normally takes 5 min., rushing samples to laboratories. Will save steelmakers millions of dollars.
2	4911	2005	Pacific Gas & Electric Co., Southern California Edison, and San Diego Gas & Electric Co. plan to eventually replace millions of conventional electricity and gas meters with as many as 15 million high-tech "time of use" devices at a cost of some $3.6 billion. PG&E and SDG&E are in the process of selecting equipment makers for pilot programs involving a few thousand meters, while Edison proposes to design its own meters under a $1.2 billion program. The new gear would give utilities up-to-the-minute information about how and when homes and small businesses use electricity. Armed with that data, the utilities could raise prices during peak periods to drive down energy use. High-tech meters could also save money in the expense of reading meters as well as improving outage detection and repair systems.
3	5300	2006	Retailers are fighting back against organized theft rings, which costs the industry an estimated $30 billion annually and rising. Both the retail federation and the Retail Industry Leaders Association started password-protected national crime databases online, which let retailers share information about thefts to detect whether they've been a target of organized crime. Meanwhile, retailers like Gap Inc., Sears Holding Corp., and Wal-Mart also have their own organized crime squads. They're also using more sophisticated camera in their stores to detect suspicious behavior.
4	8011	2007	Doctors are testing technology that uses cell phone services such as text messaging to monitor patients with chronic illnesses like diabetes. Patients can record their blood sugar, send it via cell phone and get feedback via text messaging. Companies like Confidant hope that insurance companies will cover the cost when they realize that the system will improve quality of care, especially for younger techsavvy patients.
5	8062	2006	Remote patient monitoring lets fewer specialists provide more attentive care. Electronic ICU (eICU) – a technology that combines software, video feeds, and real-time patient information to let intensive-care specialists at Sentara Norfolk General Hospital cover 11 ICUs at six hospitals, spread 60 miles apart, around the clock. For Sentara, even having a stand-alone eICU system made a huge impact. In two ICUs, deaths fell 27% the first year after Sentara had the system up. The costs per ICU case also fell, by nearly $3,000, or 25%. The system cut almost a day off the average ICU stay, from 4.4 days to 3.6. And the system generates data Sentara uses to refine doctors' protocols for treating common applications. The real gem of the system, however, is that the eICU allows change in hospital management. It adds two more layers of patient management, but each patient gets twice the attentive care.

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