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

No.	Industry SIC	Year	Notes
1	1600	2008	Many companies show a need for broader management strategy that addresses how they are creating, sharing, and using knowledge. Sharing-wise, the focus increasingly is on putting all the content a specific group of workers needs in one place, regardless of its source. Many organizations are using Web portals or internet sites as one-stop information shops designed to support jobs or work processes. Fluor Corp. has a website that allows 25,000 workers immediate access to all the procedures, guidelines, and standards needed for their particular job function. For example, an engineer of electrical power plants has access to designs, specifications, and best practices for that kind of plant.
2	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.
3	4212	2004	Owens Corning this week expanded a Web portal that gives trucking companies status reports on upcoming or in-process freight shipments. The company plans to launch next week an appointment system for trucks so that drivers won't have to wait in line.
4	5141	1997	Frequent-buyer cards also help cut inventory and speed distribution because they reveal how quickly certain products are selling and how fast so stores can order more closely to their needs.
5	6300	2005	Hartford, Travelers and Zurich Financial are among the small business insurance carriers that now use straight-through processing to handle 60 to 80% of their applications submitted online through the carriers' websites.
6	7311	2000	Latcha used the Internet to create a virtual agency where he linked himself with free lance designers, photographers and others. Everything was digital all the way down to the printers and approvals were done on line as well.
7	8062	2007	Doctors and hospitals are employing mobile technology to improve patient care. Doctors use mobile devices to access and update patient records and send prescriptions to the pharmacy. Applications are in the works which would allow doctors to give dictation and find treatment advice. Donor centers are working on a program that would allow administrators to quickly see which doctors are available to transplant an organ.

<<Return to Reduce Unique ICDs in Process