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.

6. Reduce use of Purchases and Capital ICDs

Reduce Capital ICDs: Use People or components requiring less Capital:
Use components with smaller form factor

No.	Industry SIC	Year	Notes
1	3571	2003	That is the main idea behind blade servers. It lets companies fit far more computing into far less space, cutting real estate requirements as well as the monthly electricity bill. All told, blades can reduce operating costs by 25%, according to blade pioneer RLX Technologies.
2	3571	2007	As IT costs rise and companies require more power, companies are turning to blade servers. While these servers are more expensive, they save space and can share power supplies and networking connections. Power and cooling costs are often higher but companies see savings if they don't need to build or expand data centers.
3	3711	2004	By doing away with side-gripping pallets, the body line allows about 600 welding robots to fit in just half the floor space required for the old line. That's how Toyota fit two body shops into the area formerly occupied just for one- at half the cost. The flailing arms of the robots move through their work routines in a mechanical ballet that allows just a whisper of clearance between neighboring machines. To ensure that the robots don't tangle with one another, Toyota used 3-D stimulation software to refine the global body line's choreography. Seeing machines collide virtually on a computer screen is far preferable than having them crash physically.
4	4512	-2004	In late 2002 Delta announced a new profit improvement initative which included trying to cut losses in its Dallas hub by expanding the use of small regional jets, improving turn around times for aircraft and installing more automated kiosks for check-in at airports. The company tried to pare costs further by switching nonunion workers to a cheaper pension plan and by freezing employee pay. The company then finally made efforts to begin talks with the pilots' union.
5	5141	1997	Roughly 60% of the store base is new or remodeled in the past five years. And the company plans for future remodels to be made with an eye toward cutting costs, which includes reducing back room and freezer space as well as eliminating excess equipment.
6	5311	1996	Sears halved to 7 days the time it takes to ship apparel from suppliers to stores. This has reduced inventories and freed up cash. Since reducing inventory, Sears has been able to convert 800,000 square feet of in-store storage space into selling space.
7	6300	2005	Carriers create local presence to support their independent agents and still control costs with a "thin branch" operating model. In this operating model, two to four people working in a local market are supported by centralized services for rating, administrative support, transaction processing, underwriting analysis and information collection. This model reduces overhead and allows the local underwriters to work out of their home or car, while spending most of their time on site with agents.

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