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.

8. Accept risk of lower profits

Warnings and advice

No.	Industry SIC	Year	Notes
1	0	2003	A company's particular skills determine the types of risks it assumes. One common approach for them is to decide on a target credit rating and then assess the amount of risk they can bear given their capital structure. A company's risk strategy should be "stress-tested" against different scenarios.
2	2800	2007	While technology has changed dramatically, management styles have not changed significantly during the last forty years. However, some companies are working to shake up the system. W.L. Gore has no management layers and there is no organizational chart. Few people have titles and no one has a boss. Associates are assigned to leadership positions by their peers. The company uses small, self-managing teams which are told "to make money and have fun." Employees are granted a half day a week to dabble, time which they can devote to an initiative of their choosing as long as they are fulfilling their primary commitments. However, funding for major projects is only granted once employees have proved themselves capable.
3	3452	1990	ITW has 90 divisions. The largest has just 3 central administrators – a president, a controller, and a shared secretary. Just 100 people toil at ITW world headquarters.
4	3711	2005	GM is simply making too many similar vehicles in a market awash with more and more vehicles. Moreover, since GM has so many models, the company can't redesign them all as often as rivals do. The average model on a showroom floor has been on the market for 3 years, while GM's average is around 3.7 years. GM has begun to pare back its Oldsmobile line, due to unpopularity. "GM doesn't have many products that are hot right now."
5	6211	2004	Schwab investors open roughly 70 percent of all new accounts in branches. The company encourages affluent customers and those who want advice to go on using the branches by making it easy for these people to schedule appointments there.

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