Field Report Assignment Paper

Field Report
Field Report

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Field Report

                                Industrial Technology Research Institute focuses on development and upgrading tin innovations. The primary prerequisite for the success of a technological research institute is to promote inventions and provide market now and in the future. Effective implementation of technology in the industry requires the consideration of the actual context of industrial development so as to apply correct strategy at the right time (ITRI 2015).

Most of the minerals are found in enclaves that are geographically far from the local communities. The situation poses the main challenge for the institute which has been strategic in involving the neighboring communities to improve the process of data collection. Also, informal mining sectors, lack of transparency and accountability among stakeholders, diverse social and political structures are some of the other challenges faced by the institute.

                                Some establishments mine the mineral illegally and use the minerals to fund criminal activities or exploit manufacturers especially if the supply of the minerals is low. When there are informal mining sectors, it becomes hard to set market equilibrium prices for the manufacturers. In the end, most production processes become costly. The Institute liaises with the local government to control mining activities and implement actions for control.

Involvement of local communities has also been strategic in solving the predicament. Transparency from government officials, especially in African nations, makes implementation of the solution hard though the institute sends a representative in the affected countries to control the processes. 

Field Report

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                                Data collection is one of the major problems faced by the institute. Roads and infrastructure in more of the countries are poor making it difficult to collect research data. When there are difficulties in data collection, it delays the processing of information which can hamper advancements in most of the areas. To curb the problem, the Institute uses the local communities as ambassadors for data collection and dissemination.

Involving the community helps in getting first-hand information as well as improving the livelihood of the society through the income generated from data collection. Though it is hard to get proper data transfer equipment due to network connectivity, the strategy has been essential in establishing a good relationship between the institutes and local communities. The institute has been able to secure competitive market for its miners.

                               There is difficulty in integrating the different social and political environments in the different countries the Institute operates. Different countries have different cultural practices and political needs. The law governing countries differ regarding regulations for mining. The situation poses a challenge to the Institute as it tries to bridge the market gap and the social needs.

Field Report

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Through capacity building programs, the Institute has established relationships with authorities and locals in a bid to stabilize the mining operations. Though there have been misunderstandings between some governments and the Institute, the training programs have been efficient in bridging the gap between the different party’s needs.

                               Another problem faced by the institute is the gap between technological developments. There is a need for the Institute to keep pace with the growing experience and sophistication of technology that is possessed by the industries. Technology is not the only recipe needed by manufacturers to make products. Manufacturers require the technology as quickly as it gets invented or improvised to meet the market demands of the already competitive industry.

                               The Institute puts in place strategies to make the technology received by users through the use of digital and information technology. However, some of the technology are heavy and requires training for use. To speed up dissemination of technology, the institute employs a strategy of manufacturer’s participation in research and development.

Since manufacturers are involved in research and development, the main focus becomes improvement of technology production. To make the strategy more practical and relevant, the institute should support quality control and testing work. The strategy lacks the integration of international alliances which would have been helpful in acquiring advanced technology faster.

Field Report

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                  Though many challenges have loomed the Industrial Technology Research Institute, its team of experts has been strategic in ensuring the institute can meet to the demands of both manufacturers and the consumers. The tin market is an emerging industry that is yet to stabilize in prices, supply, and demand capacities. Involvement of local communities helps in identification of mines and provision of data needed for the formulation of proper extraction techniques.

                                Against all the challenges, the Institute has been able to provide reliable and accessible market for the miners, stabilize tin mining technology and offer extensive capacity building programs for the miners and local communities. Additionally, the institute has been able to reduce fraud in the mines and developed laws that govern mining process so that revenue generated is not used to fund illegal activities. The institute is still coming up with ways to promote tin innovations.

References

Andrew Cooper, 2015. ITRI Tin Supply Chain Initiative: Contributing to minerals traceability and due diligence in Central Africa.

Industrial Technology Research Institute (2014). ITRI Today. Retrieved from file:///C:/Users/hp/Downloads/ITRITODAY_79.pdf

CPC Corporation (2015). Research and development policies. Retrieved from http://en.cpc.com.tw/csr_content.aspx?ID=9

Jian Chen (2016). The evolution of public industry R&D Institute: The case of ITRI. Retrieved from http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2705211

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iTRi Field Report Assignment

iTRi Field Report
iTRi Field Report

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iTRi Field Report

Abstract

This report identifies the challenges faced by iTRi and the strategies put in place to solve the problems. Brief history of iTRi is given then the discussion concentrates on challenges the organization if facing, strategies it has put in place, and limitations of the strategies. Challenges include: conflicts by mining firms, fraud and landfill waste. It is concluded that the only way to solve problems is through good governance instead of just addressing the issues. It is recommended that iTRi should incorporate local and national agents in solving its problems.

Introduction

Since it was founded in 1973, iTRi acts as a global representative of the tin industry. Through the organization, gold, wolframite, and tin related minerals are traced in the vertical supply chain. To adequately trace the minerals, the institute collaborates with local government and agents. It also offers advice to the extractive companies as well as offering assistance in auditing and risk assessments.

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Challenges faced by iTRi

A couple of years ago, environmentalists in Europe found out that electric and electrical waste was the main contributing factor to the landfill waste problems. The management in charge of electric and electrical waste came up with stringent policies on electronic waste recycling and recovery. Hence, lead-free soldering technology was used. The technology commonly used by extractive industries around and the iTRi organization has been helping the industries in the application of the technology process through research and development.

After iTRi later learned that there were conflicts between tin mining industries in Congo, it immediately came up with strategies to solve the conflict. Field agents were deployed to the affected areas to assist in data collection and documentation of minerals that were considered to cause conflicts and those that did not cause conflict. However, the situation still posed as a challenge since it was difficult to trace minerals leading to a decline in exports.

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Companies that worked with iTRi helped by tracing data on purchases made. The tracing process used two different types of barcodes that had unique reference numbers as an indicator of the location the purchase was done. The collected data was then input into the iTRi data system and assisted to trace the reference numbers from the mining industry to the smelter. To give consumers confidence in the products, manufacturers used methods such as OECD to provide a transparent supply chain for the minerals in the risky and conflict-affected regions.

EU regulates the mining industries to help in preserving human health and maintain the ecosystem. Gaps were identified in the tin mining industries where the chemicals originating from the mines posed a threat to human health especially from the way it was disposed of. The manufacturers acted promptly by forming a committee that was to carry out research intended to find out tin levels that were acceptable in the environment which didn’t harm human life.

Tin is used as an alternative source of energy. It uses less energy and has a low carbon emission rate. According to research, when tin gets added to fuel, it helps in saving energy as well as the reduction of carbon emissions. When fuel contains some amounts of tin, it emits cleaner gas. As an energy saver, tin helps in environment conservation. Tin use reduces carbon emission by nearly 30% and energy saving by about 15%.

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Limitations of iTRi strategies

With all the strategies put in place by iTRi to improve the tin market, there have been failures in its supply chain giving room for fraud. Warnings were made on Dodd-Frank mineral act since it didn’t seem impressive to generate tangible solutions. The bar-code system has faced criticism that it takes the time to fully function and that it’s also expensive.

On the area of smuggling, there is a lack of accountability since some untagged minerals were illegally found in Numby together with tagged ones and were registered as conflict-free minerals. In Congo, only 10% of the minerals were found to be tagged while 90% were not certified. The question that arises is what happened to the minerals that were not certified and how they were sold without a tag.

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Conclusion

Good governance is the only way to solve the problems faced by the organization. It is impossible to have control over the mining sites all the time. Hence, the organization should improve its system rather than address the issues. iTRi supply chain should be designed in such a way that it involves both the local and national agents and not only involve outside agents for information flow.

Reference list

Andrew Cooper, 2015. ITRI Tin Supply Chain Initiative: Contributing to minerals traceability and due diligence in Central Africa.

Industrial Technology Research Institute (2014). ITRI Today.

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