Establishment of Metals Industry Development Center.
Section 4
SEC. 4. Establishment of Metals Industry Development Center.—There is hereby established a Metals Industry Development Center, organized jointly by and with the support of the government and private sectors as a nonprofit institution, to undertake the following activities: Business economics advisory services: To provide management services to industrial firms to help increase their operational and financial efficiency; To render consultation services in the preparation of feasibility studies for new projects for the metals and allied industry; To provide a periodic analysis of the economic status of the industry and its component sectors as a guide for policy determination by the government and as an individual framework for financial institutions; To serve as liaison between the private sector and the government agencies implementing industrial policies to provide close rapport required for a successful development for the metal and allied industries; and To provide computer services, including the preparation of computer programs for operations research type of applications to the metals industry. Training, information exchange, and accreditation service: To operate an information exchange center to gather and disseminate information on recent economic and technological developments, both local and foreign, that are of interest to the industry; To assemble and maintain an up-to-date library on metals economics and technology; To collect information and statistics for preparation of comprehensive and up-to-date industry studies; To maintain, an effective training; program for engineers, technicians and craftsmen to cope with the immediate manpower requirements of metal plant and metal fabrication industries; To correlate all studies made on the various sectors of the metals and allied industries as a basis for constructing; a development program and a framework for investment to induce to rapid and systematic growth of the industry; To design, develop, and implement a system of accreditation for skilled laborers, technicians and engineers who have attained a degree of experience or proficiency in the various fields of specialization in the metals industry; Control and testing of metal products: To institute appropriate standards for the metals industry as a protection for the consumer and to enable local producers to attain quality that will equal if not surpass international standards; To study, recommend and provide upon request suitable production methods that private industry may adopt to improve quality and to standardize products to comply with the close tolerance requirements of mass production and modern engineering products To provide umpire services in arbitration cases between suppliers and customers dealing with metal or intermediate and finished products of the metal industry; Metals research and development: To establish a metals research and development laboratory to provide ready answers to common problems encountered by the metals industry; To provide valuable working experience and opportunities for professional development to creative Filipino engineers at both the professional and student levels in the fields of metal technology; To develop and introduce methods and processes based on the maximum utilization of indigenous raw materials to lower cost of manufacturing common type of metal products; To encourage the development of the tributary industries with emphasis on those which may use locally available materials, such as coal chemicals and refractories; To undertake fully or lend support to other engineering firms which lack the physical facilities for performing developmental or evaluation tests to improve existing plant methods or to introduce new ones;