An Investigation Into the Makeup of a Successful Mugshare Program : Materials, Tracking, and Organization

This investigation explores the UBC Mugshare program and strategies required to execute a successful program. Three primary issues were focused upon: the most sustainable material, what made other mugshare programs successful, and how can the mugs be properly accounted for. A triple bottom line analysis of potential mug materials shows that although plastic is more cost efficient than stainless steel, it has a higher energy footprint, and a number of health concerns attached to it. Accounting for the mug usage requires the ability to track mugs and participants. Digital identification accomplishes this cleanly, the increased data capacity of QR codes or the portability of RFID is unnecessary for this application and a simple barcode can easily accomplish the task. From other mugshare programs it is clear that the two biggest barriers to participation are cost and awareness. The majority of survey respondents indicate that they are unaware these programs exist and how they operate. Additionally, those that were aware tended to shy away from participation if the cost to join is above $5. Based on these findings, it is recommended that the UBC mugshare program proceed with the stainless steel mugs it is currently using. As the program grows and pen and paper accounting becomes infeasible a barcode tracking system should be implemented until such a time that mugshare can link with the UBC card. Finally, two recommendations for implementation are to keep the signup fee close to $5 and to dedicate resources to building awareness of the program. Disclaimer: “UBC SEEDS provides students with the opportunity to share the findings of their studies, as well as their opinions, conclusions and recommendations with the UBC community. The reader should bear in mind that this is a student project/report and is not an official document of UBC. Furthermore readers should bear in mind that these reports may not reflect the current status of activities at UBC. We urge you to contact the research persons mentioned in a report or the SEEDS Coordinator about the current status of the subject matter of a project/report.”Applied Science, Faculty ofUnreviewedUndergraduat