Bridgestone Earthmover Tyres operates a network of tyre repair facilities servicing the construction and mining industries throughout Australia, giving customers access to safe, durable repairs that can provide extended life, even for tyres with severe structural damage.
Bridgestone is said to be the only national tyre repair operation in Australia, according to Bridgestone Earthmover Tyres’ National Repair Manager Andrew Chapman.
The company has repair plants in Perth, Kalgoorlie, Mt Isa, Mackay, the Hunter Valley and Melbourne, and is able to repair both Bridgestone and non-Bridgestone tyres.
According to Chapman, Bridgestone provides its tyre repair technicians with Australia’s only nationally accredited and recognised off-the-road tyre repair course to achieve safety and quality.
The service includes comprehensively documented inspections to ensure that each aspect of a repair exceeds internationally recognised standards of workmanship.
The company has incorporated the newly published Australian Standard for OTR tyre repair (AS4457.2) into the company’s repair guidelines and safe working procedures, with the repair management system designed to conform with ISO 9001 international quality assurance standards.
“To ensure repair safety, durability and performance, the Bridgestone Repair System also requires the repairs to be tracked, inspected and evaluated during their operation, as well as at the end of the tyre’s life,” Chapman said.
“For end-of-life evaluation and analysis, we use two state-of-the-art, high-pressure jet water cutters, allowing tyres to be efficiently sectioned and the repairs examined and evaluated before a tyre is finally scrapped.
“This provides vital information in ensuring safety and performance, and plays an important role in our ongoing R&D.
Chapman said that when looking at tyre repair options, it was essential for tyre users to demand verifiable repair performance data and to expect the repairer to provide information which will assure safety and quality.
According to Chapman, tyre management personnel should be asking three key questions when looking at tyre repair options.
1. Safety of the repair: Not all damaged tyres can be safely, or effectively, repaired, and the repairer needs to have the expertise to be able to accurately evaluate a tyre before starting a repair.
2. Durability of the repair: This comes down to the methodology employed by the repairer, along with the experience and training of the repair technician. To be able to design or select an appropriate repair, a tyre repairer needs to fully understand tyre design and structure.
3. Repair Compliance: Serious safety issues can arise when poorly trained tyre repairers either carry out a poor repair job or attempt to repair tyres that are too damaged to be repaired safely. Tyre management personnel should become familiar with the Australian Standard for tyre repair (AS4457.2) and demand the repair complies with these requirements in order to ensure a safe operation post-repair.
“The advantage for equipment owners in dealing with Bridgestone for tyre repairs is that we really understand tyres,” Chapman said.
“We design, develop, manufacture, supply, fit, track, manage , repair and field follow to the final scrapping of the tyre, and we understand the interrelated requirement of each facet.”
N Bridgestone Earthmover Tyres
02 9722 6111
info@bsem.com.au
www.bridgestone-earthmover.com.au