Safely Inspect OTR Tires - Tire Review Magazine

Safely Inspect OTR Tires

Knowing your surroundings around large equipment helps prevent accidents.

With the holidays here and the year winding down, we all look forward to spending time with the family and enjoying some downtime. 

 

Now is also the time when you tend to push yourself more than usual to get everything completed for your customers so they can make tire purchasing decisions prior to year-end. But don’t let working too hard to become more important than safety. 

We always talk about being safe when working around off-road equipment and how all the procedures of safe operation must be followed; the most important thing when inspecting tires is to know your surroundings.  

All of us have attended safety-training programs, from an annual MSHA update or the required individual site training. During training sessions there are many examples of what accidents can happen and how accidents can be avoided. We’ve heard the stories and think these accidents happen to someone else, so we go through the motions to get the certificate to get onto the sites. 

Selling and servicing OTR tires means that we are around big equipment, and that means you must always be monitoring your surroundings at all times. Why are we talking about safety while working around off-road equipment? Because no matter how experienced we are or how long we have been in the business or how many safety-training sessions we sit through, something can happen that is totally out of our control.

During my 39 years working around equipment checking tires, I have tried to always be aware of my surroundings and understand the safety policies at each location. I recently had an eye-opening situation that made me appreciate why there is so much focus on safety. 

As they say in the training sessions: Your life can change in a split second.

Mind Moving Equipment

How many times a week do you inspect tires on equipment while the engine is running? Often, probably. After all, many operations are working 24/7, making it difficult to inspect tires during any equipment downtime.

When inspecting equipment, having someone from the site who understands the rules and procedures for stopping and holding equipment is important. These people know the proper signals and safety procedures. Most importantly, they know how to interact with the operator sitting in the cab while you’re inspecting the tires. 

Many times the loader or haul truck is idling, so having someone monitor the surroundings and communicating with the operator will greatly reduce the chance for any issues to occur.  

When inspecting tires, the equipment you’re inspecting should not be in a location that is in the way of other moving or working equipment. The location should also be somewhere without a lot of distractions for the operator or the person performing the tire inspection. 

Generally the dump area is an excellent spot for an inspection, after the operator has emptied any load from the bed of the truck. I was always taught to inspect a haul truck or loader only when the bucket or bed is empty. If loaded, there is a chance that a rock could fall and possibly cause an injury, plus any load might give you false pressure readings. 

Indeed, inspecting tires at the loading area can be tight. Often there is a lot of activity so additional care needs to be taken while doing a thorough inspection. Many operations will state where the equipment can be safely viewed and inspected.   

When the tire inspection is completed, the person in control of the operator will ensure everyone is accounted for and is in a safe area prior to giving the all clear signal. Following the safety rules and policies of the site and making sure the operator knows when everyone is clear of the machine will make for a safer working environment for everyone.

Become a Partner

Yes, this all sounds basic and you already follow the rules of the operation (don’t you?), but it only takes one mistake or a slight distraction to change the situation. Always be alert and focused on your surroundings. 

If you saw something that could or should be changed or something else that was amiss on site, be sure to share any experiences and the chan­ges you feel would create a safer environment for everyone. As one person told me, and it is very true, never let your guard down.

The reason we take time to inspect the tires, equipment and haul roads is so a report can be put together for your customer. As I have stated many times in previous articles, we are not just salespeople, but tire consultants. We are the ones who can advise the customer as to what can be done to improve tire performance. 

If you sell just on price, then you can be replaced by any other person selling at a lower price. However, if you provide facts regarding tire (or even equipment) performance, make recommendations that improve the tire cost per hour, and manage the tracking program, you become a valuable asset to your customer. 

When you sit with a customer and discuss how to improve tire performance based on your findings and then have that customer implement the suggested changes and find that their tires do, in fact, perform better, well that is the greatest accomplishment for someone selling OTR tires. 

At that moment you’ve elevated yourself above many in the OTR business, and most importantly became a true partner with that customer. Now future tire purchase will be based on what the tire deliver, not what they cost.

The Next Level

Once you’ve started managing the tires for your customers you have to continue to deliver each and every month. This means staying very organized and making every move count. Your customers will look to you to take them to a new level each year. 

The question is: How can you do this? 

There are many excellent OTR tire manufacturers and retreaders that offer both technical and sales support. Be sure to build a strong relationship with your different suppliers, and have those tiremen help you make site visits, analyze the operation, review data and talk with your customer about performance expectations. 

We should always be looking for ways to take our customers to the next level – whatever that level may be: cost per hour, uptime, durability, lifecycle cost, retreadability….whatever best meets that customer’s unique needs or opportunities.

We know it is easy at first to achieve different benchmarks, but it becomes more difficult as new levels are sought. So knowing your ‘go to’ in order to achieve a higher level of performance will help to retain business for many years. As the saying goes: It’s not always what you know, but who you know that matters. We all learn from someone, so keep searching and asking for help.

Remember, you are never too experienced or too old to learn or educate someone each day. Be sure to discuss with customers any safety improvements or concerns noted while on site. 

Also, do not just practice safety at your customer’s operations. Be sure to share and discuss safety with others you work with every day. 

We all have the same goal each day and that is to go home every night to enjoy yet another day.

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