Articles

Committed to Safety

"As a member of the Sumitomo Rubber Industries Limited group, we strive to develop products with an emphasis on customer safety and comfort while pursuing high levels of product quality and economy, as well as enhancing the soundness and transparency of our management so that we may maintain our integrity and continue to be a reliable corporate for all our stakeholders."

The topic of safety never loses its relevance, especially tyre and manufacturing safety. The two topics look seemingly different but link directly to one another. The only way you can ensure that you produce a safe tyre is by making sure that your manufacturing processes are safe and of global standards.

Tyre Safety

To date tyre safety remains a topical and relevant subject in South Africa with statistics from the Road Traffic Management Corporation stating that vehicle factors contributed to 7.8% of all road fatalities. 78% of these were due to tyre-related issues such as smooth tyres and burst tyres. The impact of not having the right tyre is a massive cause for concern and is a malady plaguing SA’s informal sector at present. Tyre Safety goes beyond just having a good conditioned tyre in place, it looks at the size, compatibility and fit which all have a direct impact on how safe the tyres on your car are.

When looking at tyre safety as a consumer, it’s important to keep the following in mind:

1. Your car manual usually states the original tyre size that your car came with. It’s always safe to continue with this size
2. Constantly check your tyre pressure. Tyre pressures naturally decrease as air slowly bleeds through the tyre's inner liner, meaning regular checks are a necessity.
3. Regularly inspector your tyre’s tread surface to check if any screws, metal shards or fractured glass may have penetrated.
4. Always buy brand new tyres, tread depth on second hand tyres can be dangerously low, resulting in aquaplaning on wet roads. In addition, as a buyer you will have no understanding of the age and repair history of the tyre, which can be equally dangerous.
5. Make sure that you buy or have your tyres fitted by a reputable outlet.
6. Don’t be scared to ask if your tyre fitter is accredited

Tyre Manufacturing Safety

Safety in the workplace is essential in any industry, but it’s especially important in manufacturing. As a manufacturer, you must take many factors into account starting from the time the raw materials are sourced to the production process and the final distribution of the product. Precautions must be built into your processes to avoid accidents.

At the core of our business strategy we drive safety under these pillars:

1. Safety of all members of SRSA family
2. Preserving the environment for future generation during production of tyres and post usage
3. Consumer safety

Safety of all members of the SRSA family is about getting home in “onepiece”. While sounding like a relatively easy concept working in a high risk tyre industry does not always make it easy. Some of the main causes of accidents in this industry can be avoided. We therefore drive a culture of safety and awareness through several programmes. The message supporting this is simple- safety is everyone’s responsibility.

Our Dunlop Container programme was developed to formalize the informal township tyre trade business, thus creating employment opportunities and driving entrepreneurship in a sector previously unavailable to these business owners. At the core of our programme is the importance of safety. Township and rural areas tyre trading and fitment have in many cases been riddled by second-hand tyres and re-grooved tyres which result in road fatalities.

The programme is centred around township containers being transformed into Dunlop branded tyre fitment centres. It provides opportunities for unemployed youth and women to be trained and mentored in tyre sales and repair.

A good safety culture is in our company’s DNA and resides in all our processes. At the core of our business we understand that daily commuters trust our business with their lives, families trust us with their loved ones and future generations depend on us for a sustainable environment. SRSA is truly #SaferthanSafe