Heat-separation evidence
A tyre that's shown signs of heat separation has been close to failure. Even if the visible damage looks survivable, the casing integrity is compromised. Scrap it through compliant disposal.
OTR tyres can kill. Hot tyres can explode. Mismatched tyres roll trucks. We take that seriously - this is what we believe and how we trade.
An OTR tyre at full inflation stores a serious amount of energy. A failed bead-seat, a heat-separated tread departure, or a side blowout can - and does - kill or maim. Every site we deal with knows this. Most have first-hand stories.
When inflating, deflating, or working a tyre under pressure, stand outside the trajectory of a potential failure. Manufacturers and AS4457 specify zone dimensions per tyre size.
Daily on tier-one production fleet. Weekly minimum elsewhere. Use calibrated gauges. Adjust for ambient temperature.
Don't release pressure from a tyre that's been running hot until it's cooled. Don't fit a tyre to a wheel that's been running hot until it's cooled. Hot rubber is weaker rubber.
Damaged rims kill tyres and people. AS4457 specifies NDT (non-destructive testing) cycles for high-cost OTR rims.
Fitters working with OTR equipment need competency assessment and ongoing refresher training. AS4457 again has the specifics.
Safety isn't a tick-box. It's the underlying constraint on everything we do. If a tyre we're being asked to source or sell is going onto a machine where the safety story doesn't add up, we won't do the deal.
AS4457:2019
Earth-moving machinery · OTR wheels & tyres · Maintenance and safety
The Australian Standard that governs OTR tyre handling on Australian mine and civil sites. Tier-one contracts require compliance. Insurance, work-health-and-safety regulators and procurement teams all reference it.
What the standard covers:
The standard runs about 90 pages in the formal text. Buy it from SAI Global or Standards Australia if you need the authoritative document. For day-to-day reference, the OTR Earthmover Tyre site has the section-by-section summary →.
Jewell Tyres trades within AS4457 compliance. Tyres sold include documented condition assessment, age and provenance where known. Tyres that don't meet the standard aren't sold - they're scrapped through compliant disposal channels.
AS4457:2019 runs from selection to disposal. Ten areas of the job, one standard, and tier-one contracts require compliance with it.
The mixing rules are the single most common cause of preventable OTR tyre failure. Get them wrong and you create a safety incident waiting to happen. Get them right and most other things you do on a tyre programme are recoverable.
For the full reference on mixing rules - including the soft rules where guidance varies - see the OTR Earthmover Tyre mixing rules page →.
An honest sales position is also about what isn't on the table. There are tyres we won't sell, period - not because we're being precious about it, but because the trade isn't worth the safety risk or the reputational risk that comes with it.
A tyre that's shown signs of heat separation has been close to failure. Even if the visible damage looks survivable, the casing integrity is compromised. Scrap it through compliant disposal.
Sidewall damage means scrap, unless it's a documented section repair from a certified facility. We don't on-sell tyres with cosmetic-only repairs to sidewall damage.
If we can't trace where a tyre came from and how old it is, it doesn't go on a primary production haul truck or a heavy wheel loader. Lighter civil and ag may be acceptable with appropriate disclosure.
If a deal is materially below market on a tyre that should be at market price, something's wrong with the tyre or the seller. We've passed on stock at half the going rate when we couldn't get the story to add up.
If a buyer asks for a tyre that doesn't suit their machine - wrong load index, wrong speed symbol, wrong construction, mixing problem - we'll tell them. Sometimes we lose the sale. That's fine.
Some casings are worth more as scrap than as stock. Heat separation, sidewall damage, untraceable age: in our view they leave the trade here.
Trading tyres isn't trading cars. The safety case matters more than the margin on the deal.
Jewell Tyres · 50 years of doing it this way
For TRA codes, failure modes and full AS4457 reference - see the OTR Earthmover Tyre Reference Library.