Scrap tire analysis: 6 indicators for the report

Are you unsure about exactly when a tire should be removed or retreaded? Or would you like to know how to make this process more organized to ensure your tires have the longest possible useful life? Then you should know that this is possible through scrap tire analysis.

This practice is used in fleet tire management both to answer questions like these and to close out the tire life cycle safely. By carrying out this analysis, you can identify wear patterns, understand the causes of damage and make informed decisions about the right time to remove or retread a tire.

Here is what you will find:

• What data you need for scrap analysis
• How to carry out scrap tire analysis
• Which indicators to use in the scrap analysis report
• What are the main reasons for scrapping that show up in the analysis
• Who can carry out this analysis in the fleet
• How to avoid scrapped tires
• Automating scrap tire analysis

What data do you need for a more accurate tire scrap analysis?

Carrying out a good scrap tire analysis is essential to ensure safety and savings in your fleet, not least because understanding when a tire should be discarded or retreaded has a direct impact on parts purchasing costs and vehicle performance. Here is the information you should have at hand to make this process possible:

• Usage history

Always record the mileage of each tire and its conditions of use. For example, a tire that runs a lot on dirt roads tends to wear out faster, and knowing this helps you predict more accurately, based on its use, when it will need to be checked or replaced.

• Maintenance records

Write down every alignment, balancing or repair performed. Keeping this history helps identify wear patterns or recurring problems, avoiding unpleasant surprises on the road. Pressure, tread depth, rotation and alignment are among the central points of ongoing tire maintenance.

• Tread depth level over time

Keeping track of tread depth over time makes it possible to assess the tire's wear and identify the probable causes that led to its replacement.

This analysis also helps compare the reasons for tire scrapping with the conditions of use, making it possible to better understand the correlations and make adjustments to avoid similar problems in the future.

• Pressure variation over time

Incorrect tire pressure is one of the main causes of irregular wear and premature failures.

This record helps identify possible problems, such as constant pressure loss, which may indicate incorrect use of the tire, failures in preventive maintenance processes or a lack of commitment from drivers in driving and vehicle inspection.

• Type of tire wear

Analyzing the tire's wear pattern includes observing whether it is uniform or whether there are signs of specific problems, such as irregular wear, cuts, bulges or cracks. These details help identify possible mechanical or operational problems that should be corrected and, based on the conclusions, prevented in future use.

• Manufacturing date and number of retreads

Knowing the tire's manufacturing date and how many times it was retreaded over its useful life makes it possible to assess its durability and the effectiveness of the retreads performed. This data is also important for understanding whether the tire has already exceeded its recommended usage limit.

• Casing condition

Documenting the final condition of the tire at the moment it was sent for scrapping is essential.

The remaining wear level, any visible damage and the reasons that led to the decision can help identify patterns and define improvement actions for management and for increasing the durability of the tires in use.

Keeping a good record of this information is not just a matter of organization, but a smart strategy to save money and ensure fleet safety. Using management tools, such as Prolog's, can make this task easier by centralizing the records made by the team, including inspection data, notes and images, so that decisions are faster and more consistent.

How do you carry out scrap tire analysis?

Carrying out an effective scrap tire analysis is essential to understand the causes of wear and optimize tire management in the fleet.

For this, the use of management software is fundamental, as it makes it possible to parameterize the data and avoid the premature disposal of tires, ensuring that all tires are properly analyzed before being discarded.

Here is how you can conduct this analysis:

Use of management software

Start by configuring your fleet management software to record all the relevant tire information, such as usage history, mileage, maintenance records, pressure variation and tread depth.

This software will be the basis for parameterizing and organizing the data, making the later analysis easier. The more standardized the records, the lower the chance of comparing tires using different criteria.

Data collection

Before any analysis, make sure tires are not discarded without a complete review. Gather all the data available in the software, including the operating conditions and the details of the maintenance performed over the tire's useful life.

During periodic inspections, it is worth focusing attention on correct pressure, tread wear and visible damage to the tire, since these points help separate expected wear from signs of maintenance or operational failures.

Visual inspection

Carry out a detailed visual inspection of the tire, checking for cuts, bulges, cracks and irregular wear. Then record all these details in the management software, including photos and notes on the final condition of the tire.

This will allow this information to be easily accessed and analyzed in the future. Periodic assessment of tire condition by a professional also helps avoid hasty conclusions based on a single isolated indicator.

Wear pattern analysis

Compare the recorded wear pattern with the tire's historical data. Irregular wear can indicate mechanical problems beyond the tires or improper use, such as incorrect pressure.

Use these insights to identify the causes of wear and adjust maintenance practices.

Documentation and parameterization

Parameterize and organize all the analysis data, creating detailed reports that include all observations and conclusions. This documentation will be essential for future studies, allowing a deeper analysis and the identification of usage and wear patterns across the entire fleet.

Which indicators should you use in the scrap analysis report?

Everything is important, because the “sum” of the indicators will give greater and more complete visibility to your analyses and studies.

But, to help you get a sense of direction on what to look for, in case you are still a bit lost, I have selected some of what I consider the main indicators in scrap analysis:

• Wear rate: this indicator shows how much the tire has worn since it was new. If a tire starts with a tread depth of 8 mm and now has only 3mm, it means it has worn by 62.5%. Identifying this rate helps decide whether the tire can still run safely and how much useful life the make and model analyzed can offer.
• Casing integrity: even though the tread is indispensable to analyze when assessing the causes of scrapping, a damaged casing can point to other problems that analyzing the rubber alone does not show.
• Retread history: knowing how many times a tire was retreaded helps understand its actual useful life and assess whether the damage identified is due to the conditions of use or to an incorrect retreading process, for example.
• Mileage covered: the time in use or the tire's manufacturing date alone is not enough to understand the useful life and damage of the tires; the km driven must be considered.
• Wear pattern: checking the type and level of wear on the tread is fundamental to finding problems, whether in the tire management process or in maintenance and retreads.
• Tire CPK: the cost per kilometer shows how much was spent per kilometer driven with the tire, including the purchase cost, retreads and maintenance. If high, it may indicate that the tire was not as efficient as it should have been, perhaps due to improper use, poor-quality retreading or severe operating conditions. By calculating the CPK, you can compare different tires and makes to identify which offer the best cost-effectiveness for your fleet.

These indicators are fundamental to an effective scrap tire analysis report. And you can even start in a simpler way, with a scrap tire analysis table or spreadsheet, including each tire in the fleet, its fire number (the serial number branded on the tire), and detailing wear rates, casing condition, mileage and maintenance history.

Using these indicators in a clear and straightforward way improves fleet management and enables decisions based on accurate information.

But if I may give an extra tip: technology solutions, such as those offered by Prolog, can help standardize the records and the analysis of scrapped tires, making the process more efficient and safer.

What are the main reasons for scrapping that show up in the analysis?

When carrying out scrap tire analysis, various factors can be identified as causes for the end of the tires' useful life. These reasons vary according to the type of fleet and operating conditions, but some stand out.

One of the most frequent problems is sidewall cuts, especially in fleets that operate in urban environments. Tires are subject to sidewall cuts due to obstacles such as curbs, debris on the streets and maneuvers in tight spaces, which make the tire unrecoverable and require its disposal.

In urban fleets, overloading also ends up being a recurring issue. Vehicles that carry heavy loads over short distances, with many stops and starts, suffer from tire heating, which accelerates wear and leads to premature scrapping.

In long-haul road fleets, on the other hand, one of the main problems is removing the tire at the wrong time. Removing the tire too early can result in wasted resources, while removing it too late can cause irreversible damage, making retreading unfeasible.

In addition, incorrect tire pressure, whether too high or too low, is a common cause of irregular wear and early tire loss. Load, speed, temperature, impacts and road damage also influence tire performance and help explain why two similar tires can have different useful lives.

Who can carry out this analysis in the fleet?

Scrap tire analysis can be carried out by different professionals or companies, depending on the structure and needs of your fleet.

One of the possible options is to have a dedicated analyst within your team. This professional, specialized in tire management, will be responsible for collecting the data, carrying out the inspections and generating detailed reports on tire performance and wear.

This is a way to have ongoing oversight and greater integration with the other areas of fleet management.

Another alternative is to hire companies specialized in tire analysis. This way, you are more likely to have the technical knowledge and the tools needed to carry out accurate analyses and provide data-based recommendations.

The advantage of hiring a specialized service is the possibility of having access to advanced technologies and market expertise, which can complement internal management.

How can you avoid scrapped tires and make the most of their useful life?

Now, let's look at how to avoid this in practice. And, to start, it is important to highlight tire maintenance.

It seems obvious, but keeping tires in good condition can greatly increase their useful life.

Simple actions such as checking pressure regularly and doing alignment and balancing may be what your fleet is missing. A tire with the correct pressure wears evenly, while a tire with low pressure can wear faster and unevenly.

Understanding how many times a tire can be retreaded is also essential to ensure a fleet's safety and savings. Retreading a tire beyond the limit can be dangerous and costly in the long run.

In general, a tire can be retreaded up to three times, but this varies. It depends on the quality of the tire and how it is used. If the casing is in good condition, more retreads can be done safely. The golden rule is: if it is not safe, do not retread.

Which brings us to another point to consider: the conditions of use. Roads full of potholes and loads above the limit wear tires out faster. If a tire runs on a road full of stones and potholes, it is very likely to wear out faster, right?

That is why it is important to plan routes and avoid overloading whenever possible.

Keeping track of tire condition frequently helps identify problems before they get worse.

Nowadays, there are technologies that help with this monitoring, such as tire pressure systems and tread depth gauges that identify the wear level of the assets. Even when there is a pressure monitoring system, inspection remains important.

This way, you can act quickly if something is out of the ordinary.

A common mistake is using the tire until it is completely worn, which can cause accidents and increase maintenance expenses. Remember that if the tread depth is below 1.6mm, immediate action is needed and this tire must be replaced.

It may seem silly, but here is an indispensable tip that you can repeat to everyone: do not wait until the tire is visibly damaged, and plan replacements in advance.

Last but not least, educating the team that deals with the fleet about the importance of maintenance and the correct use of tires is also part of the solution. Meetings and training sessions are ways to make sure everyone is on the same page when it comes to tire care.

Automating scrap tire analysis

Using software for scrap tire analysis can completely transform your fleet management. These programs help simplify the work, save time and reduce costs.

The main point is to take the analysis out of scattered records and into a standardized process. Instead of depending on scattered notes, the team records inspections, measurements, photos and notes in an organized database, which can be consulted when the tire reaches the end of its useful life.

Doing everything manually increases the chances of error. A small slip can compromise important decisions, while management systems help organize the information and generate more consistent reports for comparison between tires, makes, routes and operating conditions.

Prolog is here to support you every step of the way. With our tire management solution, you organize scrap tire analysis with records made by the team, making the process faster and more accurate.
Take a step forward and book a demo to see how we can help you optimize your fleet management.