Dubai: Come September, resale and reuse of old tyres will be banned, as the Emirates Authority for Standardisation and Metrology's (Esma) new tyre quality management scheme comes into effect across the UAE.
The new ‘birth to death' scheme, provides quality control specifications right from the stage of manufacturing to disposal of tyres.
Among the highlights of the new system is the requirement of additional certification for manufacturers, complete ban on sale of used tyres as well as restriction in re-treading and repair of tyres. Proper storage and disposal of tyres is also a priority.
"It is a central scheme in which we have tried to control the quality of tyres at every level, right from the manufacturing and storing to repair and disposal.
"At Esma we are trying to control the quality of products on priority basis and quality of tyres is currently one of the top priorities for us as so many lives depend on a good and well maintained tyre," said Engineer Mohammad Saleh Badri, Acting Director General of Esma, announcing the new scheme in Dubai
He added that a large number of accidents are due to faulty tyres or tyres that don't meet the standards required for the weather in the region. With the new scheme this issue will be addressed.
"A tyre once used for a car cannot be used for another car, no matter how good its condition is. Even if its used for only one day or one month, it is not allowed to be resold," said Badri. Currently, imported tyres comply with GCC specifications which require manufacturers and distributors to have a Gulf Standardisation Organisation (GSO) conformity certification.
However, Badri said GSO requirements are inadequate for the safety of vehicles on roads as it only looks into manufacturing aspects.
"Our idea is to have a complete makeover in the way tyres are managed and maintained. Companies as usual will need to acquire the GSO certification, but an additional UAE Standard ISO 9001 certification will be required before importing the tyres," Badri said.
Giving details of the specifications, Abdullah Abdul Qader Al Muaini, Director of Conformity Affairs at Esma, said that companies will have to conform to additional specifications and regulations when it comes to manufacturing and have to obtain conformity certifications from accredited laboratories before importing each batch of tyres.
Some of the new specifications are that tyres should have the quality to sustain temperatures in excess of 50 degrees Celsius, in accordance with UAE weather.
"Normally, tyres are manufactured for temperatures of around 30 degrees Celsius, which is the reason why there are so many cases of tyre bursts during summer," Al Muaini added.
Another important regulation is that the total lifespan of each tyre is restricted to five years from the date of manufacture. Any tyre that is five years old, whether used or unused would be disposed of.
Importance of storage
Apart from manufacturing, the new law gives equal importance to storage.
"Storage is something which is very important to maintain the quality of a tyre and this is where we have been lacking. No matter how good a tyre is, if it is not stored properly then it is bound to be damaged, that is the reason why so many new tyres burst," said Badri.
Badri warned that trade licences would not be renewed for companies that do not comply with the new specification.
The authority has imposed a blanket ban on the import of retreated and used tyres, but these can be exported.
Esma has approved 25 companies to retreat used tyres, provided they adhere to its strict specifications. One of the chief requirements is that only those tyres with no damage to the main structure would be allowed to be retreated. Retreated tyres will have a life span of two years from the date of manufacture. These tyres will have a yellow patch. The law covers all tyres, except those for industrial vehicles.
Esma insists that all manufacturers as well as WTO have been informed of the new specifications well in advance of the effective date.
Monitoring
All stores will have to withdraw tyres that do not comply with the new specifications, come September.
The authority has devised a mechanism to monitor the implementation of the scheme right from the first stage to disposal and recycling of tyres.
"We are in talks with international consultants and we will soon hire the best in the industry to assist us monitor the implementation of our quality control scheme," said Badri.
