subject: Mensur Boydas Lecture On The Interdependence Report [print this page] Mensur Boydas Mensur Boydas
Vahdi Boydas
There exists a web for every product in households. This web is a mixture of social, economic and politics. This web is involved in production/manufacturing, delivery, use and eventual disposal of common everyday products. In this report, we will analyze a whole life-cycle of tires that are very vital for human lives.
Our common household product is a tire by Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company. We chose this product because many people own a car and have to deal with tires, with respects to choosing the right one and properly disposing of it when it is lifespan is over. Although it is not common to buy tires as much as a toothbrush or paper towel, we feel that it is a great company to review their products lifecycle as it affects so many people, and not too much are known about them.
Our common household product is a Goodyear tire for vehicles. Everyone that owns a vehicle owns tires. Tire is a requirement for driving a vehicle as you cannot drive them on just the vehicle rims. When buying a new vehicle some car manufacturing companies have arrangements with tire manufacturers to provide tires for their vehicles. The first agreement like this was Goodyear was to provide sets of tires to Hendry Ford for the Model T automobile . Everyone has a choice when buying tires which brand and type of tire they would want to purchase. Distribution and advertising is used effectively by placing their tires in several stores and advertising on all kinds of mediums, most of all famous the Goodyear Blimp.
Company Overview
Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company was founded in 1898 by Frank A. Seiderling. It was named after Charles Goodyear who made rubber much more useable, after it was declared finished in the United States . Goodyear started doing business with only 13 employees and has grown to more than 60,000 worldwide. Within Canada there are 3 tire manufacturing plants some of which are unionized, while others remained union free. The work that is done at these plants besides the offices is all shift work, 12 hour shifts while the plants operate 24 hours a day. The labour force that usually comes with this type of work is blue collar type workers, generally less educated as the work can be monotonous and physically exhausting.
Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company is setup of many different companies all dealing with rubber. Some of their businesses are offices for purchasing rubber, retread facilities to repair tires, tire manufacturing plants, chemical mixing plants and offices for sales and distribution. Combined with all of Goodyear"s joint ventures and subsidiaries it develops, manufacturers and markets to the most applications . Goodyear is one of the largest tire companies in the world. Two main competitors of Goodyear"s are Michelin and Bridgestone as they are stealing market share from Goodyear. Goodyear like its competitors also must follow the laws of whatever country they operate in. These laws cover everything they can do and must follow, including the handling and disposal of the chemicals used in making a tire.
Production
Production of a tire starts from several ingredients ranging from harmless chemicals to very toxic chemicals like carbon black, and also metals and fibreglass and is also dependent on oil . Goodyear subcontracts several jobs like this out, as it can be cheaper and lets Goodyear focus on just producing tires. The raw materials make up nearly 40% of cost of goods sold for Goodyear . Goodyear used to decant and mix chemicals, but now companies like Robinson Pre-weigh do that job for Goodyear. Goodyear takes these chemicals and mixes them at various temperatures and then feeding the gum like result through rollers at different widths and lengths either to be used for the tread or sidewall part of the tire. The next step comes from another rubber polyester material that is used to join and help fuse together the sidewall and tread pieces. Also at this stage metal hoop like material is also put into the tire to fit against the car rim. Other materials are also put into the tire at this phase to help reduce punctures and chaffing against the car. These pieces are joined together by a tire machine which also shapes the tire close to its final form. Next the tires cured in a big oven for 15 to 25 minutes and then marked for the manufacturer and for purposes of the law. The tires are then inspected by hand and with visual aids such as x-ray machines to insure quality . The tires are then loaded with no packaging into transport trucks which are also contracted out, to deliver the tires to the various distributors or car manufacturers for sale. The graph here gives the percentage of product and how it reaches its customer . Bridgestone/Firestone, Continental/General Tire, Dunlop Tire, BF Goodrich, Goodyear Tire , Canada, Hercules Tire Canada, Michelin, Pirelli, Toyo, Uniroyal, and Yokohama are the main manufacturers of tire.
Distribution
The main method of distribution is a large network of independent dealers. In addition two subsidiaries of Goodyear are Kelly Tires and Dunlop Tires which are also sold at national and regional firms such as Wal-Mart, Sears and Discount Tire. Also Goodyear owns and operates over 800 retail outlet stores owned which distributes Goodyear brands of tires. Goodyear is also a major supplier to several manufacturers of automobiles, tractors, construction equipment and aircraft, some of which include Boeing, BMW, General Motors, John Deere, Honda, Toyota and many more .
The independent dealers and mass merchandisers are where the common Goodyear tires are bought and begin use which leads to deterioration and eventually retreating or disposal. Goodyear suggests checking your tires every 3000 miles and provides warranties for different models of tires . There are many ways to help maintain your tires but eventually they will need to be replaced and disposed of.
Disposal
The disposal of tires is regulated by government because improper disposal of tires can have potentially harmful effects to the environment. In Nova Scotia, they set an example by banning the certain items of waste from landfills, one item being the tire. Waste Diversion Ontario (WDO) and a few other organizations are currently working on developing proposals on diversion programs for tire waste and other materials. Canadian government is encouraging Canadians to reuse and waste less. One of the ways to make your tire last longer is to have it retreaded. Tires that can"t be retreated go to factories for fuel, get turned into floor mats and roof shingles, and it is estimated that Ontarian"s throw away about half of the 10 to 12 million tires not recycling them . Recycling programs in other provinces when getting tires replaced there is a fee ranging about $3-$5 per tire, to be disposed of if not kept by the customer. Ontario is still deciding on how they are dealing with the ever growing tire problem. Ontario still has stockpiles of used tires all over Ontario, as they use to deal with the problem by gathering all the used tires and burn them . Ontario government stepped in and stopped burning tires as the solution to the waste problem, and is now developing a strategy for reuse and recycling the tires. Through efforts from Goodyear trying to use less harmful and more recyclable materials and Government of Ontario, and organizations like WDO, the waste problem will eventually be solved. By coming up with a 100% recyclable tire or Ontario creating a program that can recycle 100% of the tire there eventually will be a significant reduction in pollution and waste while creating and disposing of tires.
Environmental Impact
Goodyear operates more than 60 plants in 26 countries and has a workforce of approximately 60,000 employees. Goodyear has become aware that they have a huge impact on the environment and they have a responsibility to reduce the damage they cause. In the past 5 years both solvent emissions per ton of production and landfill waste per ton of production have reduced approximately 25%. Goodyear is continuously been moving toward a goal of "no one gets hurt" by minimizing human exposure to chemical solvents and environmental impacts of landfill waste. Goodyear has also been trying to reduce energy usage both in plants and in offices. A tire plant in Ballabgarh India was awarded a National Energy Certificate recognized for the reduction of energy use per ton of product over the past 5 years by 29%. Offices and retail operations owned all went through energy use improvements and some locations saw a reduction of 40% .
Goodyear is becoming more globally aware of the impacts they have and are trying to reduce that right down to the production level, by recycling rubber and using less dangerous chemicals such as synthetic rubber. Goodyear has also been opening more retread operations that are used to repair worn tires which also helps reduce the waste of disposed tires. Through use of their research and development facilities Goodyear was the first tire company to produce tire by utilizing corn. Goodyear is also trying to develop tires that would give better fuel consumption for vehicles . Through continued efforts of trying to reduce their environmental footprint by reducing the impact they cause and others that use their products, Goodyear has a good chance of continuing business for perhaps another century.
Regulations
Goodyear must follow the rules and regulations wherever they do business. As they deal with chemicals, machinery and more, the more regulations there are. In Canada and more specifically Ontario procedures concerning the handling, usage and disposal of these chemicals, Goodyear can avoid trouble with the Workplace Hazardous Material Information System (WHMIS), as they have regulations with companies that use or transport these chemicals or products. Goodyear and every company they do business with must label and properly package the chemicals when they are being transported, in order to reduce human risk and chemical exposure. Labelling the chemicals is a must because if the wrong mixture of chemicals went into the mixer, that could create a massive amount of useless tires, and it lets handler know what protective measures to take for handling the material and in case of exposure, what to do. Goodyear also provides personal protective equipment (PPE) to employees and safety training for all positions to help reduce injuries as to avoid trouble with Workplace Safety Insurance Board (WSIB). Finally Goodyear must follow the Employment Standards Act in Ontario which details how they are to treat their employees. They must follow the standards or go above them by paying higher than minimum wage, giving more than 4% vacation pay and more, to avoid getting into trouble with the Ministry of Labour.
