Tyre Safety

GRP/AW/201112 All Shell Businesses August 2011

Target audience for this alert

• Managers, Contract Holders, and Supervisors of tyre maintenance facilities
• Road Transport Safety Focal Points
• Workshop personnel

What happened
On 11th February 2011 in a joint venture not under operational control, a tubeless tyre which was placed and
secured in a safety cage for pressurization, burst upon reaching 80 PSI. The incident happened at a workshop
on a site with no injuries as the tyre was contained in the safety cage.
Three additional incidents, releasing the same hazard occurred in 2009 and 2010 (Qatar/Nairobi/Uganda).
Three fatalities and four injured persons resulted.

Goal Zero: Zero injuries, Zero fatalities

Disclaimer: This document is made available for information only and on the condition that (i) it may not be relied upon by anyone, in the conduct of their own operations or otherwise; (ii) neither the
[Shell] company issuing this document nor any other person or company concerned with furnishing information or data used herein (A) is liable for its accuracy or completeness, or for any advice
given in or any omission from this document, or for any consequences whatsoever resulting directly or indirectly from any use made of this document by any person, even if there was a failure to
exercise reasonable care on the part of the issuing company or any other person or company as aforesaid; or (B) make any claim, representation or warranty, express or implied, that acting in
accordance with this document will produce any particular results with regard to the subject matter contained herein or satisfy the requirements of any applicable federal, state or local laws and
regulations; and (iii) nothing in this document constitutes technical advice, if such advice is required it should be sought from a qualified professional adviser.
 Why it happened
• In this incident, the structural integrity of the tyre had been compromised for an undetermined reason.
• In the similar Uganda incident, the tyre structural integrity had also been compromised; however, the
technician had not inspected the tyre and the tyre was removed from the safety cage prior to completion of
inflation.
• In the similar Nairobi incident, the tyre rim was compromised. The rim fault was undetected by the
technician and the tyre was inflated outside of the safety cage.

Lessons learned
• Inflated tyres contain stored energy. If tyres are damaged, inflation may cause unexpected rupture resulting
in a destructive air blast and the ejection of high-speed particles. If a wheel is not restrained, it can fly
meters through the air. Failure of split rim wheels can result in explosive ejection of component parts.
• Prior to any work being done, tyres need to be inspected. If there is any evidence of rim or side wall
damage, do not proceed.

Recommendations
1. Risk Management--Implement the following controls and recovery measures prior to inflating tyres that have
been repaired:
• A competent/trained person should inspect the tyre before inflation. Pay particular attention to
the side walls of the tyre.
• Establish procedures that identify when a tyre repair is not to be attempted. Repairs should not
be made to the side walls of the tyre.
• Inflation of commercial vehicle tyres (i.e. trucks) should be performed inside a restraining
device such as a safety cage /guards of adequate design. This is not necessarily required for
light vehicles (passenger cars) if there is confidence that the replacement tyre has no hidden
damage.
• Demarcate the safety area and enforce no unauthorised personnel in the area during the
inflation.
• Wear appropriate PPE.
• Operator to stand out of line of fire.
• Inflate tyres in 10 psi increments.
• Do not remove the tyre from the cage/guard until after inflation is complete.
• Communicate the hazards and the necessary safety controls via task instructions and regular
tool box talks on tyre inflating precautions.
• Risk assessment (Job Hazards Analysis) to be carried out for all work fitting tyres.
2. Define the Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) to be used and train personnel on the limits of the
PPE.
3. Establish and maintain procedures to inspect the technical integrity of HSSE critical equipment including
hoses, gauges, safety cage, etc. Do not use damaged equipment. Refer to the Operations, Inspection,
and Maintenance section of the Asset Integrity Manual.
.
More information
The UK Health and Safety Executive regulator has published extensive guidance on safety during tyre inflation:
http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/indg433.pdf
Two LFI Awareness Alerts have been issued in 2009-2010 on Tyre explosion incidents;

Goal Zero: Zero injuries, Zero fatalities

Disclaimer: This document is made available for information only and on the condition that (i) it may not be relied upon by anyone, in the conduct of their own operations or otherwise; (ii) neither the
[Shell] company issuing this document nor any other person or company concerned with furnishing information or data used herein (A) is liable for its accuracy or completeness, or for any advice
given in or any omission from this document, or for any consequences whatsoever resulting directly or indirectly from any use made of this document by any person, even if there was a failure to
exercise reasonable care on the part of the issuing company or any other person or company as aforesaid; or (B) make any claim, representation or warranty, express or implied, that acting in
accordance with this document will produce any particular results with regard to the subject matter contained herein or satisfy the requirements of any applicable federal, state or local laws and
regulations; and (iii) nothing in this document constitutes technical advice, if such advice is required it should be sought from a qualified professional adviser.
• Third Party injury by tyre burst in Nairobi Service Station – February 2010

• Fatality when a tyre was being inflated – Uganda – December 2009

Goal Zero: Zero injuries, Zero fatalities

Disclaimer: This document is made available for information only and on the condition that (i) it may not be relied upon by anyone, in the conduct of their own operations or otherwise; (ii) neither the
[Shell] company issuing this document nor any other person or company concerned with furnishing information or data used herein (A) is liable for its accuracy or completeness, or for any advice
given in or any omission from this document, or for any consequences whatsoever resulting directly or indirectly from any use made of this document by any person, even if there was a failure to
exercise reasonable care on the part of the issuing company or any other person or company as aforesaid; or (B) make any claim, representation or warranty, express or implied, that acting in
accordance with this document will produce any particular results with regard to the subject matter contained herein or satisfy the requirements of any applicable federal, state or local laws and
regulations; and (iii) nothing in this document constitutes technical advice, if such advice is required it should be sought from a qualified professional adviser.