Shamrock Marketing, Inc. announced that its Automatic Marking System (AMS) has inspected more than 100,000 tyres in commercial retread plants, identifying 1,747 nail holes missed by human inspectors and helping avoid an estimated $250,000 in retread processing costs.
Helping Reduce Human Error
Shamrock Marketing deployed its AMS technology across six retread plants, with field results showing that its patent-pending technology detected every nail hole identified by human inspectors, as well as the additional 1,747 holes missed during manual inspections.
“Reaching 100,000 inspected tyres validates what we’ve seen from the beginning,” said William De Andrade, Technical Services Manager and co-inventor of AMS. “Reducing human variability leads to more consistent inspections, better repair quality, and measurable value for retreaders.”
AMS is designed to enhance non-destructive testing (NDT) tyre inspection systems by improving defect detection and automating the marking of tyre injuries. The system aims to reduce variation between technicians and improve consistency in inspection and repair decisions.
“The real story isn’t the milestone itself,” added De Andrade. “It’s the injuries AMS found that would otherwise have moved further through the process, creating avoidable costs and quality risks.”
According to Shamrock Marketing, Inc., the benefits extend well beyond the retread plant. Identifying injuries before they reach the field helps reduce costs and risks associated with claims, roadside service calls and equipment downtime.
“The Automatic Marketing System technology on the NDT-II B identifies nail holes that are sometimes missed by inspectors because they are too small and not easily found during the initial inspection process,” said Al Saucedo, Vice President of Manufacturing at Pomp’s Tire Service.
“When using the AMS system after buffing, we find not only the original holes detected at initial inspection but also new holes we missed before buffing. Some of these missed pin holes would be captured after extruding, but now we can find them before adding extrusion.”
Third-party testing on an NDT-II system also received positive feedback from Luis Gustavo Arias, technical product specialist for retread tyres at Continental Tire, The Americas, who said the equipment marked damage precisely and could help reduce human error, lower costs and improve productivity.
Industry leaders note that technologies that automate inspection, shifting more work from technicians to technology, can create benefits throughout the retread value chain. “Technologies that help reduce variability in critical inspection processes have the potential to benefit retreaders, tyre dealers, fleets, and the industry as a whole. Improvements in quality and consistency ultimately strengthen confidence in retreaded tyres and support the long-term growth of the industry,” said David Stevens, Managing Director, Tire Retread Information Bureau (TRIB).
