Tire Waste as a Result of Quality Reduction in Tire Manufacturing: a Conceptual Model

Abstract

Waste reduction has been an important topic for many years. This awareness links to the essential knowledge that natural recycling will take a long time for particular waste, and each one will damage the environment. In Indonesia, rubber waste is another thing to which we must pay attention besides plastic waste. This rubber waste is mostly contributed by tire product: the vital part of a vehicle to run its movement function. End-user customers or the industrial sector could produce this waste. According to BPS (Statistic Indonesia; locally known as Badan Pusat Statistik) data, the number of four-wheeled vehicles continues to increase every year. With more than 16 million units at the end of 2018, an annual growth rate has reached 6.9% since 2014, suggesting that rubber waste will be in a linear amount and needs to be reduced. Particularly for tires, reuse of unused in the downstream (end consumers) is an effort to reduce waste. In contrast, in the upstream (industrial sector), waste reduction can be done by improving production strategies. A case study conducted on a tire manufacturer in Indonesia shows a strong relationship between yield and scrap rate, which of course, will have an impact on waste products. This paper aims to understand and analyze manufacturing's role in controlling tire waste due to failing products using a conceptual model with a system dynamics approach. This conceptual model can be used to evaluate manufacturing activities in producing waste.