Specialist tyre operative

Specialist Tyre Operatives (STO) are highly skilled and predominantly work on heavy or commercial vehicles from specially equipped mobile units. This role can also be referred to as Commercial Tyre Technician/Fitter, Agricultural & Plant Tyre Technician/Fitter. They carry out both scheduled tyre maintenance and emergency response work across a wide variety of locations, ranging from public highways, motorways and construction sites to docks, military facilities and airports. To ensure the safety of both themselves and others in the vicinity, the technician will make detailed risk assessments as each vehicle and location are distinct in nature. STOs are responsible for the safety of tyres on the UK’s 500,000 HGVs, as well as overseas trucks, 3.9million light commercial vehicles, 160,000 buses and coaches, and hundreds of thousands of agricultural, industrial, construction and earth moving machines. They will work directly for the operator of a fleet of vehicles, or for a specialist tyre contractor. The STO applies detailed technical knowledge to effectively advise customers on the most cost effective and safe solutions. This is particularly important when installing or repairing tyres on HGVs weighing up to 44 tonnes. The STO will usually work from a specially equipped mobile unit to fit, maintain and repair tyres. They have expertise in using a wide range of machinery including equipment for specialist tyre fitting and repair, lifting, measuring & diagnosis and vehicle geometry. The commercial vehicles the STO works on are critical to their operators, and therefore planning and managing scheduled maintenance programmes is crucial in fitting in with ongoing business operations. As they are often working alone, they need to have strong organisational skills, be good at problem solving and also be effective communicators. This is particularly true when making safety recommendations to vehicle owners as their advice will often have significant cost implications. It is crucial that they can help vehicle owners improve the cost-effectiveness of their operations, while never compromising on safety. As well as regular maintenance, the STO often handles emergency situations. These could include an HGV with a shredded tyre on the motorway, a blowout on an earthmover on a construction site or a farmer whose combine harvester is out of action. All these instances have a significant financial impact, not only on the vehicle’s owner but on the wider economy, e.g. through long tailbacks on the motorway, delays in building projects or crops not being harvested in time, so an ability to work safely at pace is essential.