This document discusses the costly recall of Firestone tires used on the Ford Explorer between 1992-2000. It summarizes that Ford and Firestone failed to share critical safety information between themselves and with regulators, resulting in over 400 injuries and 101 deaths from tread separation issues. A lack of integrated databases and a siloed approach to data collection prevented trends from being identified in a timely manner. Both Ford and Firestone were found responsible for the massive recall that damaged their relationship and brands.

1. FORD AND FIRESTONE'S TIRE RECALL:
THE COSTLIEST INFORMATION GAP IN
HISTORY
Presented by----
•Palash Goyal - 2014 MBA-15
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2. •Founded by Henry Ford in
1903.
• Global auto Manufacturer.
• Owns many automotive brands
including Ford, Mercury,
Lincoln & Volvo.
•Founded by Harvey Firestone in
1900.
• Acquired by Bridgestone tires, a
Japanese firm.
•Supplies tires for various
vehicles.
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3. Firestone’s Long
relationship with
Ford Motor
company began in
1906,when Ford
Motor bought
2000 sets of tires
from Harvey
Firestone.
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4. About the case……
1988
1991
Firestone weakened by 1978 tire recall.
In may, Bridgestone took over Firestone
and saved them from bankruptcy due to
the recall.
Bridgestone/Firestone ATX, ATXII and
Wilderness AT tires were being used on
the Ford Explorer. 4
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5. Cont…..
1999
In March, Bridgestone/ Firestone sent
a confidential memo to Ford.
In August, Ford announced a recall in
16 foreign countries, but not in US and
NHTSA not notified.
1992
In 1992, Ford started to receive
complaints regarding the Firestone tires.
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6. Firestone tires
2226
Complaints
More than
400 injuries.
101 people
died
involving
Trend
separation
between
1992-1999 6
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7. Tread Separation occurs when the rubber tread
begins to separate from the steel belts inside the
tire. This occurs because it is hard to adhere
rubber to steel. Tread Separation becomes more
likely at high speeds and in warmer climates.
What is Tread Separation?
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8. •After being informed of numerous complaints,
NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety
administration) met wit Ford and Firestone to
discuss a plan of action.
•On august, Bridgestone/Firestone inc. issued a
recall of 6.5 million tires.
•The recall was 90% completed in December.
2000
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9. 9
•Firestone released a memo to Ford dated March 12,
1999, in which Firestone expressed "major
reservations" about a Ford plan to replace Firestone
tires overseas.
•Ford CEO Nasser testified before a joint congressional
hearing that "this is clearly a tire issue and not a vehicle
issue.
•Ford said it was under no obligation to report overseas
recalls.
Sept 2000…
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10. 10
•Ford did not have warranty data on tire recalls.
•Firestone’s damage claims moved to
Nashville; warranty adjustments in Ohio
•"Trend identified after-the-fact by the New York
Times.
•Department of Transportation doesn’t have
funding to track all data.
•NHTSA: “our testing is clearly outdated”
Cont..
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11. 11
2001
Yoichiro Kaizaki, the president and chief executive of the
Bridgestone Corporation, resigned in January.
May 22, 2001—Bridgestone/Firestone
ended its 100-year relationship as a
supplier to Ford, accusing the
automaker of refusing to acknowledge
safety problems with the Explorer.
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12. 12
Which company was responsible???
or
Other believed
that Ford should
share
Responsibility.
Many people
blamed
Firestone.
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13. 13
2002
The NHTSA found that Firestone was
responsible for tire separation.
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14. 14
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Crisis in information management…
The information was available, but it was not easy to
get at and it was not shared.
Role of databases and data management…
There were several isolated databases.
There were no easy ways to detect trends.
There were no ways to share data (Ford had to “pry”
information from Firestone).
Not all data collected.
MIS Application…

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•There was not an environment of information
sharing.
•Not all parties were collecting the correct data.
•No one was proactive about looking into problems.
•Both Ford & Firestone were responsible.
Conclusion

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Suggestion…
 There should be implementation of information system.
There should be environment of information sharing within
the organization and between the parties.
Need to be PROACTIVE not reactive!
Better trend analysis
 Causes of problem should be identified, than corrective
action must be taken.
 Data that is collected should be used effectively
& efficiently.

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Questions???