It has been a busy couple of weeks getting things off the ground here at Kinetic Metrics. The automotive world is a big place and reaching out to all of you has been quite the task. We wanted to take a moment to dig a little deeper into The TREAD Act and give more information on exactly what we can provide.
The Transportation Recall Enhancement, Accountability and Documentation (TREAD) Act was enacted in the fall of 2000. Its intention is to increase consumer safety through mandates assigned to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).
Two major components of the TREAD Act are 1) the requirement of manufacturers to report to NHTSA when they conduct a safety recall or other safety-related campaign, and 2) the need to report information related to defects, especially in cases of injury or death related to the use of products (also referred to as “early warning reporting”(EWR)).
There are many definitions, exceptions and interpretations found in the final rule for this regulation. Requirements for manufacturers may differ depending on what type and how much of a product they produce in a calendar year. The following is a high level interpretation on what may be required of a manufacturer.
All notices, bulletins, customer satisfaction campaigns, consumer advisories, and other communications must be submitted, regardless of the number of vehicles produced. In the automotive world, these are typically referred to as Technical Service Bulletins (TSBs). So whether you produce one product, or one thousand, if a TSB is created it must also be submitted to the NHTSA.
All manufacturers must submit quarterly reports with regard to the following two categories:
1) Deaths
2) Injuries
Depending on the vehicle category (e.g., light vehicle, medium-heavy duty, bus, trailer, etc.) and production numbers, manufacturers may need to submit quarterly reports with regard to the following categories as well:
1) Production counts
2) Property damage
3) Consumer complaints
4) Warranty claims
5) Field reports
Manufacturers collect a large amount of information regarding their products, so determining what is required for reporting can prove to be a daunting task. Here at Kinetic Metrics we take the guesswork out of reporting because our staff understands what is required. We have an extensive knowledge base of the laws and regulations from our previous NHTSA work experiences. Therefore our services include assessing a company’s current reporting process and providing useful feedback on how they can become more efficient and organized in reporting safety-related defects. Kinetic Metrics can save your company the time and effort needed to report this information by also doing it for you on a quarterly basis.
So why wait? Contact us today to start the discussion.