What is RIOS Certification?

To become the first auto salvage yard certified in RIOS is quite a feat. As with many certifications, it takes time and dedication. The certification process is long and time consuming, but well worth it at the end of the road. Being the first auto salvage company to attain this certification not many people are fully aware what RIOS is and what challenges certification entails. 

RIOS is an acronym that stands for Recycling Industry Operating Standards. RIOS is an integrated quality, environment, health and safety management system for the recycling industry. RIOS is functionally equivalent to the standards of ISO 9001 (quality), ISO 14001 (environment), and OHSAS 18001 (Health & Safety). The difference between RIOS, ISO and OHSAS is RIOS is specifically relevant to scrap recycling operations whereas the ISO and OHSAS standards are not. RIOS provides a powerful framework for scrap recyclers of all sizes and scrap materials to improve their bottom line.  

Understanding what exactly RIOS is is the first step, but it is also important to understand what the real purpose of RIOS is. The real purpose is based on a Plan-Do-Check-Act management system for continuous improvement. It uses a small step method for planning, setting, achieving and tracking company goals. One constant requirement is for a company to maintain realistic goals for themselves. RIOS understands that a business can’t be perfect. Every company is flawed and has weaknesses but what RIOS does is encourage businesses to continue to improve. It is important that a business doesn’t become content with where they are but must continue to strive for more. RIOS is a tool that does not focus on perfection but it focuses on realistic tactics for continuous growth and improvement. 

Initially, to be certified a company must undergo a four day audit process. During this process a registrar will come and audit the company’s management system to insure documents and procedures are in tune with actual operations. Employee interviews are conducted to answer questions given by the auditor. After this process is complete the company will be left to audit themselves with an internal audit team for the remainder of the year. After a year the registrar will come back and audit the system once again. They will be looking to be sure the company is continually improving from the last audit.

Becoming RIOS certified is an exciting achievement. Metro Auto Recyclers is the first auto salvage company to become certified. The process is long, extensive and never ending, but clearly worth the process. As a company, continued improvement is our goal and becoming RIOS certified is just one of the many benefits that come along with creating a healthy workplace. 

DIY Tire Swing

We’ve been talking a lot about tires. We've talked about tire rotation and winter vs. all season tires and now let's talk about reusing old tires. How you might ask? Well, a DIY tire swing of course. 

Tires come in multiple sizes, but all can be reused into a staple at your local park or even in your backyard. Creating a tire swing out of an old tire is a great way to reuse it and will also give the kids hours of fun in your very own backyard. 

What does it take to make one of these? It’s pretty simple actually. All you’ll need is a tire, eye-bolts, S-hook, 3 shorter chains and 1 long chain, clip hook, connector links, and a swivel piece. Now, if you’re not a handyman this may sound intimidating, but check out this website with step-by-step directions and you’ll soon realize that any man or woman is capable of making a do-it-yourself tire swing. 

http://bit.ly/14Vblnn 

After you create your very own personal tire swing you can feel proud of not only the work you have done, but also that you did a little part in helping the environment. 

Tire Rotation

As the season of snow and ice approaches, many might be wondering if their tires are up to par. How can you ensure that your tires are ready to perform when the weather suddenly takes a turn for the worse? Regular tire rotations help avoid uneven tire wear, which can lead to poor performance as well as bad gas mileage. 

Some may be asking “what is tire rotation?” Rotating your tires means moving them from one side of the vehicle to the other, moving them front to back, or a combination of both. Regular tire rotations will help prevent poor performance, which is important year round but especially when the weather can be unpredictable. 

It is important to rotate your tires for a few reasons. 

1. Tires may wear differently depending on their position on the vehicle, your driving style, and the condition of your suspension. 
2. Regularly rotating your tires helps evenly distribute tire wear which helps you get the most out of your tires while maximizing traction on all four wheels. 
3. On front-wheel-drive vehicles, front tires tend to wear faster than rear tires due to added pressure/resistance from steering. 

Now we know why it’s important to rotate your tires, but how often should they be rotated? 

Most vehicle manufacturers recommend that tires be rotated on the same schedule as oil changes. In most cases that means every 7,500 miles or six months. To be sure, check out your vehicles owner’s manual and see what they recommend. 

Winter vs. All Season Tires

“What is the difference between winter tires and all-season tires?”  This is one of the most commonly asked questions during the transition from fall to winter. It’s important to understand the uses and benefits of both before rushing to the store and buying one over the other.

Winter tires have six main benefits that we’d like to discuss today. 

• Winter tires can provide enhanced braking performance in both snowy and icy conditions
• These tires perform well in snow, ice, sleet, slush wet and even cold dry roads.
• Winter tires feature tread designs made specifically for ice, snow and other severe winter conditions
• They have specially formulated tread rubber that stays flexible at low temperatures for better vehicle control
• The aggressive tread on a winter tire reduces snow build up
• Most drivers find that when they have winter tires they are more confident and feel in control when challenging winter conditions arise. 

While those six reasons sound great, we’re not done yet. It’s important to look at the other option as well; All-Season tires. 

All-season tires have three main benefits we’d like to discuss. 

• All-season tires are designed to help provide traction and grip in both wet and snowy conditions.
• They are made to help provide stable handling and even tread wear in both wet and dry conditions 
• Although all-season tires offer traction in a variety of different weather conditions, winter tires surpass them when it comes to traction in snow and ice.

Each tire brings some competition to the table. Depending on the area you live and how much snow, ice and adverse weather conditions you get will depend on what tires work best for your vehicle. 

Green Recycled Parts

Often times the term ‘Green Recycled Parts’ confuses people. What exactly are green recycled parts and how are they different from any other auto parts? Let’s find out.

Green recycled parts are reusable, ecofriendly products gathered in an efficient, environmentally responsible way from other motor vehicles. Basically, it is taking usable parts from unusable vehicles and selling them back to the general public. The parts that are pulled from damaged motor vehicles will provide components for replacement or repair services to other damaged vehicles.

So now that we have determined what exactly green recycled parts are we must discover the importance of using these parts. There are many compelling reasons why one should consider using green recycled parts, but I’m just going to mention a few. First, the oil that recycled parts saves is immense. It is estimated that purchasing green recycled parts saves an estimated 80 billion barrels of oil annually.  Second, when a vehicle is recycled over 80% of the vehicle is reused, re-manufactured or recycled. Lastly, the amount of toxic fluids that are reclaimed is equivalent to eight Exxon Valdez disasters a year. 

Those are just a few of many reasons why using green recycled parts is the right choice. Auto recycling as a whole has such a positive impact on the environment and as a result is the ultimate environmental choice. There is no other product on earth that is recycled more than an automobile. Recycling automobiles not only keeps a plethora of dangerous toxins out of our ground, soil and water but it prevents unnecessary use of valuable landfill space. 

Even with these few reasons, it is clear that purchasing green recycled parts for your vehicle is the best choice for the environment. By reducing the need for new parts to be manufactured, scarce natural resources will be preserved, pollution will be lowered and the environment will greatly benefit.

DIY Tire Swing

In honor of National Tire Safety Week we'd like to give you an alternative option for when your tires are no longer safe to drive on. 

The used tires you have on hand may come in a variety of sizes, but all can be reused into a staple at your local park or even in your backyard. Creating a tire swing out of an old tire is a great way to reuse it and will also give the kids hours of fun in your very own backyard. 

What does it take to make one of these? It’s pretty simple actually. All you’ll need is a tire, eye-bolts, S-hook, 3 shorter chains and 1 long chain, clip hook, connector links, and a swivel piece. Now, if you’re not a handyman this may sound intimidating, but check out this website with step-by-step directions and you’ll soon realize that any man or woman is capable of making a do-it-yourself tire swing. 

http://bit.ly/14Vblnn 

After you create your very own personal tire swing you can feel proud of not only the work you have done, but also that you did a little part in helping the environment. 

Give it a second chance.

We've talked a lot about what you can do to maintain a healthy vehicle, but have you ever wondered what happens to old Betsy, your 1995 rusted, green escort wagon, when she has no more life to live? You're not alone. Many people are unaware of what happens to their old or totaled vehicles when they are no longer fit for life on the road. The answer to this question is simple; Old Betsy is recycled. 

Each year it is estimated that 95% of vehicles that have taken their last ride around the block are recycled. Recycling your old or totaled vehicle not only benefits your pocketbook, but it also benefits the environment. 

Recycling benefits the environment in a variety of ways. One benefit is the amount of energy that recycling saves. To put into perspective how much energy recycling saves us we look to the steel industry. Recycling steel saves enough energy to power about 18 million households a year. That’s enough energy to power households in Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky and part of Iowa for a year. 

Another benefit recycling provides is the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. Greenhouse gases are emitted when we create new products with "virgin" resources. When we use recycled materials to create new products in place of virgin resources less greenhouse gases are emitted into the environment. 

Recycling also keeps valuable resources out of our landfills resulting in saved space, but it also prevents hazardous materials such as gasoline, oil, antifreeze, mercury, Freon, brake and transmission fluids from seeping into the ground. If an automobile were to be placed in a landfill these materials would eventually seep out into our soil, air and water, which would result in our environment being filled with these harmful toxins. When a vehicle is recycled these toxins are properly removed and disposed of in a way that protects the environment as well as us.  

These are just a few of the many benefits that recycling provides for our environment. Dropping an old or totaled vehicle off at your local recycling center, such as our sister company Metro Recycling, is just the beginning of the recycling process. Although it may be hard to say goodbye to old Betsy, you can leave the recycling center with confidence that she will be put to good use and you never know what new products you might see old Betsy in in the future.