Manassas, Virginia — May 23, 2017 — Andy Latham, Chair of the ARA Technical Advisory Committee, recently presented at the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) World Congress on “The Safe Handling of High Voltage Electric and Hybrid Vehicle Components within the Global Vehicle Recycling Industry.” The presentation was based on a paper written by the Technical Advisory Committee.
Sales of electric and hybrid vehicles continue to grow across the world and as these vehicles reach the end of their lives they will be processed by the global automotive recycling industry and the complex high voltage components will be reused, recycled or re-purposed.
The Committee’s paper that Latham presented to the SAE explored the best working practices for businesses that are handling these vehicles – working practices that keep employees safe, minimize environmental risk, minimize fire risk and helps all professional automotive recyclers receive the best possible value for the components from these vehicles.
His presentation highlighted some of the many issues faced daily by professional automotive recyclers as they try to understand the complex nature of electric and hybrid vehicles, and how to minimize risks associated with the high voltage batteries and complex components.
The paper and presentation raised the profile of the ARA within the Society of Automotive Engineers and showed how professional automotive recyclers are striving to improve their knowledge and understanding of the vehicles they work on and keep their employees and businesses safe.
Latham finished by saying that “across the world vehicle recyclers are struggling to gain access to safety advice on the handling and dismantling of electric and hybrid vehicles, and this is putting individuals and businesses at risk, risk of serious injury or fatality, risk of fire and pollution. Vehicle manufacturers and importers must make safety information freely, and easily available to all parties that have reason to require this information; this includes vehicle technicians, recovery agents, first responders, recyclers, vehicle storage operations and insurance damage assessors, and vehicle recyclers must commit to training their technicians to appropriate standards. With the support of all local, national and regional vehicle salvage associations, the vehicle repair and the vehicle manufacturing industry all potential risks can be minimized.”
You can purchase a copy of the paper from the SAE website at papers.sae.org/2017-01-1275/.
