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Safety Policies & Programs


Field Service

Policy Key Points

  • Yaskawa field service associates are subject to both Yaskawa and the Customer safety policies.
  • Where there is a difference in safety requirements, the field service associate shall adhere to the more restrictive policies.
  • Field service associates shall not utilize customer equipment.
  • Yaskawa field service associates shall not put themselves into a hazardous environment, such as permit required confined spaces.
  • Effective communication with the customer and the field service associate's supervisor is critical to ensure safety.
  • Field service associates shall not work alone while servicing the Yaskawa product.

Policy

Purpose and Scope of this Policy

Purpose and Scope of Policy

This policy affects all Yaskawa America, Inc. personnel performing service on products outside of Yaskawa facilities.

The primary rule of thumb is for Yaskawa associates to be aware of the safety policies of Yaskawa America and the safety policies of the site (typically a customer or end-user) and follow the more restrictive rules of the two policies.

Yaskawa associates, at no time shall place themselves in a position where they feel they are forced by the customer to do something the associate believes it is unsafe. Yaskawa associates shall walk away from the unsafe conditions and contact his/her supervisor who will notify the customer that Yaskawa will not place our associates in danger.

General Requirements

Process Safety Management

Customer Communication

Reporting Safety Incidents and Near Misses

Confidentiality

Field Service Fit for Duty

Field Service Drug and Alcohol Policy

Monitoring of Field Service Associates

Notification of Fatigue

General Requirements

  1. Operating Customer Equipment
  2. Yaskawa field service associates shall not operate customer equipment, including:

    • Powered industrial vehicles
    • Cranes, hoists, or other lifting equipment
    • Fixed power tools, such as saws and grinders
    • Welding and cutting equipment
  3. Yaskawa field service associates shall not:
    • Work from scaffolds
    • Work in permit required confined spaces
    • Work in trenches
    • Perform any hot work (e.g.:welding, cutting, brazing)
    • Perform electric work in hazardous conditions, including performing any live electrical work in the rain, snow, or standing water
  4. Control of Hazardous Energy (Lockout Tagout)
  5. Yaskawa field service associates shall use their own lockout/tagout devices and shall not rely on the customer's lockout/tagout devices

    Yaskawa field service associates shall verify all sources of energy are properly controlled

    If the Yaskawa field service associate leaves the work area, the Yaskawa associate shall assume the equipment is energized upon their return until lack of power is verified.

    Refer to Yaskawa's Control of Hazardous Energy policy for additional requirements

  6. Working Alone
  7. No Yaskawa field service associate shall work out of sight and sound of another person who is knowledgeable of the hazards present and the proper emergency response procedures

    Where a customer representative is assigned as the observer, the customer representative shall be notified that work will stop if the representative is not present

  8. Qualifications
  9. Yaskawa associates shall only perform service on products on which they have been qualified for field service

    Yaskawa associates performing work at customer sites shall be trained:

    • To acquire the knowledge and skills necessary to perform the job
    • In the specific type of equipment that will be serviced in the field
    • In the hazards that may be present at the customer job site including those related to the specific job, and those that are present in the work area, such as potential fire, explosion, or toxic release hazards

    Records of this training shall be maintained in the associate's competency record.

Process Safety Management

Although Yaskawa America, Inc. is not a process manufacturer, Yaskawa associates who work at customer sites may be exposed to process manufacturing, such as pumping, waste water treatment, and mixing.

Yaskawa associates working at customer sites shall follow all Process Safety Management rules defined by the customer.

No Yaskawa associate shall operate, control, or otherwise interact with the process manufacturing conducted by the customer. The activities of the Yaskawa associate shall be limited to the Yaskawa product being serviced.

Customer Communication

The Yaskawa associate shall notify the customer immediately upon arrival.

The Yaskawa associate shall not work without a customer representative present.

The Yaskawa associate shall obtain from the customer all information about hazards related to the site and the work being performed.

The Yaskawa associate shall inform the customer of any and all hazards that may be present by the nature of the work the Yaskawa associate is performing.

  • This includes providing the customer with a Safety Data Sheet for all hazardous chemicals that the Yaskawa associate may bring to the customer site

Reporting Safety Incidents and Near Misses

The customer shall be immediately informed of any injury, property damage, toxic material release, or near miss.

Yaskawa Human Resources and EHS shall be informed of any injury, property damage, toxic material release, or near-miss within 4-hours of the incident.

Confidentiality

Yaskawa signs non-disclosure statements with our customers. No Yaskawa associate working at a customer site shall:

  • Take any pictures of the customer site, equipment, or personnel without express, written permission of the customer
  • Make copies of customer's engineering drawings or other proprietary information without the express, written permission from the customer.
  • Release any other information that may be in violation of the non-disclosure agreement.

Field Service Fit for Duty

Yaskawa invests in equipment and technology to limit the physical exertion required for all jobs. The physical requirements for Yaskawa Field Service associates are:

  • Work Environment: Typical office environment for out in-house engineering. Factory installation sites ranging from typical office environment to cramped spaces, raised work platforms, and dusty, oily, poorly lit factory environments.
  • Physical Effort: Ability to work extended hours as needed to meet customer schedules. Ability to lift up to 40 lbs. (18kg) individually or up to 70 lbs. (32kg) jointly. Ability to stand for long periods of time, climb ladders and stairs, and work with computer screens for extended periods of time. Ability to work with basic hand tools to provide electrical installation support.
  • Mental Effort: Must be able to visualize hardware and software design concepts prior to implementation. Decision making requirements are moderately complex. Ability to react quickly in high‐pressure situations where the customers’ expectations can be very high.
  • Communication: Ability to communicate verbally and non‐verbally effectively to all types of people from non‐technical to highly technical associates and customers.
  • Sensory Abilities: Visual acuity sufficient to check work for quality and accuracy as well as the ability to read electrical, mechanical, and pneumatic schematics.

Yaskawa associates must provide evidence that they can perform these duties through demonstration or physical upon hire or transfer.

Field Service Drug and Alcohol Policy

As a Yaskawa associate who works at customer site, field service associates are bound by the safety rules and policies of both Yaskawa America, Inc. and the host site. Where a conflict occurs, the associate is subject to the more restrictive rule or policy.

Yaskawa’s complete Substance Abuse Policy (1300.70) is located in Company Policies that can be found in UltiPro using any connected device with the associate’s private logon credentials.

Following are additional requirements for Yaskawa associates working at customer locations:

  • Drug and Alcohol Screening
  • Per Yaskawa's Substance Abuse Policy, all associates are subject to preemployment and reasonable suspicion drug testing.

  • Due to the nature of work at the customer site, an immediate safety or health threat with irremediable consequence to the Yaskawa associate, the customer, or others may exist if Yaskawa associate is allowed to work under the influence of drugs or alcohol. Therefore, Yaskawa Field Service Associates may be subject to the host company’s random and/or post‐accident drug testing program.
    • Since the Yaskawa Substance Abuse Policy does not have a provision for random drug testing, Yaskawa Field Service associates may decline, without consequence, to go to customers who subject contractors to random drug testing.
  • Yaskawa associates who work in safety sensitive positions, including field service associates, must report to their supervisor if they are taking any over‐the‐counter or prescription medications. To protect the privacy of the associate, the name or type of education does not need to be reported. Instead, the associate may only report the potential side effects and adverse reactions of the medications.

Monitoring of Field Service Associates

No Yaskawa field service associate shall work out of site of another person who is knowledgeable of the hazards present and the proper emergency response. The monitoring person must observe from beyond the hazard area. For the nature of the work performed by Yaskawa, this boundary is defined as the farther of the arc flash protection boundary or the limited approach boundary determined from the shock and arc flash protection study.

The monitoring person should monitor the field service associate’s activities and behaviors to determine if he/she should be removed from the work site. Examples of these activities include, but are not limited to:

  • Failure to wear proper personal protective equipment,
  • Violation of safety rules,
  • Odors (e.g.:smell of alcohol or marijuana),
  • Irrational or unusual behavior,
  • Negligence or careless in operating equipment or machinery.

Notification of Fatigue

Yaskawa field service associates are responsible for ensuring they are physically and mentally fit to perform their job functions safely. If the associate is not able to perform their duties safely due to fatigue, or their physical or mental state, they are responsible for notifying their supervisor prior to performing work.

Revision History

Rev # Description Release Date Approved by
0 Initial Release 12/12/2016 Thurwanger
1 Added Process Safety Management 5/9/2017 Thurwanger
2 Added Confidentiality requirements 8/12/2018 Thurwanger
3 Added Field Service Fit for Duty, Field Service Drug and Alcohol Policy, and Notification of Fatigue 11/7/2019 Thurwanger

Program Review

Review Date Reviewed by Changes Required (Yes/No) Revision # if updated
2/15/2017 Thurwanger Yes 1
1/12/2018 Thurwanger Yes 2
1/18/2019 Thurwanger Yes 3
1/14/2020 Thurwanger No
1/26/2021 Thurwanger No
1/18/2022 Thurwanger No
1/13/2023 Thurwanger No
1/16/2024 Thurwanger No
1/21/2025 Thurwanger No

Policy Video