Yamada North America

Yamada North America, Inc. (YNA), an advanced manufacturing company, was established in 1988. They were the first Yamada plant to be established overseas. YNA has grown to become one of the leading suppliers of automotive parts to respective companies such as Honda and Subaru.

Two of their Operating philosophies are: Respect people and seek understanding and cooperation between each other and the community. Endeavor to make a safe and comfortable workplace.

Each year, Yamada holds a Honda Week of Service event that brings together all Honda Companies and suppliers in a coordinated effort to support local communities through service or volunteer work. In 2021 they were honored to earn the 2021 Business Partnership Award for their relationship with TAC (The Abilities Connection). TAC is a facility that helps individuals with learning disabilities.

Six years ago, Yamada North America changed their TPA/MCO to Sedgwick (formerly CareWorks Comp) and, in spite of name changes, still has the same team with no impact to service or skills. Yamada and Sedgwick started quarterly in-person meetings and developed a plan to improve the claims and reduce BWC premiums. Claims were high, and a new direction was needed. Sedgwick, under the direction of YNA’s new EHS Assistant Manager, Steve Saunders, was able to make dramatic, cost-saving improvements in YNA's workers' compensation program.

Successes include:

• Premium savings of $187,487.
• OSHA recordable rate of 1.4%, down from 4%. 

Sedgwick reviewed how claims were being managed and gave Yamada the necessary tools to improve employee impact and return to work. Sedgwick also recommended the use of an incident reporting software to manage claims and any accidents.

Sedgwick reviewed all BWC program options and helped Yamada choose what was best for the company. They are currently taking advantage of the 15K Program, Transitional Work Bonus and Industry Specific Safety Program. 

Safety is number one with this company and it shows with the safety record they have achieved.  Yamada started a 7 station training center that teaches all new associates how it would feel getting caught in a machine without actually getting hurt. Each machine demonstrates what can happen or what could happen. These machines were developed to provide a hands on approach to safety. After the start of these new training cells, Yamada has seen a reduction in accidents start and the safety involvement increase when daily audits are done. They have increased the training cell to 11 stations which has resulted in continued improvements to the safety culture of the organization.