Management of Occupational Health and Safety

Basic Approach and Policy

Nabtesco Group ESH Basic Policy and Management Targets

The Nabtesco Group conducts environmental, safety and health (ESH) activities in line with the basic policy and targets shown in the following table. The ESH activities are conducted by Nabtesco, Nabtesco Group companies and also by the partner companies and subcontractors operating on the premises of the Group’s plants. The basic policy on ESH activities has been approved by the Board of Directors and the Group has established the ESH Committee under the direct control of the CEO as an organization to lead the ESH activities across the Group.

ESH basic policy

  • Always make safety the first priority based on the principle of respect for human life: Safety is a basic requirement for business activities
  • It is a responsibility of the entire production line: Each employee is responsible for him/herself and his/her co-workers
  • ESH should be a built-in operation: ESH = Integrated with your ordinary job
Targets
  • Environment: Zero cases of environmental problems
  • Safety: Zero cases of industrial accidents
  • Accident prevention: Zero cases of explosions or fire
  • Health: Zero cases of occupational diseases

System

ESH Promotion Framework

Measures

Occupational Health and Safety Management System

Nabtesco Group's major plants have established occupational health and safety management systems (OHSMS) and use them in their operations. We also intend to improve the occupational health and safety level of the plants through the annual audits carried out by the certification bodies.

We will continue to conduct our preventive safety management through risk assessments and nurture a safety-oriented mindset at each workplace, while improving the quality of our newcomer education and enhancing the education to improve employees’ risk sensitivity, thereby achieving zero occupational accidents at our workplaces.

OHSMS certification acquired by the plants

Certified
according to:
Railroad Products Company Kobe Plant ISO45001
Power Control Company Tarui Plant ISO45001
Precision Equipment Company Tsu Plant ISO45001
Aerospace Company Gifu Plant ISO45001
Marine Control Systems Company Seishin Plant

(Including part of Power Control Company and Railroad Products Company)

ISO45001
Accessibility Innovations Company Konan Plant ISO45001
Nabtesco Automotive Corporation Yamagata Plant ISO45001

Activities

The Nabtesco Group complies with the Industrial Safety and Health Act and other related laws to create a safe working environment.

We have established a safety and health management framework in each office, allocated a manager of safety and health as well as a person in charge of safety management to take a variety of measures, such as periodic health examinations and industrial doctors’ visits to the workplace. In addition, we hold the Safety and Health Committee monthly to report on accidents and disasters and perform safety patrols. We are constantly taking measures to prevent accidents and carry out safety awareness improvement activities.

In FY2022, we held a seminar on the risk assessment of chemical substances for one of the Group companies and verified measures to be taken to address issues that had been identified as insufficiently managed chemical materials and devices used at the plants. In addition, volatile organic compound detectors were introduced in order to improve occupational safety and thoroughly remove the risks of chemical materials. Also, six plants of Nabtesco Corporation received fire risk diagnosis and then took measures and made improvements for the items that had been pointed out to be not well managed in the diagnosis.

Situation Regarding Occupational Accidents

In the Nabtesco Group, the rate of occupational accidents (frequency rate) has dropped lower than the average in all domestic industries and the domestic manufacturing industry. This trend is stable and low. The frequency rate of occupational diseases is zero. However, we have not achieved our goal of zero occupational accidents. Consequently, we work on Safety Culture Development Activities to further increase safety awareness.

In FY2022 we worked on reducing the number of occupational accidents including commuting accidents to zero. As a result, the occupational accident incidence (frequency rate) turned downward to 0.42. In the event that an occupational accident happens at any of our sites, we will inform all the sites of the fact. Every time we have an occupational accident, we hold a meeting to clarify the cause of the accident and implement measures to prevent the reoccurrence of similar accidents across the bases. Moving forward, through the Safety Culture Development Activities, we will enhance activities not only at plants but also at distributors.

Occupational accident incidence (frequency rate)

Occupational accident incidence (frequency rate)

* The overall industry and manufacturing average data were published in Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, “2018 Occupational Accident Trend Survey.”

Creating a Safety Culture

At the Nabtesco Group, we have been working to create a safety culture and to build a safety culture unique to Nabtesco.
These activities are composed of the three measures of “a stratified safety education system,” “safety model workplaces,” and “environmental safety fora.” Through these, we aim for “zero occupational accidents” by building an “organization” that can create a safety culture.

Activities to create a safety culture

Measure Contents
Stratified safety education system By conducting safety education at existing manufacturing sites as well as at the managerial level, safety awareness can take hold among individuals without differences between workplaces and divisions
Safety model workplaces One workplace per factory is selected for especially focused reinforcement of safety education and measures. We will analyze the effects of this initiative and expand the contents to other locations while fine-tuning it
Environmental safety fora Once a year, we invite experts for a seminar and report the results of the safety model workplaces

Education and Public Outreach on Health and Safety

We convene a Safety Practitioner Liaison Group once a year, sharing information about safety within the whole business group, reinforcing and expanding safety patrols at each business location, conducting hazard prediction training to increase hazard recognition, making near-miss suggestions, doing public outreach on safety, etc.

Education on Health and Safety of FY2022

Name of meetings Times held Participants
Safety Practitioner Liaison Group 1 times 96 total
Safety Manager Training 1 times 41 total
Safety Youth Training 1 times 143 total
Safety Practitioner Liaison Group

Safety Practitioner Liaison Group

Safety Manager Training

Safety Manager Training

Safety Youth Training

Safety Youth Training

We have safety training courses for both managerial level employees and young employees. Leveraging web-based training courses, we have built an environment where many employees can easily attend training.

We also conduct safety education using a variety of tools in addition to group training. These tools include VR training simulators to improve hazard prediction capability (hazard sensitivity), which are principally used by on-site workers.

Safety poster

Safety poster

Moreover, to address a diverse workforce (such as an increase in foreigners and senior workers) as a result of a decline in the number of working-age people due to the aging population and declining birthrate as well as globalization, efforts should be made in many companies, including the Nabtesco Group, to prevent work-related accidents such as those attributable to differences in languages and values when working with foreigners, and injuries (e.g. being caught in manufacturing equipment) and falls that may occur to seniors due to their physical decline. We prepare easy-to-understand educational tools and enhance safety training courses.

We are committed to ensuring the safety of our employees in case of accidents or disasters during commutes by holding traffic safety classes, placing safety monitors, posting hazard maps, conducting traffic hazard prediction training, etc.

Disaster Prevention Initiatives

At the Nabtesco Group, we systematically strengthen our factory buildings to withstand potential earthquakes. Moreover, in addition to conducting general disaster drills, we also conduct night drills, earthquake drills, and BCP initial-response drills at some of our plants, and we plan to continue to expand this in the future.

Evaluation of Safety and Health Risks Associated with New Businesses and Projects

The Nabtesco Group conducts risk assessments relating to ESH in each stage from research and development to product design, production, distribution/sales, use of products and disposal. The Group makes it mandatory to assess safety and health risks associated with new businesses, product development, production/manufacturing (new construction/addition of factories/facilities), M&A and other new projects and to report the assessment results before implementation. In FY2022, we conducted ESH risk assessments of 4 businesses and projects.