The Nabtesco Group performs environmental, safety and health (ESH) activities in accordance with the basic policy and targets shown in the table. The ESH activities pertain to Nabtesco and all its group companies (including its partner companies located on the same premises) and have established the Group ESH Committee under the direct control of the CEO as an organization led by the whole group.

• Related linkESH Promotion Framework

Because the Gifu Plant, Tarui Plant and Tsu Plant place a greater emphasis on processes than other plants, they have received OHSAS 18001 certification and are utilizing the certificate for the establishment and operation of the occupational safety and health management system. In addition, through the annual audit that is carried out by the certification agency, the plants are working to improve their levels of occupational safety and health.

We will continue our active safety management through risk assessments, aiming to foster a safety mindset in each workplace, further improve the quality of newcomer education and enhance the risk sensitivity improvement education to promote the development of a workplace with zero disasters.

Plants certified under the occupational safety and health management system

• * OHSAS 18001 Acquisition ratio is 35%. (FY 2017)

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 FY2019, the risk assessment of chemical materials, which was conducted at all Nabtesco Corporation plants in FY2017 and FY2018, was expanded to the Group companies. The purpose of the diagnosis was to understand the current situation of the chemical materials and devices to be used at the plants and thoroughly remove the risks of chemical materials. We are taking action against items that were pointed out as being insufficiently managed and performing activities to thoroughly remove the risks of chemical materials.

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, which we started a survey in FY2018, is zero. However, we have not achieved our goal of zero occupational accidents. Consequently, we began Safety Culture Development Activities to further increase safety awareness.
In FY2019, accidents increased at distributors, including those of the Group companies that became the subject to aggregation from FY2019. 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)

• * The overall industry and manufacturing average data were published in Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, “2018 Occupational Accident Trend Survey.”
• * The figures showing FY2015 results were produced by setting the period as January–December 2015 and calculating it as twelve months.
  • Related linkIndependent Assurance on Environmental and Social Data

At the Nabtesco Group, we have been working to create a safety culture since FY2017 and to build a safety culture unique to Nabtesco.

These activities are composed of the four measures of “STOP3 activities,” “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

We convene a Safety Practitioner Liaison Group twice 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.

Safety Practitioner Liaison Group

Safety Manager Training

Safety Youth Training

Safety poster

Safety training courses began in FY2017. Because of their popularity, the courses increased the number of trainees significantly, with safety manager training being held twice annually since FY2018 and with safety youth training being held twice annually since FY2019.
We conduct safety education using a variety of tools, such as booklets and videos. In FY 2019, with under the keyword "risk prediction," we conducted educational activities such as the display of posters.
Moreover, reflecting a decline in the number of working-age people due to the aging population and low birthrate, many companies, including the Nabtesco Group, are expected to hire an increasingly diverse workforce, including foreign and senior workers, going forward. Efforts therefore should be made 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 plan to prepare easy-to-understand educational tools and enhance safety training courses.

We are also 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.

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 expand this in the future.

Continuing from last year, we conducted fire risk evaluations at Group companies in fiscal 2019 as well. The aim was to understand what emergency facilities and fire prevention management are in place at each company and thoroughly eliminate all fire risks. We are looking into measures to deal with instances where management was deemed insufficient and are rectifying the situation according to order of priority. We will continue to work to thoroughly eliminate all fire risks.

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 FY2017, we conducted ESH risk assessments of nine businesses and projects.

Efforts to Eliminate Mental Health Problems

Joint meeting held by the Personnel Department, nurses and the Health Insurance Society

For a corporation to achieve a growth, it is essential that it have a physically and mentally healthy workforce that can drive the organization forward. We have three nurses in residence to provide counseling as needed to employees experiencing mental health problems and help them return to work. For employees whose workload is considered high, the nurses monitor their mental health through regular interviews. In order to promote the mental health of employees in a more proactive way, we also host various seminars and lecture events on a regular basis as well as run the Employee Assistance Program (EAP), which is available to employees on overseas assignment and their family members.

In line with the revised Industrial Safety and Health Act, in FY2016 we conducted stress checks for the first time. The rate of employees who received the check in FY2019 was 94.9%, a high stress check recipient rate among companies conducting the test, according to the tabulation by a test outsourcer. The stress check revealed that 11.5% of our employees have a high level of stress, which is 1.5 points higher than average. We are working to improve our workplace environments by making physicians available for consultation and conducting follow-up measures. In addition, we aim to reduce the rate of employees with a high level of stress to less than 10% by providing direct training at workplaces under a high level of stress and making improvements by conducting interviews.

Countermeasures against Lifestyle Diseases

Improving the lifestyles of employees who are suffering or at risk of metabolic syndrome, one of the causes of lifestyle-related diseases, is important not only for safeguarding the health of those employees but also for reducing future medical costs.

We oblige employees found by physical examination to have a high risk of brain or heart disease to receive health guidance. We also impose certain restrictions on overtime and holiday work hours of such employees. The Nabtesco Group is committed to raising its employees’ health awareness and improving their actual health status through ensuring workplace environments are conducive to supporting employees with health risks and using labor-management meetings as opportunities for regularly reporting the implementation status of health guidance and working hour restrictions.

We have also been reviewing the content of the examination for lifestyle-related diseases to ensure that employees find it easy to undergo, and aim to increase the rate of employees who receive the examination.

Measures for Employees Travelling Abroad from Japan

For employees travelling abroad from Japan, we provide crisis management training, mainly concerning medical arrangements before travelling abroad, health risks and medical information while abroad, and safety measures, and call attention to the information on the spreading of infectious diseases, including tuberculosis, dengue, and other global health issues, in the areas they are travelling to. We also oblige employees to be vaccinated at the company’s expense to protect themselves from vaccine-preventable infections before traveling, and require that employees take physical examinations twice a year at the company’s expense while abroad, so we can understand the health status of employees on overseas assignments.