Work Safety & Health ; Health Management

When we commence new operations, introduce new equipment, or change existing operations or equipment, we conduct Risk Assessment Safety Inspections and carry out safety policies based on their results. We also conduct HAZOP^* Safety Assessments on our chemical processes and reaction equipment to analyze the primary factors behind hazards.

• *HAZOP: Hazard and Operability Study: A method of safety assessment for chemical plants which allows for extraction and assessment of the potential hazards associated with chemical reactions

In the form of an internal audit based on the annual plan, Nippon Kayaku conducts Environment, Safety and Health Diagnostic Checks for each business site and a section of Group companies. In principle, these Diagnostic Checks are conducted with the participation of either the Labor Union Head Office or the relevant union branch of the inspected business site or Group company.
The Environment, Health and Safety Diagnostic Check team, comprised of the Environmental Safety Division, environment safety managers and labor union members, confirms progress reports and activities related to Responsible Care policies through discussion, document reviews and onsite inspection patrols. By assessing problematic points including from union perspectives are we able to devise improvements to safety and health standards with a united labor-management stance.
FY2024 saw us conduct these Diagnostic Checks onsite. With the use of a Responsible Care Progress Confirmation Chart did we prioritize the checking of progress on Responsible Care Activities, the unearthing of potential risks based on root-cause investigations of past accident cases with a view to taking recurrence prevention measures, and the extent of risk management in the production process.
The future will see us continue to value labor-management conversations as we seek to prepare a workplace environment in which employees healthy in mind and body can work while feeling at ease.

In line with the law and our Annual Responsible Care Plan, we deliver Safety and Health education tailored to employee jobs and job levels. Such education is focused on new hires and newly transferred employees at each business site. Among the vast range of programs we offer are: induction education at the time of transfer, pre-work-commencement safety education to transferred employees, safety education for new managers, education for foremen and supervisors at every plant, education on chemical substance risk management and the handling of such chemicals, and even education on the basics of the relevant science and laws.
Our delivery methods constitute an efficient and effective mix of online (E-learning and external lectures) and offline formats (group sessions and on-the-job training) aimed at raising safety and health consciousness among employees.

Every Nippon Kayaku Group employee must undergo that most basic form of health management known as the “Periodical Health Check”. An occupational health physician will then decide on the employees in need of a health interview, and provide advice and instructions on health management.
We also lay on special health checks for employees who handle designated chemicals. The toxicity data on the chemicals they handle has been input into a database which forms the kernel of our risk assessments designed to prevent accidents and health hazards. Another initiative sees us promote THPs^* for “building a healthy body and mind” at every business site in order to maintain and improve employee health. By reassessing the individual lifestyle habits of employees and promoting continual and systematic commitment to health, we are aiming for a situation in which everyone can live more healthily. Physical strength tests, health management competitions, group walks and hiking are also part of our health agenda.

• *THP (Total Health Promotion Plan): An initiative based on the five-step PDCA cycle of Health-building Plan, Health Measurement, Health Instruction, Health Activities, and Lifestyle Habit Improvement and Workplace Revitalization

If improved work productivity is to be compatible with successful creation of added value, then a workplace which allows employees to work energetically is just as indispensable as physical and mental health.
2005 saw Nippon Kayaku’s then-president release the Declaration on the Introduction of a Mental Health Care System and give thorough instruction to company management. Of importance to mental health care is for every employee to continually gather proper knowledge and recognition of the issues at hand so that they may swiftly detect mentally-suffering colleagues and work on preventative measures. At that point was emphasis placed on the initiative of “thinking of ways to prevent mental suffering as a top priority.”
Enlisting the help of guest lecturers from the EAP^*, we commenced our Mental Health Training in FY2005, and in FY2006 devised a 3-year plan which made such training available to every employee. We have also set up e-learning initiatives to ease access to the training for the hearing impaired and for salespersons or other employee groups who are difficult to gather in a single place. For those obliged to take time off work due to mental health issues, we have set up a Return-to-Work Program. Links are forged between the employee’s supervisor, an occupational health physician and a counselor as part of a smooth Return-to-Work Support System that places priority on relapse prevention. 2 In line with revisions to Occupational Health and Safety Law, we began conducting stress checks on an annual basis in FY2015, with an employee take-up rate of over 97% in every year since. (Indeed, the take-up rate for FY2024 reached 96.6%). Stress check results not only allow us to ascertain an individual’s stress situation, but to analyze each organization, grasp high-stress workplaces and take follow-up actions.

• *EAP: Employee Assistance Program