Occupational Health and Safety - Prevention of Occupational Accidents

For zero occupational accidents

In 2022, employees at Resonac and its subcontracting firms in Japan suffered nine lost time injuries while those at Resonac and its subcontracting firms overseas saw 28 lost time injuries. Analysis by accident type shows a trend toward more accidents involving employees being pinned between or caught up in equipment or slipping/tripping/falling. As the global safety awareness survey revealed that there is still room for improvement, the following measures are being implemented with the Group-wide activity goal of building a safety culture that prioritizes safety and encourages mutual awareness.

• We will establish a safety management code of conduct for managers, a safety code of conduct for employees, and ten rules for safe behavior and provide education on the same, and offer opportunities to reaffirm the convictions that "safety and compliance take precedence over everything else" and that “accidents and disasters can absolutely be reduced to zero”.
• We will initiate a Safety Communication Program (SCP) under which managers identifying unsafe acts or unsafe behaviors will have conversations with the employees involved on why these are happening and will work together with them to improve the level of safety.
• We have set guidelines for risk assessment and carry out risk assessments on occupational health and safety and on chemical substances to reduce the related workplace risks and prevent chemical substance-related incidents. In order to gain deeper insight into the fundamental causes of occupational accidents that have occurred and to promote inherent safety, we are adopting an engineering analysis method. We also collect, analyze and share information about minor incidents as well as lost-time and non-lost-time incidents to prevent their reoccurrence.
• For the development of human resources with high safety awareness, we are reviewing our safety education system and working to provide employees with more educational opportunities.
• In consideration of the fact that incidents involving elderly workers, such as falls, show a tendency to increase, we are holding seminars on preventing falls, which include physical tests and exercise, and are also launching measures in reference to the “Age-Friendly Guidelines” set by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare.
• We enhance safety education by using risk simulation facilities and provide non-technical skills^*1 education. Moreover, we are making preparations to provide employees with hands-on experience of past incidents through a VR system.
• We continuously give support and safety instructions to partner companies through proactive opinion exchange via the safety council, joint patrols and RC audits of the companies, thereby helping our partners enhance their safety activities. For workers engaged in short-term construction on our premises, we confirm their safety measures in advance, provide them with adequate safety education for their work on the premises, conduct on-site patrols and hold safety meetings for the safe completion of the work.

• *1 Non-technical skills means general skills that workers (and their instructors) need to have to prevent human error and ensure safety, including the skills to understand the situation, communicate effectively, and provide leadership.