No company can thrive without a safe, secure work environment, and workplace safety is our overriding priority. Under this ideal, and based on our Safety and Health Basic Policy, we are aiming to eliminate industrial accidents
- We aim to achieve zero work-related accidents, and advance comprehensive and systematic safety measures.
- We promote the formation of a comfortable workplace environment, while securing employee safety and health.
- We comply with all related laws and operating procedures, and create workplaces with clear lines of responsibility concerning occupational safety, traffic safety, and occupational health, as well as safety and disaster prevention.
Under the above Basic Policy, through providing safety and health education, we raise the awareness of each employee and promote the creation of a corporate culture that places the highest priority on safety and health.
At Air Water, we have established a Central Safety and Health Committee to secure workplace safety and health. The committee meets regularly under the supervision of the director of the Safety and Health Management Headquarters.
The vice president of the Administrative Division acts as the director of the Safety and Health Management Headquarters, and is responsible for governing safety and health groupwide, and for eliminating work-related accidents. Meanwhile, the managing executive officer and general manager of the CSR Center functionsas the assistant director of the Safety and Health Management Headquarters, and assists the director.
In addition, committee members responsible for safety management and health, and the heads of the various safety and health departments, form the Central Health and Safety Committee, and the chairperson of the labor union’s Central Executive Committee also participates to reflect the workforce’s views in proceedings.
The central committee meetings minutes are disclosed internally to ensure broad dissemination of information.
No company can thrive without a safe, secure work environment, and workplace safety is our overriding priority. In our mid-term management plan NEXT-2020 Final, we are aiming to reduce the rate of accidents associated with days away from work to 0.90 or less by fiscal 2021 (compared to 1.72 in fiscal 2018), and we are currently engaged in efforts to improve safety and health in the workplace.
The Air Water Group’s businesses correspond to the following categories outlined by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare: Chemical and allied products; Manufacture of food; Road freight transport; Wholesale trade, general merchandise; and Miscellaneous manufacturing industries. For “Chemical and allied products,” in fiscal 2020 we achieved a frequency rate of 1.29, and in all relevant businesses, we achieved a frequency rate of 1.57. Meanwhile, the total number of accidents associated with days away from work in fiscal 2020 (including accidents during commutes) decreased from 85 in the previous year to 78.
*The number of people involved in accidents resulting in death or injury per one million total working hours.
Frequency rate＝（Deaths and injuries resulting from work-related accidents／Total working hours×1,000,000）
The Air Water Group’s priority focus in fiscal 2020 was on preventing work-related accidents involving falls from height, limbs pinched or caught in machinery, and falls. Further, to allow for safety audits in environments where on-site audits proved a challenge, we implemented online, remote audits using smart glasses.
1.Preventing work-related accidents involving falls from height, limbs pinched or caught in machinery, and falls
- Set daily and intensive training month (June) activities, and communicated them to each company and department
- Training for staff in charge of safety at workplaces with high accident ratesDistributed disaster prevention/educational posters and work-related disaster prevention check sheets to each company and department
2.Segment-specific safety training
- Hosted safety training sessions especially for departments involved in agriculture and food products and logistics
3.Foreman educational courses
- Hosted educational courses for foremen which included information on basic workplace safety matters such as risk assessments and work procedures (twice)
4.Other
- Hosted training sessions for employees involved in high pressure gas safety and engineering (September)
- Hosted simulation-based safety training sessions using VR and compact, portable equipment (for new graduates)
- Provided thorough guidance on the three basic safety rules for machinery and equipment (through safety audits, etc.)
Air Water provides its employees with a variety of safety training programs. Every year, we hold safety staff training sessions in which the Group’s health and safety staff participate, while training sessions for employees involved in high-pressure gas safety and engineering are provided for those working with high-pressure gas. As we take steps to reduce the incidence of occupational accidents, we hold accident prevention workshops for non-routine work, risk-assessment training sessions for work with chemicals, and risk-assessment training sessions for machinery and work processes.
Air Water solicits all employees, including those at Group companies, to submit safety slogans intended to raise safety awareness during National Safety Week, which is held annually in July. This event offers employees a good opportunity to consider safety at work and in the home. Those offering the best submissions will receive commendations and will have their slogans printed on safety posters at each workplace. At the same time, we recommend active initiatives as a company unit and commend companies with a high slogan submission rate and those companies that have submitted many slogans, suggesting they be recognized as outstanding companies under our Group health and safety initiatives.
Air Water distributes safety information through its internal network to promote activities to minimize accidents and promote occupational health and safety initiatives in Group workplaces. In the event of an accident with lost work time that could lead to a more serious incident, we perform a prompt risk analysis to clarify the direct cause of any such accidents and devise measures to prevent a recurrence. This information is disseminated throughout the Group.
By sharing information and publicizing it at all workplaces, we raise awareness of the workplace environment and spread it laterally to improve the workplace and prevent similar accidents from occurring.
Air Water believes that the relationship between labor and management is like the two wheels of a bicycle. By respecting each other’s positions, maintaining a certain distance, and engaging in an open and mutual exchange of opinions, we strive to build a strong cooperative relationship that always moves in a positive direction.
In addition to participating in the Central Safety and Health Committee , the Air Water labor union holds Group health and safety exchange meetings every year to raise awareness of the Group’s health and safety initiatives.
Among its other efforts, the labor union confirms the implementation status and contents of the Central Safety and Health Committee , proposes improvements to the company, implements appropriate work time management efforts in collaborations between labor and management, and implements employee-centered health and safety improvements.
