Promotion of Process safety and Disaster Prevention and Industrial Health and Safety
Policy and Philosophy
Health and safety initiatives are designed to ensure that employees work in a safe and healthy environment. As a foundation for a company’s sustainable growth, health and safety is a material issue that should be prioritized in corporate management. Chemical manufacturers are required to implement a higher level of health and safety management for the chemical substances they handle and their work environment (Responsible Care). At each office, the Health & Safety Committee plays a central role in increasing employee awareness of health and safety, reflecting feedback from employees, and promoting occupational accident prevention measures and health promotion activities. The Head Office is involved in activities through its connections with external organizations and experts, such as participation in the Occupational Safety and Health Subcommittee of the Japan Chemical Industry Association and the Chemical Protective Glove Research Group, contracts with industrial health and safety consultants, and joint research with a university professor, and supports each office. In this way, we promote company-wide health and safety activities through collaboration inside and outside Kumiai.
Health and Safety Management System
In Kumiai, a General Health and Safety Manager is appointed at each office to oversee the following matters.
- Matters related to measures for preventing dangers or health hazards to employees
- Matters related to implementing education for the safety or health of employees
- Matters related to implementing health checkups and other matters related to health management
- Matters related to investigating the cause of occupational accidents and measures for preventing recurrence
- Other matters related to health and safety management
We also established a Health & Safety Committee for increasing the awareness of employees on health and safety, for reflecting feedback from employees, and for promoting activities to improve occupational accident prevention measures and promote health. People are appointed at each office as needed to handle matters related to health and safety including managers, responsible individuals, and industrial physicians.
In addition, starting from FY2024, our head office, Responsible Care Promotion Section, has begun taking the following measures to support the activities of each business location.
- In order to make it easier to visualize the progress and results of safety and health activities and to review activities, the format of the annual safety and health plan will be changed and unified.
- Use in-house groupware to share information from safety and health committee reports at each business location.
Initiatives for Preventing Occupational Accidents
We analyze the circumstances and root causes of occupational accidents, and develop and implement measures to prevent their recurrence. Reports on the status of accidents and areas for improvement are also created and managed. These reports are shared with each office via in-house groupware and are utilized to help prevent similar accidents from recurring.
Number of occupational accidents (New)
| Fiscal Year | Commuting accident |
Work accident | Total | Accidents requiring time off from work |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 5 | 5 | 10 | 0 |
| 2022 | 4 | 15 | 19 | 1 |
| 2023 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 1 |
| 2024 | 7 | 16 | 23 | 8 |
| Total | 17 | 42 | 59 | 10 |
- Direct employees of KUMIAI CHEMICAL INDUSTRY
Examples of New Health and Safety Initiatives
Establishment of Responsible Care Promotion Regulations
We have added the "Responsible Care Promotion Regulations" to our company regulations.
The purpose of these regulations is to contribute to the prompt implementation of responsible care activities by defining the necessary matters regarding the composition, operation, and promotion system of the Responsible Care (RC) Promotion Committee, the RC Promotion Committee Working Group, and the Industrial Accident and Accident Prevention Study Group.
Occupational Accident and Accident Response Working Group
We establish an Occupational Accident and Accident Response Working Group. This decision was based on a directive from top management, which stressed the need for a system to properly evaluate and approve the resumption of operations from an independent standpoint, in addition to involving the relevant department, to ensure a prompt resumption in the event of a serious occupational accident or incident.
The working group is composed of department-led teams responsible for the administrative secretariat, customer relations, root cause investigation, and recurrence prevention. To provide an independent perspective, the Sustainability Promotion Department, which reports directly to the Senior Managing Executive Officer, participates as a response team from the Head Office. With the advice of external experts, we will clarify the cause of the accident and establish appropriate safety measures, as well as review work procedures and provide safety training to workers.
Introduction of HAZOP
We introduced HAZOP* as a method for assessing the risk of explosions and fires in chemical synthesis processes. To implement this, we signed a support contract with an external expert and attended a two-day training course, which included lectures and practical exercises. Starting with No.4 Plant of the Shizuoka Factory, where the rupture accident occurred, we are rolling out HAZOP across the factory to further improve safety.
- HAZOP (Hazard and Operability Study): A method for assessing the safety of complex processes and equipment.
