We annually create the Shin-Etsu Group Environmental Safety Management Plan in accordance with the Responsible Care Codes¹ and set goals using numerical numbers.

Each of Group's plant clarifies every single possibility that could cause any kind of injury or illness and works hard to mitigate those risks.
If it is found that there are intolerable risks in the workplace, various safety measures are taken, and examples include providing workers with individual protective tools, posting safety signs in dangerous areas, and locking out² and tagging out³. Safety devices are attached to machinery and equipment, and other safety measures include making machinery and equipment fail-safe⁴ and foolproof⁵, interlocking⁶ them, and putting up protective walls. In addition, there are KY⁷ hazard prediction activities e.g. pointing and calling prior to work and reconfirming safety.
Furthermore, the workers are taking measures against unsafe areas by regularly collecting "close calls and other incidents of concern" from case examples of workers who have experienced close-call incidents and matters of concern. At the same time, we share our risk information and prevent similar accidents by disclosing this risk information internally and externally.

 

Prevention of serious accidents is a top priority in the Group, and we continue to work on a variety of safety and disaster prevention activities. Countermeasures are taken against dangerous places identified through process risk assessments, and pipes and equipment that have become obsolete are maintained and managed, mainly through scheduled maintenance.
Since FY2013 we have worked to enhance safety management by performing risk evaluations and by implementing effective safety measures, particularly of envisaged abnormal plant conditions.
The Company has been participating in the Japan Society for Safety Engineering's Japan Safety Competency Center since its inauguration in FY2012. Each plant uses the Center's "Safety Evaluation System" to further improve the situation and works even harder on the Process Safety and Prevention Plan.

To keep plant operation constantly safe, it is important for each workers working on our Group’s operation sites to improve his /her skills and knowledge and be aware of danger.
For that purpose we provide safety education on the risks of handling materials and processes and possible dangers involving processes as well as simulating possible dangers for employee and contractors. In addition, we work on handing down operation at skills for manufacturing equipment.
Furthermore, we are working to foster an awareness of safety by creating a workplace culture in which operation processes and rules are observed.
We plan and conduct emergency drills for abnormal situations such as major earthquakes or fires.

In order to confirm that activities such as environmental conservation, occupational safety and health, process safety and prevention plan are carried out as planned, the Group conducts an internal audit at domestic and overseas operation sites. In FY 2018, audits were conducted at 25 domestic and overseas operation sites.The results of audits are also reported to top management. In referring to cases from other companies in FY2013, we communicated revisions to "Nonroutine Work Safety Measures" within the company. As in FY2017, their implementation status in FY2018 was chosen as a special audit theme.

We are working to prevent possible diseases through encouraging employees to take health checks, offering health counseling on life style diseases as well as promoting measures on mental health and activities for health promotion and fitness. In addition, we are conducting prevention of and raising awareness toward infectious diseases including new strains of influenza.
Our head office and branch offices have a Health Committee, and each plant has a Safety and Health Committee. The committee works to improve the workplace environment and to promote worker's health with advice and information from industrial physicians. We also have special programs such as physical fitness checks and seminars which help workers to maintain and improve their physical conditions.
Furthermore, we have set up Family Health Consultation with our health insurance union and an insurance company. It is available 24 hours a day. This consultation can also be used by the family members of employees.

In FY2018, there were no serious accidents but four lost-time injuries in the Group companies in Japan. We have analyzed causes for each accident and reviewed safety on handling hazardous materials and possible hazardous operations to eliminate possible injuries and also secure equipment safety, and have implemented appropriate safety measures.
Also, we are working on revising the operation manuals to help prevent re-occurrence of the accidents.
We will continue to work on preventing work-related accidents complying with what was described above.
The occurrence of work-related accidents is reported to the Directors and division heads at monthly business report meetings.