Occupational Safety and Health

Preventing Occupational Accidents
Enhancing Our Occupational Safety and Health Management System
Prevention of Slips, Trips, and Falls
Feeling Danger Physically: Experiential Learning
Training Safety Technicians
Safety Awards

Preventing Occupational Accidents

Kaneka Group has set out Zero Accident Principles, requiring every employee to follow them without exception and to act in ways that build a strong safety culture.

Zero Accident Principles

All people, you and me, are indispensable
We ensure everyone is working safely.
[Pledge of zero accidents]
Safety is everyone’s responsibility
We do not miss sparing the time to seek safety.
[Participation in safety]
There is no trick to safety
We always value a fundamental approach to it.
[Adherence to safety basics]
Be aware of potential danger
We endeavor to eliminate safety risks
[Safety in advance]
Where there is carelessness, there is the possibility of an accident
We do not allow even a small chance of negligence.
[99%, yet 0%]

ESG safety and quality inspections confirm the status of on-site safety management at manufacturing sites and the implementation of safety activities based on the key policies of the Safety Committee. Areas requiring improvement are shared between the head offices and manufacturing sites. We draft improvement plans with a one-year timeframe and implement PDCA cycles throughout the year.
In 2023, occupational accidents frequently occurred due to insufficient safety awareness, with the number of incidents remaining flat over the past three years. Kaneka Group’s accident frequency rate worsened by 0.07 points year on year to 0.42. However, the accident severity rate improved by 0.01 points due to a decrease in the number of serious accidents. We will continue to enhance each employee’s safety awareness and prevent occupational accidents by advancing safety activities that adhere to the Zero Accident Principles, such as improving risk sensitivity and ensuring equipment safety.

Accidents Resulting / Not Resulting in Lost Time

Note: The number of occupational accidents includes those among employees at Kaneka and partner companies working in the Kaneka Group.

Accident Frequency Rate

Accident Frequency Rate : An indicator that shows the frequency of occupational accidents that caused death and/or injury by indicating the number of casualties per total 1 million actual working hours.

Scope:Includes manufacturing sites with regular employees, contract employees, and temporary employees dispatched from other companies. The Tomatoh (Hokkaido) Manufacturing Site, completed in August 2024, is not included in 2023 results. Employees seconded to or from other companies and employees of partner companies are not included.

Accident Severity Rate

Accident Severity Rate :An indicator that shows the level of severity of occupational accidents by indicating the number of lost work days per total 1,000 working hours. The number of lost work days is calculated as equivalent to the number of days lost from work due to an accident resulting in work absence.

Scope:Includes manufacturing sites with regular employees, contract employees, and temporary employees dispatched from other companies. The Tomatoh (Hokkaido) Manufacturing Site, completed in August 2024, is not included in 2023 results. Employees seconded to or from other companies and employees of partner companies are not included.

Enhancing Our Occupational Safety and Health Management System

Our all parent manufacturing sites acquired Occupational Safety and Health Management System (OSHMS) certification from the Japan Industrial Safety & Health Association (JISHA) in fiscal 2007, and have continued our efforts to enhance these systems.

OSHMS Certifications

Manufacturing Site	Location	Certification Date	Certification No.
Takasago Manufacturing Site	Hyogo	March 10, 2008	08-28-13
Osaka Manufacturing Site	Osaka	August 21, 2007	07-27-10
Shiga Manufacturing Site	Shiga	January 15, 2008	08-25-6
Kashima Manufacturing Site	Ibaraki	December 13, 2010	10-8-26

Prevention of Slips, Trips, and Falls

Over the past five years (2019 to 2023), the most frequent occupational accidents have been slips and falls and entrapment/entanglement. In recent years, there has been an increasing trend in accidents involving slips and falls. To prevent these, we are focusing on improving the working environment and enhancing the awareness of potential dangers among workers at domestic group companies with a high number of occupational accidents. We are undertaking the following two initiatives.

Improving the Work Environment

In each company, model areas were designated, and concentrated improvements were made to locations prone to tripping, such as stairs and steps (improvements were made in 134 areas and 216 locations across 50 manufacturing sites).
The ideal model area will be shared company-wide as a best practice.

Improvement examples

Before improvement	After improvement

Raising awareness of potential hazards

We use IT tools to measure each person’s physical traits and make their risk of falling visible.
The program combines measurement, analysis, and targeted exercises to lower fall risk. After a few months, we measure again to check the impact of the exercises and refine the process through a PDCA cycle. This initiative has been rolling out in stages since fiscal 2023.

StA2BLE™ is a registered trademark of UNTRACKED Corporation.
(Photo courtesy of UNTRACKED Corporation)

Feeling Danger Physically: Experiential Learning

Kaneka Group is pursuing hands-on learning to enhance sensitivity to risks. In addition to conventional hands-on safety experience equipment, we introduced virtual reality-based learning equipment that allows participants to experience 17 simulation scenarios, including crashes, electric shocks, and explosions. Through this initiative, we are working to increase safety awareness.
In fiscal 2023, 1,510 individuals participated in the training.

Training Safety Technicians

Kaneka is committed to maintaining a safe and secure factory environment by implementing more advanced risk assessments and engineering measures. In fiscal 2023, we launched a new Plant Safety Technology Training program aimed at developing safety engineers capable of addressing these challenges.
In this training program, we provide specialized education in areas such as safety engineering and reliability engineering, with external academics serving as instructors. In fiscal 2023, 20 participants attended the Basic Course, which consisted of seven sessions. In addition, those who completed the Basic Course will have the opportunity to challenge themselves further by enrolling in the more technically specialized Advanced Course starting in fiscal 2024.

Safety training (including training by job level)

The Kaneka Group is continuously engaged in developing safety personnel through various safety education programs, including risk assessment training, safety engineer training, and experiential learning. Additionally, we conduct line manager training for supervisors. In fiscal 2023, 2,244 employees of the Kaneka Group participated in safety-related training.

	Training Name	Content	Number of Participants
Safety Education	HAZOP Training	Attend lectures, conduct comprehension tests, and perform exercises. Basic training and exercises on the HAZOP method conducted by in-house instructors.	68
	Training for dedicated safety technicians	Awaress of the Company’s safety and health practices Lectures and practical exercises on various safety technologies	14
	Human error prevention and analysis training	Attend lectures, conduct comprehension tests, and perform exercises. Understanding human factors and human error Understanding and group practice of accident and disaster analysis methods	10
	Chemical Risk Assessment (CRA) Training (explosion and fire prevention module)	Attend lectures, conduct comprehension tests, and perform exercises Explanation and exercises on hazard assessment methods reflecting the new guidelines for chemical substance risk assessment An Overview of CRA for explosion and fire prevention and the reality of explosion and fire in chemical companies Methods for collecting information required for CRA	33
	Chemical Risk Assessment (CRA) training (health hazard prevention module)	Attend lectures, conduct comprehension tests, and perform exercises Explanation and exercises on hazard assessment methods reflecting new guidelines for chemical risk assessment Methods for collecting information required for CRA	35
	Comprehensive safety technology training	Basic training and explanation of comprehensive machine safety technology by external instructors. Exam preparation courses and guidance	30
	Risk assessment training	Attend lectures, conduct comprehension tests, and perform exercises Introduction to our risk assessment and Group discussion Understanding potential risks through photos and videos Understanding of assessments based on work risk assessments and process hazard analyses	29
	Plant safety technology training (basic course)	Overview of laws and regulations related to safety and health, as well as internal standards and regulations (such as plant safety standards and change management standards) Lectures, practical exercises, and comprehension checks on various safety technologies	20
	Safety experience training (Preventing entrapment and entanglement)	Experiential learning facilities and experiences using videos to prevent entrapment and entanglement. Lecture on safety knowledge and practices Integration with on-site equipment through group discussions	222
	Safety experience education (static electricity, explosion, fire)	Experiential learning equipment for experiencing fire, explosion, and static electricity through videos Lecture on safety knowledge and practices Integration with on-site equipment through group discussions	206
	VR safety experience education	We implement measures to prevent entrapment and entanglement prevention, using VR experiential learning equipment to help personnel recognize dangerous behaviors Lecture on safety knowledge and practices Integration with on-site equipment through group discussions	1,510
Line manager training	Training for newly appointed manufacturing department managers and manufacturing group leaders	Understanding the environmental and safety status of the Kaneka Group Reaffirmation of laws and regulations Responsibilities of Department Heads: Safety management lectures and discussions	－
	Safety management training for manufacturing managers	Understanding the environmental and safety status and trends of the Kaneka Group Reaffirmation of laws, regulations, and standards Lectures by external experts, understanding and discussion of responsibilities Safety management and actions	24
	Safety training for newly appointed manufacturing managers	Understanding the environmental and safety status of the Kaneka Group Reinforcing awareness of laws, regulations, and standards Responsibilities of the section manager: safety management lectures and discussions Declaration of safety management actions	3
	Training for newly appointed group company manufacturing managers on safety	Understanding the environmental and safety status and trends of the Kaneka Group Responsibilities of line managers and reaffirmation of laws and regulations Discuss and deliberate on the safety management actions of line managers.	30
	Foreman management training: occupational safety and health law training	Occupational safety and health education based on Article 60 of the Industrial Safety and Health Act Understanding the Environmental and Safety Status and Trends of the Kaneka Group Reinforcing awareness of laws, regulations, and standards Understanding the responsibilities and management actions of team leaders	10

Safety Awards

Certification as a Safety-conscious Company by the Japan Chemical Industry Association

Group Company	Certification for Zero Accident and Disaster Period
Kaneka Solartech Corporation	More than 3 years
Kaneka Tohoku Styrol Co., Ltd.	More than 10 years
Kaneka Kanto Styrol Co., Ltd.	More than 10 years
OLED Aomori Co., Ltd.	More than 10 years
Tamai Kasei Co., Ltd. Plant No. 1	More than 10 years
Tamai Kasei Co., Ltd. Plant No. 2	More than 10 years

President’s Safety Award for No Accidents and No Disasters based on the Internal Standards (Fiscal 2023)

Group Company	Award for Zero Accident and Disaster Period
Kaneka Medix Corporation	November 9, 2010 —
Kaneka Solartech Corporation	October 31, 2018 —
Tochigi Kaneka Corporation	May 26, 2012 —
Cemedine Co., Ltd.	January 11, 2019 —

CHECK & ACT

In 2023, 16 occupational accidents occurred. To achieve zero accidents, we will work to promulgate basic safety actions to all employees, improve production line management, and strengthen the risk assessment foundation.