Sustainability
Occupational Safety and Health
Basic Approach
The NGK Group operates an ISO 45001-certified Occupational Safety and Health Management System (OSHMS) in line with its Safety and Health Policy. The OSHMS serves as a mechanism for the ongoing, systematic achievement of employee safety and health initiatives. By strictly implementing this system and conducting risk assessment-based safety measures, we strive to raise the level of occupational safety and health throughout the entire Group.
Safety and Health Policy
Maintaining the safety and health of each employee constitutes the basis for a company’s operation and existence
- Comply with occupational safety and health laws and company regulations.
- Engage in activities in line with the OSHMS to continuously raise the safety and health standards.
- Promote safety and health activities under enough education and training and good communication with employees.
- Reduce the risks of hazards and toxicity and prevent accidents to provide a comfortable work environment.
- Prevent employees’ health hazards and enhance health promoting activities.
Structure to Promote Safety and Health Management
NGK established the Environment, Safety and Health Committee chaired by the Executive Vice President in order to raise the level of the entire Group’s safety and health. This committee meets at least biannually to deliberate and determine the Group’s initiatives and action plan as well as monitor the results of activities, situation of work-related accidents and countermeasures. The committee reports to the Board of Directors at the end of every fiscal year and undergoes a review by senior management. Moreover, every business site holds Business Site-Specific Safety and Health Committee meetings monthly led by relevant labor representatives of every division and attended by General Safety and Health Manager (directors of each site/vice presidents). In addition to promoting awareness of Group activities and action plans, the committees investigate and deliberate important matters related to safety and health unique to each business site, and then penetrate and implement findings through the Safety and Health Committee members of each workplace.
Enhancing Safety and Health Activities
NGK views the enhancement of safety and health activities as one of its top priorities. In addition to rigorous operation of our occupational safety and health management system, we developed our second three-year action plan built around the key themes of risk management and enhanced governance. As key initiatives, we are promoting efforts to prevent and minimize incidents that could lead to serious injury or accidents, such as getting caught in rotating equipment, electric shock, and explosions. In addition to comprehensive risk assessments covering existing facilities and operations, when introducing new facilities or operations or modifying operations, we conduct a thorough risk assessment in advance to eliminate risks or reduce them to an acceptable level. All of NGK’s business locations and plants as well as manufacturing Group companies in Japan and overseas have obtained ISO 45001 certification.
Results of FY2021 Activities
| Medium-Term Action Plan | Fiscal year implementation items | Key Activities |
|---|---|---|
| Strengthen Risk Management | Reduce risk of serious injuries/accidents in the workplace | We completed a reexamination of equipment/operations that present workers with potential for serious injury or accident, such as being caught in rotating machinery, electric shock or explosions, and we put into place operational safeguards (e.g., administrative measures) at all production sites to control these risks. We are also mostly finished with the implementation of engineering or technical measures (e.g., equipment update or remodeling), except at some overseas sites. |
| Strengthen Group Governance | Entrench Group company governance mechanisms | In addition to safety and health-related auditing of Group companies by the dedicated department of the Head Office, Group company governance was strengthened through internal audits of Group companies by Business Group specialized teams responsible for overseeing them. |
| Acquire international certification for safety and health management system (ISO 45001) | ISO 45001 certification has been obtained for all production sites of Group companies in Japan and overseas. |
Work-Related Fatalities
| Item | Scope | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number of work-related fatalities (persons) | NGK | 0 | 1* | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Manufacturing Group companies in Japan | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Manufacturing Group companies outside Japan | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Group total | 0 | 1* | 0 | 0 | 0 |
In 2018 there was one work-related fatality. This fatality was the result of a traffic accident involving the truck of another company, which struck an NGK employee at a pedestrian crossing on a public road.
Work-Related Accidents
| Item | Scope | Category | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number of work-related accidents | NGK | Lost worktime accidents | 1 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Non-lost worktime accidents | 2 | 8 | 7 | 3 | 1 | ||
| Total | 3 | 12 | 7 | 4 | 3 | ||
| Manufacturing Group companies in Japan | Lost worktime accidents | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3 | |
| Non-lost worktime accidents | 7 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 2 | ||
| Total | 7 | 8 | 8 | 11 | 5 | ||
| Manufacturing Group companies outside Japan | Lost worktime accidents | 20 | 8 | 13 | 8 | 25 | |
| Non-lost worktime accidents | 8 | 9 | 6 | 2 | 5 | ||
| Total | 28 | 17 | 19 | 10 | 30 | ||
| Group total | Total | 38 | 37 | 34 | 25 | 38 |
Trends in Work-Related Accidents
Work-Related Accidents by Type (past 7 years; NGK)
Response to work-related accidents
In the event of a work-related accident, following the NGK Group’s rules, we promptly notify relevant departments and convene the Work-Related Accident Deliberation Committee pursuant to the regulations oｆ each company. This ensures that we are able to thoroughly identify the cause and implement countermeasures against future recurrence.
In 2021, there were 38 non-lost worktime and lost worktime accidents Groupwide. Broken down, these included three at NGK, five at manufacturing Group companies in Japan, and 30 at manufacturing Group companies outside Japan. The number of times employees were caught in rotating machinery, an area of focus, declined, but falls on same level while walking (12 accidents) and daily supplementary work-related accidents occurring during preparations, cleaning or cleanup (14 accidents) increased. As a result, we are conducting thorough risk assessments of daily supplementary work and further increasing our ability to identify potential risks.
Severity Rate (number of lost workdays per 1,000 hours worked)
| Item | Scope | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Severity rate (number of lost workdays per 1,000 hours worked) |
NGK Group | 0.013 | 0.193 | 0.012 | 0.006 | 0.057 |
| NGK | 0.000 | 0.743 | 0.000 | 0.002 | 0.0146 | |
| Manufacturing Group companies in Japan | 0.000 | 0.000 | 0.005 | 0.003 | 0.004 | |
| Manufacturing Group companies outside Japan | 0.022 | 0.015 | 0.020 | 0.009 | 0.035 | |
| All industries (Japan, sites with 1,000 or more employees)* | 0.03 | 0.03 | 0.03 | 0.03 | 0.04 | |
| Manufacturing industry (Japan, sites with 1,000 or more employees)* | 0.01 | 0.03 | 0.04 | 0.03 | 0.03 |
Statistics on work-related accidents from Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare.
Lost Time Injury Frequency Rate (Employees)
| Item | Scope | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lost time injury frequency rate (number of lost time injuries per 1 million hours worked) |
NGK Group | 0.55 | 0.32 | 0.34 | 0.31 | 0.70 |
| NGK | 0.11 | 0.40 | 0.00 | 0.10 | 0.19 | |
| Manufacturing Group companies in Japan | 0.00 | 0.14 | 0.13 | 0.46 | 0.43 | |
| Manufacturing Group companies outside Japan | 0.91 | 0.34 | 0.56 | 0.36 | 0.97 | |
| All industries (Japan, sites with 1,000 or more employees)* | 0.56 | 0.52 | 0.47 | 0.69 | 0.69 | |
| Manufacturing industry (Japan, sites with 1,000 or more employees)* | 0.25 | 0.29 | 0.26 | 0.28 | 0.31 |
Statistics on work-related accidents from Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare.
Work-Related Accidents at Contractors
| Item | Scope | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number of work-related accidents with lost workday |
NGK | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Manufacturing Group companies in Japan | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Manufacturing Group companies outside Japan | 2 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 2 | |
| Group total | 3 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 2 | |
| Number of work-related fatalities (persons) | NGK | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Manufacturing Group companies in Japan | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Manufacturing Group companies outside Japan | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Group total | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Occupational Illness Frequency Rate
| Item | Scope | FY2017 | FY2018 | FY2019 | FY2020 | FY2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Occupational illness frequency rate (n/million work hours) | NGK | 0.11 | 0.10 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
External certification of occupational safety and health management system
To continuously raise the level of occupational safety and health in workplaces, we encourage companies in the NGK Group to acquire international certification for occupational safety and health management systems.
In 2017, our Nagoya Site received the first ISO 45001 private certification in Japan. In 2018, all other NGK sites and plants in Japan received ISO 45001 certification and JIS Q 45100 certification. As of June 2021, all 26 manufacturing Group companies in Japan and overseas have completed the acquisition of ISO 45001.
Acquisition of Management System Certification
| Item | Scope | Category | FY2018 | FY2019 | FY2020 | FY2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Acquisition of occupational safety and health management system certification | NGK* | ISO 45001 and JIS Q 45100 | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% |
| 11 manufacturing Group companies in Japan | ISO 45001 and JIS Q 45100 | 58% | 100% | 100% | 100% | |
| 15 manufacturing Group companies outside Japan | ISO45001 | 40% | 73% | 93% | 100% |
Nagoya Site, Chita Site, Komaki Site, Ishikawa Plant, Mitake Plant
Safety and Health Training
NGK provides training to employees and assists with their acquisition of qualifications/licenses required under safety and health laws and regulations. Our training includes various in-house programs on safety and health along with curriculum sourced from outside the company. In FY2021, a total of 1,369 employees received in-house training on safety and health standards. The breakdown includes rank-based training (453), danger prediction training (695), and others (221). This excludes external training as well as training conducted by each division such as worker training and job rotation training.
Main Training Programs
| Training programs | Training curriculum |
|---|---|
| Legal training | Group training mainly for managers that provides a summary of safety and health related laws and regulations |
| Internal safety and health training | In-house group training required of employees, including workplace supervisor training and training on dust, low-voltage electricity, organic solvents, VDT, etc. |
| External safety and health training | Training conducted offsite required of employees, including lift/crane operators and various operation chiefs |
| New employee training | Group training for new graduate hires and individual training provided to newly assigned employees including temporary employees |
| Job rotation training | Training conducted by each division for employee transfers and work changes |
| Stratified education /Promotion training | Training provided at the time of promotion, including new promotions as well as newly appointed assistant managers, managers, general managers, and directors of business sites Stratified education training is provided to new graduate hires, mid-career hires, and workers promoted to regular employee status |
| Internal auditor training | Group training for the purpose of developing and improving the level of ISO45001 internal auditors |
| Worker training | Training and exercises for frontline work are conducted to evaluate skill level and certification of work proficiency |
| Frontline management training (safety officers) | (See below) |
| Danger-Prediction Training Center | (See below) |
Acquisition of safety officer qualification
To increase their managerial skills, we train managers to become Safety Officers through e-learning and encourage them to obtain Safety Officer Qualification*. As of FY2021, 160 managers in research & development and engineering divisions, including general managers, plant managers, and managers of the manufacturing division had obtained this qualification (40% of target managers). We also encourage engineers of design and maintenance divisions for in-house equipment and production engineers at our plants to obtain Safety Assessor Qualification*.
Safety Officer Qualification/Safety Assessor Qualification: Qualifications established and administered by The Institute of Global Safety Promotion (IGSAP). The qualifications certify that an individual possesses understanding and knowledge of safety or knowledge and skills of machinery based on international safety standards, respectively.
Establishment of Danger-Prediction Training Center
To prevent injuries mainly among young workers and inexperienced workers, in 2018 we established the 450 m2 Danger-Prediction Training Center at our Chita Site,
where we launched safety training led by specialist employees with experience outside of the company.
The training center features equipment that enables employees to safely experience work-related injuries that have occurred in the past including caught in or between equipment and work-related accidents that could lead to serious injury such as electric shock or explosions. Combined with classroom learning using computer graphics, the training center provides practical programs where employees can refine their sensitivities toward dangers.
In 2020, we introduced a virtual reality system for experiencing dangers and launched a new training program that combines this with conventional training approaches. As of FY2021, a running total of 4,321 NGK Group employees have participated.
