Occupational Safety, Hygiene, and Health

Management Approach

In line with its tenets of maintaining respect for individuals and putting health first, the Kawasaki Group is committed to creating a workplace culture that places the utmost priority on safety and health. Accordingly, the Group will not only comply with laws and regulations related to occupational safety, hygiene and health but also give even more careful consideration to maintaining safe, hygienic and healthy workplace settings for all those working at its facilities. Under this policy, the Group will thus create a safe and comfortable workplace environment in which every worker can stay mentally and physically healthy, to this end promoting close collaboration involving its management, all people working in our Group, labor unions and health insurance associations (if any), and other stakeholders to maintain and improve occupational safety, hygiene and health, with the aim of solidifying a foundation supporting its Group Mission, "Kawasaki, working as one for the good of the planet."

The Kawasaki Group is committed to the realization of the Group's mission by reporting to the labor union the Kawasaki Group Policy on a Management Approach Prioritizing Occupational Safety, Hygiene and Health founded in fiscal 2021 with the approval of the Board of Directors, and by engaging in efforts to provide a safe and secure labor environment, prevent occupational illnesses and mental health issues, and realize healthier lifestyles fulfilling lives with collaboration between labor and management.

The Kawasaki Group and contractors under the Group's management

Our Medium-Term Occupational Safety, Hygiene, and Health Management Plan 2022 establishes the following targets for safety, hygiene, and health activities for the three years from 2022 to 2024 under the overall supervision of our firms (Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Kawasaki Railcar Manufacturing, and Kawasaki Motors). For all targets, we are committed to achieving the goals for 2024 (the final year of the plan) in comparison to achievements in 2021.

*1 This is the average value for the last 5 years (2017–2021).

*2 Absence rate (day basis) due to sick leave = Number of days of sick leave/total number of prescribed working days x1,000

*3 The health score refers to a score on a six-point scale that is based on the results of a medical examination of six lifestyle habits (diet, exercise, drinking, sleep, smoking, and appropriate weight) that affect labor productivity. The higher the score, the healthier the lifestyle.

*4 Sick leave rate = Number of cases of sick leave/total number of employees enrolled x 1,000

*5 Average of the three years from 2022 to 2024

Kawasaki has defined a set of Safety and Health Management Rules in accordance with the Kawasaki Group Policy on a Management Approach Prioritizing Occupational Safety, Hygiene and Health, approved by the Board of Directors, under which it has established safety and health structures both Company-wide and at individual works. We actively implement measures in a planned manner to ensure the safety and health of our employees and contractors, improve their health and create comfortable working environments. Specifically, regarding our medium-term plan constituting a three-year activity period and the annually determined Safety, Hygiene, and Health Management Guidelines defined by the General Manager of Safety and Health, safety and health activities based on the medium-term plan and management guidelines are carried out at different business sites under the supervision and management of Managers of Safety and Health and with the consultation and approval of the labor union. The results of these activities are reported every year to the Management Committee which comprises of Outside Directors. When an accident, such as an occupational accident, occurs, it is reported to the General Manager of Safety and Health and the labor union, and legally required filings and other such procedures are handled in accordance with corporate regulations and rules.

Company-wide: Takeshi Kaneko, General Manager of Human Resources Division (General Manager of Safety and Health)
Each works: Managers of Safety and Health

• Corporate consultative body: Corporate Safety, Hygiene, and Health Commission
  Attended by the General Manager of Safety and Health and Managers of Safety and Health at each work, the commission meets every December to reflect on the year and discuss targets and other safety, hygiene, and health matters for the following year.
• Consultative body with the labor union: Special Committee for Safety and Health, and Safety and Health Council
  The Special Committee for Safety and Health is attended by the Senior Manager of the Head Office’s Safety & Health Management Department, staff responsible for safety and health, and members of the management and safety executive committees of the labor union headquarters and branches. The Safety and Health Council is attended by the General Manager of Safety and Health and the Managers of Safety and Health (for the Head Office and works) from the Company and the Central Executive Committee members (for the Headquarters and branches) from the labor union.
• Consultative body at works: Regional Safety and Health Committee
  Based on labor agreements, this committee is attended by the operating sites’ safety and health managers and staff as well as management and safety executive committee members from the labor union branches.

Safety Management

Based on our occupational safety and health management systems, we implement systematic safety and health management activities as well as improvements through ongoing PDCA cycles and internal audits at workplaces. By doing so, we seek to create a virtuous cycle of improvement of these systems, prevent occupational accidents, and facilitate the creation of a comfortable work environment. In our risk assessment efforts, we constantly strive to enhance our ability to identify and reduce risks. As for workplace risk assessments, the risks of occupational accidents at each business site are regularly reviewed based on the business characteristics of the respective business segments. We also review risks when operations or procedures are first introduced, when they are altered, and upon restart after a pause. The safety and health management systems at all of our business sites are at an OSHMS third-party certified level (Sites with third-party certification: Kobe Works shipyard, Sakaide Works [ISO 45001], Kobe Head Office Works of Kawasaki Railcar Manufacturing Co., Ltd. [OSHMS certification according to the method of the Japan Industrial Safety and Health Association]). Business sites with third-party certification undergo regular inspections by third-party certification bodies. Uncertified sites undergo internal audits once a year in principle, administrated by the Head Office.

Kawasaki's KSKY Campaign and awareness-building efforts are key aspects of its occupational accident prevention efforts. The letters comprising this acronym stand for Japanese words that describe the different elements of the campaign: K (kihon), creating a disciplined workplace that observes the basic safety rules; S (shisa koshou), making sure to identify and call out to confirm breaks and other crucial points in each work operation; and KY (kiken yochi), working to further improve danger prediction abilities. The purpose of the campaign is to encourage employees to take a more active role in safety measures and thereby create a workplace in which all can openly caution one another about potential issues.

Corporate regulations provide for safety awards. Production divisions receive awards for amassing long accident-free records, while business sites receive awards for having accident-free years. In 2023, there were no business sites that achieved year-long accident-free operations.

Based on relevant laws, Kawasaki prevents harm caused by radiation by carefully controlling the use of radioactive isotopes; radiation-generating equipment and its handling during sales; and work in locations contaminated by the scattering of radioactive isotopes. In addition, to ensure operational safety in operations that involve radiation, we have established regulations for preventing harm caused by radiation. Any occurrence of an accident resulting in harm caused by radiation is reported to the General Manager of Safety and Health and the labor union, and legally required filings and disclosure to the public and media outlets are handled in accordance with specified procedures.

Based on our Safety and Health Education Standards, in addition to education and training required by law, we carry out other necessary safety and health education programs, including grade-specific training for different staff grades; operation-specific training given after a change in operational content or for employees engaged in specific duties; general education, which includes health education and hazard prediction training; and training for on-site employees seconded from partners working under Kawasaki Management on, for example, plant construction sites. Moreover, we also use the corporate safety education facility, referred to as the "safety dojo," to promote safety awareness, impart knowledge, and refine risk sensitivity in order to further develop human resources who are capable of acting safely. To prevent accidents caused by unsafe practices and to build safety awareness, we implement a range of safety and health education programs, including simulated scenarios to help employees experience hazards in the workplace first hand.

Every three years, a medium-term occupational safety, hygiene, and health management plan is established with the safety management objective of continuing efforts to reduce the lost time injury frequency rate (LTIFR) and the total number of occupational accidents. So far, the LTIFR under the Kawasaki’s overall supervision (Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Kawasaki Railcar Manufacturing, and Kawasaki Motors) has been below the average for all industries and manufacturing industries in Japan. We are committed to continued efforts for reduction by promoting safety management activities, and thorough compliance with the measures and rules for prevention of occupational accidents.

Analysis of the causes of occupational accidents reveals that, in 2023 the top three causes were "got wedged or caught in," "got cut or scraped," and "fell over," which together accounted for 59%, more than half of the total. Further, "fell or slipped" which could easily result in serious accidents accounted for 4% of the total. We are committed to the implementation of accident prevention activities through the continued promotion of safety management activities based on lessons learned from serious accidents in the past and the thorough execution of measures to prevent recurrence at all business sites.

Sanitation Management

To prevent occupational illnesses, we carry out occupational health training when employees are hired, when they change operations, and when they are assigned to dangerous or hazardous work. Furthermore, in accordance with relevant laws, we carry out special health checkups and provide thorough health guidance for those identified as having potential health problems while measuring work environments and advancing work environment improvements. In light of the growing use of IT in the workplace and the increasing diversity of operations involving IT devices, we monitor the health of employees using such devices and provide guidance in accordance with guidelines set by the government.

To prevent health problems that can be caused by overworking, we have set stricter standards than those mandated by law, requiring employees who have worked 45 hours or longer of overtime in each of two consecutive months or 60 hours or longer in one month to undergo checkups for long-hour workers as well as checks for cumulative fatigue. Based on the results of these examinations and such factors as the number of overtime hours worked, employees are interviewed by an industrial physician and necessary measures put in place. Furthermore, as measures to counter long working hours, we respond by properly conducting attendance and labor affairs management.

As a mental health care initiative, we have compiled the Basic Policy on Mental Health Measures. In response to the rise in the number of people with mental health problems in recent years, we revised the Policy in 2023 and now promote countermeasures centering on four types of mental health care from primary to tertiary prevention. Each business site offers level-specific mental health education by age group, at the time of promotion, and so on to ensure that employees have regular access to such education, which is important in terms of self-care. Each year approximately 10% of all employees receive this mental health education. We also conduct annual stress checks, assist self-care by employees themselves, and provide interview guidance and other follow-up for those found to have high levels of stress. As line-of-command care, we conduct group analysis at the time of stress checks. Based on the results of this analysis, industrial physicians hold individual workplace interviews with supervisors at workplaces with high health risks, and training is provided to supervisors at each business site.
　Furthermore, as care by industrial health staff at business sites, we aim to intervene and respond quickly when an employee develops a mental health issue, and industrial physicians, human resource and labor affairs departments, industrial health staff, and the employee’s supervisor provide coordinated support when that employee returns to work. In addition, as care by external organizations, we offer an external consultation hotline so that employees can easily seek advice relating to mental health and other issues and strengthen our response by means of contracts with professional mental health doctors.

Kawasaki's corporate regulations lay out health management standards for employees on long-term overseas business travel or stationed overseas. For such employees, we carry out health checkups before, during, and after their return from overseas assignment, and their eligibility for overseas assignment is decided based on the results of such checkups and interviews with industrial physicians. Amid the COVID-19 pandemic too, the human resource and industrial health departments cooperate in checking conditions at destinations and conducting health management. In addition, when dispatching employees overseas, Kawasaki covers the cost of and implements vaccinations as necessary for the specific destinations so as to prevent employees on overseas assignment from contracting such infectious diseases as malaria and tuberculosis.
　We also provide support so that employees can seek necessary medical care with confidence should they become unwell while overseas.

Health Management

Kawasaki sees the health of its employees as one of its key management resources. As such, Kawasaki provides extensive support to help individual employees live a healthy lifestyle in a self-directed manner, and aims to help employees enjoy healthy and rich lifestyles by promoting healthy activities.

To manage employee health, Kawasaki provides regular health checkups for all employees, including those on assignment overseas, aiming for 100% of employees to receive such checkups. After the checkups, we encourage employees flagged as having potential issues to undergo secondary examinations and provide thorough health guidance.
　Furthermore, in coordination with the health insurance union, we proactively provide designated health guidance to employees with metabolic syndrome, with a Group-wide implementation rate of over 50%. In this way, the Group endeavors to prevent illnesses or detect them early on by appropriately implementing various health checkups and carrying out subsequent follow-ups.

Kawasaki provides influenza vaccines during work hours at little cost to the employees who elect to receive them. In addition, to prevent the spread of COVID-19, we are conducting awareness raising with regard to such topics as hand washing, cough etiquette, ventilation, and avoiding the three Cs (closed spaces, crowded places, and close- contact settings). In accordance with government policy, we have also stipulated various guidelines toward preventing infection and the spread of infection. We have endeavored to instill this in employees and have proactively undertaken vaccination of employees in their workplaces.

In response to the April 2020 amendment to the Health Promotion Act, Kawasaki is implementing measures to prevent second-hand smoke exposure, for example, eliminating indoor smoking areas and setting up dedicated smoking rooms based on the government’s guidelines for preventing second-hand smoke exposure in the workplace. In addition, to support employees who smoke and want to quit, we have set up a program to subsidize their efforts to do so. The smoking rate at Kawasaki (non-consolidated) has been falling; in 2022, it stood at 23.4%, down from 31% in 2013, the first year that we collected data. Together with second-hand smoke preventive measures, we will continue working to reduce the employee smoking rate.

In the Kawasaki Group measures to improve the health of employees are discussed and planned in the Collaborative Health Committee, which comprises representatives of the company, health insurance union, and labor union. This committee compiles a health report for each business site and related company based on employee health-related data administered by the health insurance union and company so that the committee can adopt effective measures and obtain better results. Regarding issues made clear by the results of the health reports, we decide the theme for each year and set about tackling it on a Group-wide basis.
　In fiscal 2022, we tackled the issue of gynecological cancer screening through the creation of leaflets among other measures and collaborated with the health insurance union to actively encourage people to undergo medical examinations in view of the fact that although many young people suffer from this type of cancer, the screening rate is low. In fiscal 2023, we reviewed the system including the contents and targets of various aspects of health education such as diet and exercise and provided education at all business sites in order to enable the provision of requisite education for each age group at each business site. In fiscal 2024, we are planning a walk rally event in cooperation with business sites with the aim of improving exercise habits.
　Further, some business sites have established wellness areas equipped with exercise ball and other equipment, strength training equipment, and treadmills among other things, with the aim of supporting the promotion of health through physical activities.

As part of our companywide Total Health Promotion activities, we identify the health issues faced by business sites from their health reports and in response to these issues hold dietary improvement seminars, exercise seminars, and other events aimed at the prevention of lifestyle-related diseases together with the health insurance union. We also hold seminars for female employees and antismoking seminars, thereby supporting employees’ mental and physical health improvement.

* Scope: Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Ltd. (non-consolidated)

Labor Discussions

Kawasaki has concluded a labor agreement with the labor union and holds Safety and Health Council meetings at least once a year to discuss policy for occupational safety, hygiene, and health activities, priority initiatives, and activity plans; The Special Committee for Safety and Health meets at least twice a year to follow up on the state of implementation and make revisions, and Regional Safety and Health Committee meets monthly at all domestic sites to deliberate on measures for preventing hazards and health impediments and discuss the causes and measures for preventing the recurrence of labor accidents at each site. Discussions are held at the respective council and committee meetings with the primary agenda of checking the progress of various safety, hygiene and health achievements and confirming the results and plans of safety and health activities.