Occupational Health and Safety

Approach to Occupational Health and Safety

Safety, health, and compliance take precedence over performance at Epson. Epson believes that initiatives to promote a healthy and safe work environment and to protect physical and mental wellbeing are essential for a healthy company. We therefore run occupational health and safety knowledge that they are safe.

Epson established the New Epson Safety & Health Program (NESP) and Basic NESP Policy in FY2000. Based on an occupational safety and health management system (OSHMS) that conformed to International Labour Organization (ILO) guidelines, the program and policy covered safety, health, fire prevention, disaster management, and facilities. NESP was replaced in April 2022 with a new Basic Occupational Health and Safety Policy that better articulates Epson's occupational health and safety activities, thereby facilitating understanding among officers, employees, and partners.

Commitment

We are evolving the Epson Group's occupational health and safety programs based on the ISO 45001 international standard and will further improve the workplace health and safety environment. Bearing in mind that safety, security, and health are the most important things to us as a company, we observe all applicable local laws and regulations as well as company rules. We also do all that we can to maintain and promote the mental and physical wellbeing of our people, work together to eliminate serious occupational accidents and industrial incidents as well as occupational illnesses, and lay the groundwork for achieving sustainability and enriching communities.


Eiichi Abe
Executive Officer
General Administrative Manager, Human Capital & Well-Being Management Division
Overall Health and Safety Controller

Occupational Accidents

In FY2022, we had no serious occupational accidents.1 As a result of our efforts, the number of cases of reaction to motion and over-exertion declined from 10 to just three. However, the number of falls increased from eight to 18. In FY2021, we had a serious occupational accident involving a forklift at an overseas warehouse. Learning from that experience, we have enhanced our occupational health and safety activities by changing our management of indicators to include sales companies in addition to manufacturing sites starting in FY2022. We stepped up warehouse site checks and equipment inspections at sales companies. Unfortunately, we were unable to change the trend and reduce the number of forklift accidents. We continue to develop activities to prevent repeat accidents through forklift operation safety training with videos and occupational health and safety meetings for all business units.
With the addition of sales companies, the Epson Group’s occupational accident frequency rate and severity2 both rose over the previous year but they were still lower than the national average.

1 An accident that results in death, residual disability, or the equivalent
2 The frequency rate and severity of occupational accidents are occupational accident indicators calculated with formulas provided by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, Japan.

Workdays lost are calculated based on the criteria below.

  • Fatality: 7,500 days
  • Permanent total disability: days of disability level 1-3 (7,500 days)
  • Permanent partial disability: 50 to 5,500 days depending on disability level from 4-14
  • Temporary disability: the total number of lost days, including scheduled day off, multiplied by 300/365

Number of Occupational Accidents, by Type, in FY2022

Falls Crashing into a person or object Getting crashed into by a person or object Ignition, fuming Reaction to motion Over-exertion Other Total
18 6 6 5 3 10 48

* Definition of accident: An incident that results in one day or more of lost work time

Safety Management Initiatives

Epson's FY2023 safety targets are as follows.

  • Zero serious occupational accidents and industrial incidents
  • Frequency rate 0.30 or lower and severity 0.006 or lower

Actions for FY2023

We analyzed occupational accidents in FY2022 and will act to prevent accidents, including repeat accidents, in FY2023 by focusing on the actions below.

  • Falls: Continue activities to prevent falls using hazard prediction (KY), raise awareness of falls, and promote efforts to eliminate occupational accidents, taking account of sources of hazard when working from home.
  • Crashing into a person or object, getting crashed into by a person or object:
    Because five out of 12 incidents occurred in warehouses, promote safety enhancement activities with site inspections, equipment inspections, and training, with a focus on forklifts.
  • Ignition, fuming: Electrical components: Identify the service life of safety circuits and components, check work processes, and manage them using optimal maintenance methods.


Using the above priority activities as important points, we will use risk assessment to identify sources of hazard and will develop various measures to prevent accidents, including repeat accidents.

Obtaining ISO 45001 Certification

To protect employees from occupational health and safety risks, Epson will systematically acquire certification under the ISO 45001 international standard for occupational health and safety management systems, mainly at manufacturing sites, over a three-year period. In FY2022, five (33%) of our 15 overseas manufacturing sites and four (28.5%) of our 14 domestic manufacturing sites acquired certification, for a total of 31.0% of 29 sites.

Global Sharing of Information on Occupational Health and Safety Activities

Epson seeks to improve its occupational health and safety activities around the world by holding regular meetings at our production sites in Japan and overseas to share information at the executive management and operational levels and between labor and management.

At the executive management level, the chief operating officers and presidents of Epson Group companies and sites in Japan gather twice a year for meetings of the general health and safety controllers to update one another about occupational health and safety activities and discuss issues to identify opportunities for improvement. Their counterparts overseas do the same.

Labor and management hold monthly Health and Safety Committee meetings with each other. We are working to enhance onsite health and safety by incorporating input from workers.

A September 2023 general health and safety controllers' meeting in Japan

Raising Employee Awareness with Accident Reports

Epson analyzes all occupational injuries and accidents in the Epson Group, identifies causes, and makes plans for preventing similar incidents. Occupational injuries and accidents are reported in the form of Safety News bulletins that describe accident causes, countermeasures, and actions that all sites are to take to prevent similar accidents in the future. These reports are placed on the intranet and discussed with employees.

Professional Development through Health and Safety Education

Epson considers health and safety education vital for protecting employees. The education curriculum is tailored to the position, roles, and responsibilities of employees. Education for non-management employees focuses on practical techniques such as risk assessment and hazard prediction. Education for managers and supervisors focuses on leadership. All Group companies use the same education curriculum.

In FY2022, we offered an online safety course in Japan that was taken by 98.42% of managers and supervisors (1,743 people) and by 99.10% of non-management employees (16,737 people). We also planned and implemented basic education (including in safety standards) for managers and supervisors overseas. The course was taken by 99.10% of the target audience in Greater China (774 people) and by 94.29% in Southeast Asia (1,173 people).
We continue to follow up with those who have not yet taken the course to encourage them to do so.

Fire and Disaster Prevention

Epson is committed to fire safety and disaster management. Our fire brigades help to protect lives and property. We hold fire and disaster drills and practice extinguishing incipient fires to help minimize damage in the event of a disaster. These actions both increase our preparedness and heighten employee awareness.

Formation of Fire Brigades

Epson has had independent fire brigades in place for 68 years. The first brigade was formed in 1955, with 15 men dedicated to protecting their factory from fire. As our business has grown, so has the number of fire brigades. There are now approximately 900 employee firefighters active at business sites in Japan and at facilities around the world. Fire brigades train year-round to protect life and company property.

Members of the Group's first independent fire brigade (1955)

Purpose and significance of independent fire brigade initiatives

  • Regular training teaches members about firefighting techniques and skills and raises their safety awareness so they can take immediate and proper action in an emergency. This is part of company safety education.
  • Fire brigade training is meant to enable personnel to ensure personal safety (rescue and render first aid) and minimize damage to facilities and equipment by fighting incipient fires when there is an accident or disaster.
  • Employees who learn about safety and firefighting techniques and skills become key members of the workplace to instruct others there. They model fire/disaster prevention and safety for all employees, which raise workplace awareness of the same.
  • Initiatives to fight fire enhance communication. Brigades are a good place to foster friendships between members from different departments, develop character, and cultivate human resources.

Drills in fighting incipient fires

Fire brigades

Fire brigades practice fighting incipient fires (fires in the early stage) primarily using portable fire pumps and indoor/outdoor fire hydrants. They prepare for the possibility of a fire with monthly fire drills. Not only do they practice using site firefighting equipment and guiding people to safety during evacuations, they also practice assisting local fire departments that may be called by replenishing water for fire engines.
Special nighttime firefighting teams made up of employees who live near the company conduct drills to ensure preparedness in the event of a fire or disaster that occurs on a weekend or at night.

Fire brigade drill
Firefighting drill
Nighttime firefighting drill

General firefighting training

Fires, should they occur, must be extinguished in the early stages to limit damage. We periodically train everyone in the workplace in the use of fire extinguishers to ensure that they can quickly and effectively use them when needed.

Training in fire extinguisher use
Employees practicing fire extinguisher use

Facility Safety Maintenance

Epson maintains safe facilities in line with the Epson Group Basic Occupational Health and Safety Policy to prevent accidents caused by faulty buildings, equipment, and facilities.

Facility safety maintenance covers all domestic and foreign Epson Group buildings and building equipment, including but not limited to electrical equipment, air conditioning and sanitary equipment, drainage equipment, disaster management equipment, communication equipment, and equipment for supplying gas and chemicals to production machinery. Maintaining the soundness of buildings and building equipment, preventing damage from fires and earthquakes, and ensuring the safety of employees and others will help Epson to ensure business continuity and deliver products and services on time. Epson thus has in place a variety of facility safety measures.

For example, before a new building or new building equipment is constructed, installed, refurbished, or removed, a safety assessment is conducted to identify potential problems and improve designs. In addition to managing safety during construction, we also conduct post-construction safety assessments where we check whether buildings and building equipment were constructed or installed as designed. If there is a problem, we have it fixed, and if it is not fixed, the building or equipment cannot be used until the problem is resolved.

In addition to ensuring compliance with applicable laws, regulations, and codes when conducting safety assessments, we are also working to build safer buildings and building equipment by establishing our own standards and preventing the recurrence of past accidents and problems.

In many cases, we hire outside contractors to do the actual construction work. When we hire a contractor, we carefully manage safety by communicating the construction rules, controlling access to the site, ensuring that confidentiality is maintained, and providing instructions for working safely. We also try to raise safety awareness among contractors by holding safety conferences.

To encourage employees to acquire the licenses and qualifications needed for facility management and to maintain and raise the level of facility management, Epson provides employees with ongoing professional education. To help ensure electrical safety, Epson created its own program for training and qualifying electrical equipment technicians. Only qualified technicians are allowed to perform electrical work and maintenance on machinery used at Epson sites worldwide.

We at Epson will continue to try to eliminate occupational accidents through activities like these.

Building safety assessment
Contractor safety conference
Electrical equipment technician training

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