Comments from workplace representatives on the certification

YKK Taiwan Co., Ltd. Chung Li Factory (2004 September Certified)

• Recertification in June 07 helped employees to understand the OSHMS system fully by involving themselves more than before. Full participation of workers brought the continuous operation of health and safety programs. We could reestablish the system by going through the certification process as well.
• We will keep practicing risk assessment, incident and close calls reporting as well as developing the PDCA to enhance employees' awareness further to realize a safe and healthy workplace with zero accidents.

Kirin Brewery Co., Ltd. Hokuriku Plant (2004 October Certified)

The best thing about OSHMS is that by recertification our ongoing safety and health activities are assessed from a third party perspective. Although we are trying to keep doing what we believe is a right system or method, there is still room for improvement. By being pointed out such shortcomings at certification, we can realize our safety and health programs are moving towards better direction.

Sumitomo Light Metal Industries, Ltd. Copper Works (2004 December Certified)

This recertification was not just a certification renewal. It also triggered changes in our awareness and actions from traditional “to stop first” to “to stop itself” approach for promoting the inherent safe design concept of facilities further. After the recertification, we requested JISHA Technical Department to hold a seminar on inherent safety in facilities for managers, technical staff and facility staff to fully introduce its concept/procedures. To begin with, an activity of promoting intrinsic safety in facilities by prioritizing new facilities with risk assessment was started. Aiming at increasing the safety and health level, we will keep making efforts for expanding the activity horizontally to current operation/facilities in future.

Nuclear Fuel Industries, Ltd. Kumatori Works (2004 December Certified)

• Different safety and health activities taking shape as safety and health plan enabled systematic operation.
• In each job category, workers' developed sensitivity to risk resulted in independent activities to be taken.
• In future, we will make more efforts to improve the safety culture through more worksite-based activities.

Renesas Technology Corp. Kofu Site (2007 August Certified)

By OSHMS introduction, the framework of safety and health management was attained and the role and responsibility of each employee was made clear, which enabled us to run safety and health activities in a systematic manner. Also, the certification has enhanced each employee's awareness including managers' to safety and health. Since we could eliminate potential hazards at work beforehand with risk assessment, a number of accidents were prevented. We will keep running regularly the PDCA cycle to raise the safety and health level further.

Asahi Breweries, Ltd. Hokkaido Brewery　(2007 November Certified)

Employees' awareness grew by operating the health and safety management system. Being able to make right decisions on the seriousness of risks, we could promote more effective improvement. One example of our efforts is the promotion of improvement based on the safety and health management plan drawn up by all the staff of the worksite. Also, safety and health management system raised the internal audit and review meeting level.

Kaneka cooperation Kashima Plant (2007 December Certified)

So far we have not yet fully realized any particular effect or change by the certification. However, the risk assessment we committed to establish for certification has contributed not only to safety and health improvement but also to security/fire prevention. Another positive effect is that we could correct inadequacies in the existing system without any lapse by making site's safety and health policies easy-to-follow.

By running the PDCA cycle incorporating advice given, we will keep making efforts so as to realize workplaces with safety, security and stability.

Sumitomo Metal Mining Co., Ltd. Electronics Div. (2007 December Certified)

We realize the following effects due to the OSHMS development, and would like to build in-house safety and heath culture by going through further review in future.

• A basis for passing down safety and health management was all set. We will keep improving with continued review.
• Since the JCO accident in 1999, our company has had a new understanding of the concept of compliance, and committed to it as best we could. The introduction of an OSHMS increased our reliability in the process of checking laws and regulations.
• In more than 40 years of Electronics Division's history, there had been big ups and downs in industrial accidents, where we could never archive fundamental improvement through sequence of trials and errors. With the introduction of risk assessment, our efforts for reducing potential risks have been rewarded. We are waiting for its future outcome.
• By appealing each employee the importance of safety as well as raising the sense of hazard prediction, they will become able to protect themselves. Ultimately we believe this would result in perfect zero accident in the workplace.