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Safety and Health Management

Creating a Safe and Healthy Workplace Environment

Purpose of activities Results of activities during fiscal 2023 Self-
assessment
Targets/plans for activities from fiscal 2024 onwards
  • Promoting safety and health activities
  • Continued the Zero Occupational Accident Project
    (Not causing any occupational accident resulting in four or more lost days for 365 days)
C
  • Not causing any occupational accident resulting in four or more lost days for 365 days
  • Ensured thorough equipment safety through risk assessment (to be implemented in 3 years)
B
  • Make efforts to ensure equipment safety based on risk assessments (ongoing)
  • Promote safety and health education through effective utilization of the Occupational Safety & Health Education Center and continued to promote Virtual Reality accident simulation training
A
  • Continue to promote safety and health education through effective utilization of the Occupational Safety & Health Education Center and continue to promote Virtual Reality accident simulation training
  • Continue to promote health and productivity management
A
  • Continued to promote health and productivity management
  • Enhanced mental healthcare initiatives
A
  • Enhancing mental healthcare initiatives

Self-assessment grades A: Target achieved B: Target mostly achieved C: Target not achieved

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Basic Approach

In the MMC Group, one element of our Code of Conduct is “We are committed to providing a safe and healthy environment for all our stakeholders.” This is based on the notion that, if we cannot keep our employees and all stakeholders around us safe and healthy, they will not be able to provide stable and happy lives for their families, we will not be able to operate effectively, and we will never be able to keep on expanding as a company.

MMC Group Basic Policy on Safety and Health Management

Established on November 10, 2014

  1. We will carry out safety and health activities based on full participation from all employees, underpinned by leadership and initiative from the CEO and other managing personnel.
  2. We will ensure that all employees comply with the Industrial Safety and Health Act and other applicable legislation, manuals and operating procedures, and establish a workplace culture whereby everyone follows the rules and ensures that others do too.
  3. We will make every effort to create pleasant workplaces that are healthy for both body and mind, for all employees, through activities aimed at creating open workplaces and promoting health.
  4. We will take preventive measures in accordance with Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare guidelines on the prevention of work-related traffic accidents and improve road etiquette amongst all employees, in order to eliminate traffic accidents based on our commitment to promoting road safety activities as an example to society as a whole.

And since 2018, among the goals represented by SCQDE enacted as the guideline to decision-making concerning conduct of our work (priority order), we have positioned “S” which represents “Safety and Health”, as the first priority.

Guideline to decision-making concerning conduct of our work (priority order)

Let's act while recognizing the order of priority, "SCQDE"
1

SSafety & Health

Safety & Health come first
2

CCompliance & Environment

Compliance & Environment to ensure fair activities
3

QQuality

Quality of products and services provided to our "customers"
4

DDelivery

Delivery dates to be met
5

EEarnings

Reasonable profit (Obtained based on “customer” trust after satisfying SCQD)

“SCQDE” shows the order of priority of our business decisions. In providing customers with our products & services, we should thoroughly fulfill SCQ at first and then satisfy D. We believe that we will be able to obtain trust from customers and society by continuously executing SCQD in good faith, and this will produce a reasonable profit.

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Promotion System

In the wake of the fire and explosion at the Yokkaichi Plant (which was transferred to SUMCO Corporation on March 31, 2023) in January 2014, we launched a Zero Occupational Accident Project in April that same year. Under the Zero Occupational Accident Project, we work to strengthen the foundations of safety and health on a Group-wide scale, with the aim of “not causing any occupational accident resulting in four or more lost days for one year.”
The Zero Occupational Accident Project is led by the Zero Occupational Accident Subcommittee, which serves as a special subcommittee under the SCQ Promotion Office headed by the Chief Executive Officer.

  • SCQ: S: Safety & Health, C: Compliance & Environment, Q: Quality

Based on analysis of factors including occupational accidents that have occurred, the Zero Occupational Accident Subcommittee, which consists of Safety Coordinators from the departments, identifies priority issues that our Group should tackle. The committee exchanges opinions about these priority issues with the Zero Accident Labor-Management Meeting, which consists of the Executive Officer responsible for SCQ, members on the company-side consisting of representatives of in-house companies, and labor union members representing sites under the jurisdiction of in-house companies, and sets priority tasks for safety and health management. Specific measures for the Zero Occupational Accident Project such as these priority tasks are implemented after deliberations and approval at the Strategic Management Committee made up of Executive Officers. With the Mitsubishi Materials Safety, Environment & Quality Department playing a central role, the progress of these measures is reported at monthly meetings made up of Safety Coordinators appointed at in-house company, and elsewhere, where we share information regarding progress and issues with safety and health measures at business sites under their management, including Group companies, and discuss solutions. The progress of each measure is also regularly reported to the Sustainable Management Office, of which the presidents of each in-house company are a part. In addition, the status of accidents that have occurred including occupational accidents, fires and explosions as well as the measures taken to deal with serious incidents are reported to the Strategic Management Committee and Board of Directors by the Executive Officer responsible for SCQ promotion, and are appropriately monitored.
Additionally, we have an integrated Group-wide promotion framework in place whereby matters that extend beyond the confines of individual Companies are reported and discussed at the above-mentioned Zero Occupational Accident Subcommittee, with improvements suitable for the conditions at each site made based on the PDCA cycle.
The occupational safety and health management systems are operated at individual business sites, and Safety and Health Committee meetings with members representing both the Company and the labor union are also held. The committee discusses measures related to worker hazards, investigates the causes of and works to prevent recurrences of serious matters including occupational accidents, and implements measures to prevent health issues and maintain the health of workers. In addition, Safety Managers, Safety Coordinators and Safety Instructors are assigned to individual business sites, where their role is to promote safety activities.
We hold regular Groupwide Safety Manager meetings and meetings for Safety Coordinators and Safety Instructors, where we exchange opinions on a wide range of occupational accident information and health and safety activities across the Group and the various business sectors in which it is involved, and strive to raise the level of health and safety.

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Management Priorities

To expand the joint labor-management initiative to achieve zero occupational accidents, we have identified issues at the MMC Group identifies issues based on occupational accidents, etc. that occurred in the previous year, and after engaging in joint labor-management discussions on the particular items to be addressed to achieve solutions, designates management priorities. In 2022, we set out the following management priorities, and rolled out occupational safety and health management systems at each of our plants/factories accordingly.

figure

Group-wide Priorities for Safety and Health Management (2022)

Thorough Efforts to Make Equipment Safe (engineering measures) through Risk Assessments (RA)

While the number of serious occupational accidents related to machines and electricity and those related to handled materials caused by equipment has been decreasing in the long term, there remains residual risk that we have yet to reduce, and accidents have occurred due to unrecognized hazard sources. In response, we decided to examine the appropriateness of risk assessments over a period of three years from fiscal 2021, and implement a review. The actions we are taking are as follows.

  • Identify new risks and lower the risk level
  • Check for hazard sources and dangerous tasks that have yet to be identified
  • Reassess risks which have been identified and take corrective actions against insufficient measures
  • Promote the inherent safety of existing equipment
  • Improve the skills of those conducting risk assessments, etc.

An analysis of the types of occupational accidents occurring at the MMC Group has revealed that many occupational accidents occur due to two main causes: flawed protective and safety measures and proximity to dangerous areas. As physical measures to address these issues, we have been reviewing structures and mechanisms from the perspectives of foolproof*¹ and failsafe*², and are employing thorough engineering-based action through risk assessments. Further, with respect to occupational accidents caused by “flawed operating methods” such as the use of inappropriate tools and jigs or incorrect operating procedures, we implement improvement measures that reflect the results of risk assessments, such as improvements including the verification of operating methods, and revised operating procedures that reflect hazard prediction. Risk assessment is an effective means of discovering, eliminating or mitigating potential danger or harm attributable to operating practices and other work performed at a manufacturing site. At the MMC Group, we implement risk assessment activities from the perspective of workers on the production floor at each business site. We have trained risk assessment instructors at each business site to improve their ability to identify unsafe equipment states. We began offering training classes in October 2015, and as of March 2020, more than 520 people have taken the course (although classes could not be held from April 2020 onward due to the impact of COVID-19), contributing to enhancing and stimulating on-site activities. In addition, since August 2020, we have been conducting risk assessment classes by remote learning, led primarily by front line supervisors with the aim of raising the ability level of personnel who conduct risk assessments. 166 people received training in those classes in fiscal 2023, bringing the cumulative total to 585.

  • *1 Foolproof: A function that prevents human error from resulting in an incident or occupational accident
  • *2 Failsafe: A function ensuring that equipment will operate on the safe side in the event of mechanical malfunction, power outage or otherwise

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Safety Record

State of Occurrence of Occupational Accidents

The number of employees involved in occupational accidents (injuries without lost time) in the Company and at 34 major Group companies stood at 89 in 2022. Sadly, 17 of these were accidents requiring employees to take leave. The number of accidents at the Company, on a non-consolidated basis, has been showing a downward trend for the past ten years, but it has leveled off in recent years. (The number of business sites increased by two as a result of the merger of the former Mitsubishi Shindoh Co., Ltd. in April 2020. In addition, in 2022 the cement business and aluminum business were shifted outside the Group due to business reorganization.)
We did not meet our goal of not causing any occupational accident resulting in four or more lost days for 365 days, producing a result of 135 days.

Change in the number of continuous days without an occupational accident resulting in four or more lost days

  2019 2020 2021 2022
Number of days without an occupational accident 82 91 41 135

In addition, in 2022 a fatal accident involving heavy machinery and a serious accident involving a fall from a high place occurred at Group companies. The accident involving heavy machinery occurred when a construction contractor entered the operating area of heavy machinery without permission and came into contact with it. One of the contributing factors to this accident was inadequate communication between the construction supervisor and the person responsible for the operating area of the heavy machinery. In response to these accidents, we have implemented training on the precautions to be taken in site areas when construction contractors enter them, and we have reminded workers to ensure a safe distance between heavy machinery and workers, and to take countermeasures and exercise caution during activities such as inspections of facilities in the work environment.
The accident frequency rate which evaluates the state of occurrence of occupational accidents taking place at the Company (LTIFR (Lost-Time Injury Frequency Rate): casualties per million actual hours worked (employees taking time off work)) was 0.38; a lower figure than the 2022 manufacturing business average of 1.25, and the non-ferrous metals industry average of 0.90 (Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW) statistical data). The accident frequency rate including accidents not requiring employees to take leave (TRIFR (Total Recordable Injury Frequency Rate): casualties per million actual hours worked including accidents not requiring employees to take leave) was 2.30.
In 2023, too, we worked thoroughly to further increase the safety of facilities through risk assessments, added further measures to prevent accidents, and made other efforts toward achieving our zero occupational accident target.

Safety Record Trend (Mitsubishi Materials)

Safety Record Trend (Mitsubishi Materials)

  • The figures are based on calendar years. Occupational accidents frequency rate and incident rate do not include accidents during commuting or minor injuries. (For 2022, accidents from business sites related to the cement business and aluminum business are excluded.)

Breakdown of Safety Performance

  2019 2020 2021 2022
MMC (Enrollment) Fatal 0 0 0 0
Lost-time
(or more serious)
1 7 2 4
No lost-time 14 17 18 22
MMC
 (Temporary workers, etc.)
Fatal 0 0 0 0
Lost-time
(or more serious)
1 0 1 1
No lost-time 4 4 3 3
MMC (Subcontractor) Fatal 0 0 0 0
Lost-time
(or more serious)
4 4 10 2
No lost-time 18 19 17 6
Group companies 
(Incl. subcontractors)
Fatal 0 1 0 1
Lost-time
(or more serious)
30 13 27 9
No lost-time 120 83 84 41
Total Fatal 0 1 0 1
Lost-time
(or more serious)
36 24 40 16
No lost-time 156 123 122 72

Injury Frequency Rate Trend

    2019 2020 2021 2022
Non-consolidated LTIFR 0.17 0.51 0.21 0.38
TRIFR 1.68 2.03 1.68 2.30
Subcontractors LTIFR 0.45 0.85 2.27 0.66
TRIFR 4.49 4.92 6.12 2.62
  • LTIFR (Lost-Time Injury Frequency Rate): casualties per million actual hours worked (number of victims of accidents requiring employees to take leave including deaths) = accident frequency rate, TRIFR (Total Recordable Injury Frequency Rate): casualties per million actual hours worked (number of victims of accidents requiring employees to take leave including deaths + number of victims of accidents not requiring employees to take leave)

State of Occurrence of Fires and Explosions

In 2022, there were 15 accidents (fires and explosions, etc.) at the Company. They include one case of fire, where it took a certain amount of time before the accident ended. However, all of the other 14 accidents were minor ones scoring 3 points or less (with 12 of them scoring 1 point or less) under our internal accident evaluation standards, which are a measure of the magnitude of damage and impact. There was no explosion in 2022. There were zero (0) Tier 1 process safety events (PSEs) per million hours. The Company bases its definition of PSEs on the CCPS definition.*
However, partly because the total number of accidents was largely flat compared with 2021 (16), we will continue to pursue initiatives that focus on the prevention of similar accidents through the internal proliferation of accident data, among other measures.

  • Tabulated values are for the Company (non-consolidated) for the calendar year. Tier 1 PSE (Process Safety Events) are identified based on the "Process Safety Metrics: Guide for Selecting Leading and Lagging Metrics" Version 3.2 issued by CCPS.

Occurrence of Fires, Explosions and Other Accidents

  2019 2020 2021 2022
Number of accidents Score Number of accidents Score Number of accidents Score Number of accidents Score
Fire 5 2.2 6 5.1 10 18.3 13 35.1
Explosion 1 0.3 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0
Leakage, etc. 4 1.9 1 0.3 6 1.8 2 0.6
Total 10 4.4 7 5.4 16 20.1 15 35.7

MMC-method Accident Assessment Criteria

Severity level (points)  Assessment items
Human injury Property damage Impact of leakage/spill 
(Leakage of high-pressure gas, spill of hazardous material)
Time it takes before a fire is extinguished
(Duration of time between occurrence and extinguishment of a fire)
Ⅴ(27)  Multiple deaths Property damage outside the premises Impact on a wide area outside the premises, such as a river 4 hours or longer
Ⅳ( 9)  One death or multiple lost days Property damage to adjacent facilities on the premises Impact on the area around the premises 2 - 4 hours
Ⅲ( 3)  Lost time injury Burnout or damage to the building with equipment as the fire source Impact on adjacent facilities on the premises 1 - 2 hours
Ⅱ( 1)  Injury without lost time Burnout or damage of the equipment as the fire source, or minor damage to a part of the building with such equipment Leakage/spill only inside the building with equipment as the fire source or inside protective facilities such as dikes 30 minutes - 1 hour
Ⅰ(0.3)  Below Level II
(Minor incidents)
Below Level II
(Minor damage to a part of the equipment as the fire source)
Below Level II
(Minor leakage/spill)
Shorter than 30 minutes
  • Set by referring to accident assessment criteria of the Japan Petroleum Industry Association and the severity indicators for fire and spill accidents at dangerous facilities, which were notified by the Fire and Disaster Management Agency.
  • To be evaluated based on the total number of points by summing the points for the intensity level of each evaluation item that applies.
  • The number of points shall be zero (0) if none of the intensity levels applies.

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MMC

Education and Awareness-raising

Enhancing Safety and Health Education

Occupational Safety and Health Education Center - 
“Midori-kan”Occupational Safety and Health Education Center - “Midori-kan”

Monument for safety and healthIn the courtyard of the Midori-kan, a monument for safety and health surrounded by five materials symbolizing our business has been installed. The design employs a green cross representing safety.

We thought that personal experiences of hazards are important to improve hazard awareness, so started running an Occupational Safety and Health Education Center - “Midori-kan” in March 2017. The center has 50 different hazard experience facilities inspired by the actual work environment and the dangers that hide in everyday tasks. It also regularly provides specialized education needed for work safety and health in dedicated classrooms, in addition to Hazard Sensitivity Education by expert instructors. In fiscal 2023, roughly 240 employees underwent hazard experience education, and around 240 employees completed specialized education. Since its establishment, the center has provided hazard sensitivity training for about 4,260 Group employees, approximately 1,150 of whom have also completed specialized training courses as of March 2023.

Hazard Sensitivity Education Using Virtual Reality (VR)

We introduced VR as a part of hazard sensitivity training at our Occupational Safety and Health Education Center in May 2018. The system enables experiences that are difficult to simulate with regular equipment, providing participants with a 360º field of vision, better realism and immersion through haptic and other technologies. With the use of VR, participants can experience hazards through to the end (for example before, during and after falling), and is helpful for creating better hazard awareness. Because the devices are portable, we provide the training at each plant of the Group. In 2019, we introduced the second and third sets of devices and added five new hazard experience courses. We added another four courses in 2021. We began to lend them to Group companies as well, aiming to improve hazard awareness further.

VR hazard experience courses (Occupational Safety and Health Education Center)

Accidents involving contact with high temperatures (gas releases) Accidents involving contact with high temperatures
(gas releases)

Accidents involving contact with high temperatures (steam explosions) Accidents involving contact with high temperatures
(steam explosions)

Accidents involving contact with forklifts (driver moving forward) Accidents involving contact with forklifts
(driver moving forward)

Accidents involving contact with forklifts (pedestrian moving backward) Accidents involving contact with forklifts
(pedestrian moving backward)

Falling accidents(falling from crane) Falling accidents
(falling from crane)

Falling accidents(stepping through the floor) Falling accidents
(stepping through the floor)

Caught-between accidents(press) Caught-between accidents
(press)

Caught-in accidents(high-speed conveyor belt) Caught-in accidents
(high-speed conveyor belt)

Caught-in accidents(slow-speed conveyor belt) Caught-in accidents
(slow-speed conveyor belt)

Electric shock accidents at power panels Electric shock accidents at power panels

Tripping accidents caused by difference in height (falls) Tripping accidents caused by difference in height (falls)

Accidents involving cutter incision wounds Accidents involving cutter incision wounds

Falling accidents while descending stairs (fall) Falling accidents while descending stairs (fall)

Stepladder fall accidents Stepladder fall accidents

Flying object accident caused by  failed crane operation Flying object accident caused by failed crane operation

Grinder kickback accident Grinder kickback accident

Fall accident while putting a cover on a trailer Fall accident while putting a cover on a trailer

Pinched in a V-shaped belt Pinched in a V-shaped belt

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Strengthening Safety and Health Systems

Commendation System for Business Sites with Excellent Safety Records

To encourage improvements to safety management, we commend business sites that have made outstanding achievements in the Mitsubishi Materials Group. Business sites that are eligible for commendations are those of Mitsubishi Materials Corporation, consolidated subsidiaries in the manufacturing and construction industries in Japan, and some unconsolidated subsidiaries. Commendation criteria stipulate that the business site must achieve the required period (number of years) with no accidents requiring employees to take leave (a period during which no accidents requiring employees to take leave occur with regard to either company employees or contractors). Commendations are classified into the following three types. 

(1) Safety distinction award (Business sites that achieve the number of years stipulated by commendation criteria)
(2) Safety excellence award (Business sites that achieve the number of years stipulated by commendation criteria x 2)
(3) Safety grand prize (Business sites that achieve the number of years stipulated by commendation criteria x3or more)

Since risks vary significantly between industries and business types, the number of years stipulated as commendation criteria is set for each business site based on the business type. Business sites are classified into the following groups.

  • Group A (Criteria: every two years)
    Business types: plant type (smelting), equipment-oriented industry (copper & copper alloy, etc.), construction industry
  • Group B (Criteria: every three years)
    Business type: advanced materials & tools / processing and assembly type

October 2022 Commendations

Safety grand prize winners:
No prize winning business sites
Safety excellence commendation:
Metals Company Hosokura Metal Mining Co., Ltd. (4 years) A
Environment & Energy Business Company Kitakyushu Ash Recycle Systems Co., Ltd. (4 years) A
Safety distinction commendation:
Advanced Products Company Sakai Plant (2 years) A
Metalworking Solutions Company Gifu Plant (3 years) B

April 2023 Commendations

Safety grand prize winners:
Metalworking Solutions Company MMC Tooling Co., Ltd. (V, 21 years) B
Environment & Energy Business Company Rokkasho Office (I, 6 years) A
Hachimantai Green Energy Co., Ltd. (VII, 18 years) A
Affiliated Corporations Dept. Tohsoh Corporation (III, 10 years) A
Safety excellence commendation:
No prize winning business sites
Safety distinction commendation:
Advanced Products Company Yokkaichi Plant (2 years) A
MM Copper Products Co., Ltd. (2 years) A
  • Names of the commended organizations are as of the time of the commendation.

Safety and Health Instruction Utilizing Outside Consultants

The results of an analysis of past occupational accidents revealed issues in risk identification at MMC Group business sites. For this reason, we have been providing safety and health guidance through outside consultants. Risks that have preciously not been recognized are identified from the viewpoint of an external expert and measures are taken to reduce such risks. This helps raise the on-site safety level and improves the hazard sensitivity of employees.

Promoting the Rollout of Information within the Group through Consolidation and Dissemination

The Safety, Environment & Quality Department has been running an internal portal website since February 2017 for the collection, dissemination, and viewing of information about safety, health, disaster prevention and the environment. Safety data and safety chronology to which there was previously only limited access along with occupational accident case studies, documents used for safety and health training and information concerning health and mental health have been classified, organized and published to the internal portal website. We produce videos depicting cases of typical occupational accidents that have occurred in the MMC Group, thus offering straightforward explanations of the conditions of an occupational accident, its cause, countermeasures taken and the lessons learned.
All past accidents in the Group have been entered into a database. That database has been available on the internal portal website mentioned above since June 2017. The database allows keyword and full-text searches and the creation of accident calendars, contributing to the preparation of safety education materials as well as measures against similar accidents. It is constructed so that all plants can obtain the necessary information swiftly and accurately, helping to bolster our safety foundation and foster a safety culture.

Disseminating Examples of Safety and Health Best Practices

Since 2014, we have been compiling a collection of safety and health best practices on a yearly basis, highlighting highly-effective initiatives implemented at each MMC Group business sites to prevent occupational incidents. We are promoting the spread of best practices by presenting them during National Safety Week as a shared asset for improving the Group’s safety and health. We introduce individual case examples in the form of a “Safety Column” on the internal portal site, which serves to widely share knowledge related to safety and health along with information about related initiatives.

MMC