Environmental Management

Basic Environmental Policy
Environment & Safety Management System
The Environment & Safety Committee was organized withdirectors responsible for environment and safety as leaders toharmonize KYB’s intentions regarding environment- and safetyrelated issues. KYB has implemented the system shown below.

SloganProtect the Green Earth and Create
Products Gentle to the Environment

KYB’s Environment & Safety Management System
President
Executive Ofﬁcer

Basic Environmental Policies
The KYB Group creates products gentle to bothpeople and the earth. We are dedicated to thepromotion of environmental activities as animportant tool for evaluating management.
1. Coordinate and build up production andcorporate activities based on recycling to
reduce impacts on the environment.

Executive Ofﬁcer incharge ofEnvironment & Safety
Respective business units

Environment & Safety
Committee
Chairman: Executive Ofﬁcer
in charge of Environment& Safety

2. Strive to ensure long-term and sustainable
operations throughout the entire KYB Group.
3. Work to promote harmony with society andcontribute to the global community as agood corporate citizen.
4. Clarify every employee’s role so that all
employees can participate fully.

Subcommittees
Environment Preservation
Subcommittee
Energy-saving Plant
Subcommittee
Safety and Health
Subcommittee

Plant General Manager

Overall Safety
Supervisor

Environment
Supervisory Ofﬁcer

Safety and HealthCommittee

Environment
Supervisory Committee

Subcommittees

Subcommittees

Environmental/Safety Mid-Term Policy
Phase 1 (2011-2013)
1. Creation ofenergy-saving plants• Reduce CO2 basic unit by 1%each year and reduce CO2
emissions by 25% compared to
FY1990 by 2020

2. Creation ofwaste-free plants• Reduce ﬁnal disposal amount ofindustrial waste by 65%
compared to FY2000 by 2015

3. Creation of
accident-free plants• Prevent industrial accidents
through risk assessment• Develop safety awarenesstraining facilities, etc.

22

KYB Group Report 2019

Phase 2 (2014-2016)
1. Creation of plants thatminimize energy
consumption and waste• Reduce energy consumption per
basic unit by 1% per year relative
to FY2013 levels• Reduce amount of industrial
waste per basic unit by 3% peryear relative to FY2013 levels

2. Creation and expansionof industrial accident-free
production bases• Improve employees’ awarenessof safety and eliminate criticalhazards

Phase 3 (2017-2019)
1. Creation of plants thatminimize energy
consumption and waste• Develop environment for partial
supply of energy• Promote measures throughenergy visualization• Promote waste volume reduction
and recycling

2. Creation and expansion ofindustrial and ﬁre accidentfree production bases• Promote risk assessment andcountermeasures for industrial
accidents• Promote ﬁre accident-freemeasuresEnvironmental Conservation Goals, Results and Future Initiatives
We developed the Environmental Management Activity Plan
based on the Company’s environmental policy and implemented
a variety of activities for each production base to achieve ourgoals. However, compared with FY2016, which was thebenchmark, we did not achieve our goals for CO2 emissions, due

FY2018 we only calculated emissions as a whole, but from
FY2019 we will clarify the deﬁnition of recycling in order tocalculate actual waste emissions. In addition, we will work to
improve the efﬁciency of production facilities, further reduceenergy consumption, improve productivity and promote recycling.

in part to an increase in production. For industrial waste, until

Activity Results for FY2018
Theme○: Goal attained

×: Goal not attained

FY2018 Result

Evaluation

Goal

Prevention of
global warming

CO2 emission volume

94,615 t-CO2 or less

97,419 t-CO2

×

Energy saving

Energy consumption
per basic unit

0.70 kℓ/million yen or less

0. 68 kℓ/million yen○

Improvement of
resource recovery
and recycling rate

Recycling rate

91.9% or higher

92.1%

○

Zero emission

4.6% or less

4.5%

○

General waste

474 t or less

597 t

×

General waste perbasic unit

1.96 kg/million yen or less2.09 kg/million yen

×

Metal scrap

16,855 t or less

20,364 t

×

Metal scrap per basic
unit

237 kg/million yen or less251.8 kg/million yen

×

Industrial waste

3,261 t or less

3,827 t×Industrial waste perbasic unit

26.79 kg/million yen or less28.5 kg/million yen

×

Reduction ofwaste

Overview of Major
Initiatives in FY2019

Global Warming Prevention
Measures include replacing
lighting with LEDs, LVDs, andother highly efficient devices,adopting inverter control forhydraulic units, reducing air
consumption in plants, andreducing the air-conditioning load.
Waste Material Reduction
Measures include reducing paintgas volume through biologicaltreatment, introducing waste
treatment systems and turning
sludge and white gasoline into
valuable products.

Notes: Basic units are calculated using marginal proﬁt.
For energy, crude oil equivalent is calculated for electricity and fuel and the total value is displayed as total energy consumption.
CO2 emissions and energy consumption are calculated using methods determined by KYB.

Environmental Load of Business Activities
KYB uses energy, water, chemicals, and a variety of other resources. We make efﬁcient use of limited resources in production by taking
steps to reduce waste, CO2, and other emissions.

Input

Production Activities

Raw materials (Metal, non-metal)

Development/Design

197,396 t
Procurement

EnergyElectric power

Fuel/Gas

112,062 MWh

20,689 kℓ

1,633 km3
Chemical substances (PRTR law target substances)

333 t

Production process

Amount of waste

3,827 t(Reuse, etc.)(Landfill disposal)

Production

2,109 t743 tDistribution

Emission into atmosphere
CO₂
NOx(Crude oil equivalent)

Water

Output• Development of technologies andproducts that are environmentallyfriendly as a result of recycling,energy saving and safety, etc.
• Promotion of green procurement• Promotion of modal shift

97,419 t-CO2

22 t

SOx

Dust

2t

0.3 t

Recycling inside Company

Recycling outside Company• Scrap (Effective utilization in the KYB Group)• Deteriorated solution for chrome plating• Water used for rinsing in chrome plating process, etc.

• Metal scrap• Waste oil• Waste plastic• Grinding powder • Waste thinner • Paper, cardboard, etc.

Scrap

Recycling company

Related company

KYB Group Report 201923

Chemical Substance Management
Response to Environmental Controls on
Products
For protection of the environment, the REACH Regulations,1
other ELV2 and RoHS directives,3 and various laws and regulations
have been established, under which increasingly stringent
provisions are being implemented. In order to address stricter
REACH and other regulations, we have built a database ofchemical substances subject to the regulations applicable to eachof our products, conduct investigations of such substances, andcollect relevant data. We can use this database to rapidly
respond to requests from customers about whether or notprohibited and restricted substances are used and to respond toinquiries about substances of high concern that are additionallyregistered as prohibited and restricted substances from time totime following the implementation of the REACH Regulations.
We will continue with activities that enable us to provide productsthat conform to the needs of our customers and of the market.

Risk Assessment of Chemical Substances
In FY2015, we assessed the health risks related to chemical
substances at all of our production bases in Japan. In FY2016,
we assessed risk of explosion and ﬁre from chemical substancesat the Gifu South Plant and Gifu East Plant. For the assessment,
we submitted an explanation to all departments that handlechemical substances about the three elements for combustion(i.e., combustibles, oxygen, and ignition sources), ﬂashpoint andignition temperature, which are the basic factors in explosions andﬁres. Chemical substances handled by the plants include invisible
gaseous substances and those with ﬂashpoints below room
temperature. Through risk assessments, we strive to provide useful
information to those who handle chemical substances so that they
understand the importance of eliminating ignition sources toprevent explosions and ﬁres caused by chemical substances.

Response to PCB Disposal
Transformers and other electrical equipment containing PCBs are
stored securely at each of our business establishments. We
concluded a disposal contract with a company specializing indetoxiﬁcation processes and started disposal in FY2012.
So far, we have completed the disposal of transformers stored
at KYB-YS Co., Ltd., its Casting Center, the Mie Plant of Kayaba
System Machinery Co., Ltd., and our Gifu South Plant andKumagaya Plant. We will proceed with disposal under the planfor each ﬁscal year.
Notes: 1. Regulations that came into effect in the EU in June 2007 with regard toregistration, evaluation, authorization and restrictions on chemicals
2. A directive that came into effect in the EU in January 2000 to reduce theenvironmental impact of end-of-life vehicles
3. A directive that came into effect in the EU in July 2006 that restricts the useof speciﬁc hazardous substances found in electrical and electronic products.

ISO 14001 Certiﬁcation Acquisition
In order to systematically develop initiatives for environment conservation, we are introducing and promoting an ISO 14001
environmental management system. We will shift to the 2015 edition sequentially in renewal examinations.

Japan

Overseas
KYB

Year of Certiﬁcation
Registration

Gifu South Plant (Including Gifu East Plant,
Production Technology R&D Center, Machine Tools
Center, KYB Motorcycle Suspension Co., Ltd.)

Feb. 2000

Sagami Plant (Including the Basic Technology R&D
Center and the Electronics Technology Center)

Dec. 2000

Kumagaya Plant
Gifu North Plant (Including KYB Kanayama Co., Ltd.)Year of Certiﬁcation
Registration

KYB Manufacturing Taiwan Co., Ltd. (Taiwan)

Jun. 2001

KYB Steering Spain, S.A.U. (Spain)

Jun. 2001

KYB Suspensions Europe, S.A.U. (Spain)

Dec. 2001

KYB Americas Corporation (United States)

May 2002

KYB (Thailand) Co., Ltd. (Thailand)

Jul. 2003

Dec. 2000

KYB Steering (Thailand) Co., Ltd. (Thailand)Aug. 2003

Dec. 2001

PT. Kayaba Indonesia (Indonesia)

Nov. 2004

KYB-UMW Malaysia Sdn. Bhd. (Malaysia)

May 2005

KYB-UMW Steering Malaysia Sdn. Bhd. (Malaysia)

May 2005

Dec. 2000

Takako Vietnam Co., Ltd. (Vietnam)

Jan. 2007

Takako Industries, Inc. (Shiga Plant)

Feb. 2003

KYB Manufacturing do Brasil Fabricante deAutopeças S.A. (Brazil)Mar. 2007

KYB-YS Co., Ltd.

Apr. 2004

KYB Industrial Machinery (Zhenjiang) Ltd. (China)

Apr. 2009

KYB Trondule Co., Ltd.

Nov. 2008

KYB Manufacturing Czech, s.r.o. (Czech Republic)

Aug. 2009

Changzhou KYB Leadrun Vibration Reduction
Technology Co., Ltd. (China)

Jan. 2010

Wuxi KYB Top Absorber Co., Ltd. (China)

Nov. 2013

Group Companies in Japan
Kayaba System Machinery Co., Ltd. (Mie Plant)

24Group Companies Overseas

KYB Group Report 2019Year of Certiﬁcation
Registration

Takako America Co., Inc. (United States)

Feb. 2013

KYB Manufacturing Vietnam Co., Ltd. (Vietnam)

May 2013

KYB Advanced Manufacturing Spain, S.A.U. (Spain)

Jun. 2015

Environmental Management

Environmental Accounting
The amounts of investment and cost were separately calculated with reference to the Environmental Accounting Guidelines, 2005,
presented by the Ministry of the Environment.

(Millions of yen)

Cost Type(1) Businessarea cost

Major Contents

Invested Amount/Cost(1)-1 Pollution prevention cost

• Air pollution and water pollution prevention activities• Maintenance and inspection of pollution prevention facilities• Analysis and measurement of atmosphere and water quality

204.3(1)-2 Global environmental
conservation-cost• Energy conversion• Energy-saving activities

21.1(1)-3 Resource circulation cost

• Recycling of plant waste• Reduction of industrial waste

216.7(2) Upstream/downstream cost

Not available

0.0(3) Management activity cost

• Maintenance and periodic renewal screening of ISO14001• Monitoring of environmental impact

97.0(4) R&D cost

• Environmentally friendly product development• Lightweight products and products containing less hazardous
chemical substances

89.8(5) Social activity cost

• Support of non-proﬁt environmental protection• Afforestation and maintenance of scenery around plants

12.8(6) Environmental remediation cost

Not available

0.0(7) Other cost

• Internal environmental conservation• Welfare conservation

22.7

Grand total

Not available

664.4

Note: Classiﬁcation and Deﬁnition of Environmental Conservation Costs
Invested amount: Expense for the purpose of environmental conservation during the target period with effect that continues for a number of terms and cost running for those
periods. (Amount acquired during the current term of the depreciable asset)
Cost: Cost or loss generated from expenditure of ﬁnances/services for the purpose of environmental conservation.

Environment-related Data
CO2 Emissions

Energy Consumption(t-CO2)150,000
1.25
100,000

95,081

1.31

92,7091.26
96,545(t-CO2/million yen)
1.5
1.34
1.30
101,289

Waste Emissions(㎘)(㎘/million yen)
0.80

80,000
0.654

0.689

0.713

0.704

0.684

60,00097,41950,0000.60

1.046,79848,66450,76453,081

51,031

0
2014

2015

■ Emissions (Left scale)

2016

2017

2018

0.40

20,000

0.20

0

0
2014

2015

2016

■ Consumption (Left scale)

2017

2018

5,000
0

■ General waste

Water Usage

Energy Consumption for Transportation*
(kℓ)
2,500
2,241
1,633

1,383

1,243

1,251

20,364

3,469

3,506

539
2015

504
2016

■ Metal scrap

3,827

3,539
597

504
2017

2018

(FY)

■ Industrial waste

2,171

2,000

1,331

19,755

17,931

16,998

3,729
535
2014

(FY)

Basic unit (Right scale)

(km3)
2,000
1,500

18,923

10,000(FY)

Basic unit (Right scale)

20,00015,00040,0000.5

0(t)25,000

1,946
1,756

1,673

2015

2016

1,500

1,000
1,000
500

500
0

0
2014

2015

2016

2017

2018

(FY)

2014

2017

2018

(FY)

* Amount as crude oil

KYB Group Report 201925

Environmental Management

Activities at Production Bases
Energy Savings from Introducing UltraHigh-Efﬁciency Amorphous Transformers
The Sagami Plant has 50 transformers at each of its substations.
Four of them had deteriorated over time and were at high risk offailure. We therefore replaced two of the transformers in 2017
and two more in 2018 with Super Amorphous Zero S ultra-highefﬁciency amorphous transformers that greatly reduce power loss.
The annual energy saved is equivalent to approximately 26 kℓ ofcrude oil.

is within the wastewater standard set under the Water Pollution
Control Law. We installed the oil and water treatment equipment
about 40 years ago and it had deteriorated over time, lowering
treatment capacity, raising the possibility that it would no longer
comply with water quality standards going forward. At the sametime, the eighth round of standards for efﬂuents (total nitrogenand total phosphorus in water) became more stringent withrevision of the Water Pollution Control Law. Given this situation,
the plant has upgraded the existing facilities to maintain thequality of treated water with even greater accuracy, thus fulﬁlling
its social responsibility to prevent pollution.

Turbo Compressor Upgrade
Since FY2016, the Gifu North Plant has been upgrading to turbo
compressors. Turbo compressors with three-stage compression
are more efﬁcient than screw compressors with two-stagecompression, thus reducing annual electric power cost. In addition,
turbo compressors are expected to lower maintenance costs because
they have fewer parts. In FY2018, the Gifu North Plant installed
its second turbo compressor, and will successively upgrade fromscrew compressors to turbo compressors to reduce energy costs.

Reducing Environmental Load with Bus Service
The bus used by employees of the Gifu North Plant to commute
between the plant and the nearest train station stopped operatingover 30 years ago, so the plant has provided taxi service from thestation for such people ever since. Given the cost and environmental
considerations, we established a bus service synchronized withtrain arrival times. There are four trips daily. The route includes
the Gifu North, Gifu South and Gifu East plants, eliminating an
average of 11 taxi trips perday. Although not a major
initiative, the bus service has
reduced CO2 emissions andcosts. We will continue to
implement environmentallyfriendly initiatives.

Reducing Compressor Power Consumption
The power consumed by compressors accounts for about 27%of the total energy consumed at the Nakanojo No. 2 Plant of
KYB-YS Co., Ltd. The company therefore introduced a control
system that can shut down compressors inconjunction with production line operation
using the touch panel for automatic
compressor operation and shutdown
shown in the photo. The result was
exceptionally energy-efﬁcient operation,with compressor power consumption
reduced 13%, a 3.5% saving for theplant as a whole.

Upgrade of Oil and Water Wastewater
Treatment Facilities
The oil and wastewater treatment equipment at the Gifu North
Plant treats wastewater that contains oil from the entire plant and26

KYB Group Report 2019

Reducing Industrial Waste by Extending
the Cleaning Liquid Replacement Cycle
KYB Kanayama Co., Ltd. is reducing industrial waste as part of its
environmental activities. Plant No. 1 made cleaning liquid
replacement quantitative rather than periodic, which changed
replacement frequency from once a month to once every threemonths. As a result, the plant was able to reduce the amount of
efﬂuent from 47,520 ℓ/
Effluent Volume
year to 15,840 ℓ/year and(ℓ)
reduce the cost of
50,000purchasing ancillary
40,000materials by two-thirds.
30,000The change has no20,000impact on quality, and10,000KYB Kanayama will0
Apr. May Jun. Jul. Aug. Sep. Oct. Nov. Dec. Jan. Feb. Mar.
deploy this system at
FY2017FY2018 (After improvement)
Plant No. 2 as well.

Quality Management

KYB Group Basic Policy for Quality
KYB Group shall:
address quality improvement with honesty driven by the belief that quality is the basis for business.
deliver safe and secure products in compliance with promises to customers as well as with laws and regulations.

KYB and Group companies shall comply with the Bad News First policy,* promptly report any abnormalities
they uncover, and work earnestly to resolve problems quickly in order to provide monozukuri and services
with a level of quality that satisﬁes our customers and society.
* A system for promptly reporting abnormalities when they are uncovered. It promotes early detection and response to issues that could leadto a serious crisis.

Quality Assurance System
We have built and operate an ISO 9001-compliant quality
assurance system that emphasizes the quality of work processes
as well as the quality of products and services. We strive each day
to make improvements in all aspects of quality.
Quality at the development design stage, which includes thedevelopment of manufacturing methods and processes, is adetermining factor in the market quality of our products.
Furthermore, the adequacy and thorough implementation of shop
ﬂoor work procedures and rules will contribute to a reduction inprocess defects and other quality losses that occur in monozukuri.
At KYB, we implement what is called a three-step evaluation
system for the development and mass production of products,

What KYB Aims to Be: Quality Problem Prevention Cycle

Development of Products and Technologies through aThree-Step Evaluation System and the Declaration of
Quality and Safety
Step

Development
and Design

Creategood blueprints
Improvementof robustness

and the development of technologies, manufacturing methods,
and so on. We make every effort to achieve high quality
throughout the product life cycle, from the product planningstage, to defect reduction and change management after mass
production and shipment. At our production bases, we take avariety of quality improvement measures under the leadership ofbase managers and plant managers, and we are working topromote the unerring operation of our three-step evaluation
system. Furthermore, to ensure the quality of mass-produced
products, we also follow this system for single, small-lot orders
and when production is moved to another production base.

By following the blueprint,
the required functions
are guaranteed.

Prior and model
development
Realization of
products that satisfy
design requirements

Goal of the three steps

Qualityassurance step

Proof of possibility(Description and evaluationof development quality)

Development
quality

Proof of mass production(Description and evaluationof development quality)

Start quality

DR0 evaluation meeting

Orderdevelopment
DR1 evaluation meeting

Manufacturing
and Inspection

Production
Technology

Maintenance,
management
and improvement

Create goodconditions
By following the establishedprocessing conditions,
quality is guaranteed tomatch the blueprints.

By observing work standards
based on good blueprints andgood conditions, only good
products can result.

Establishment ofgood conditions formaintenance and management

Mass-production
development andproduction
preparations
Declaration of
Quality and Safety

Proof of applicability andserialization(Demonstration andevaluation of start quality)

Mass-production
quality

Declaration of Quality and Safety
Evaluate manufacturing site, manufactured products anddata to confirm that mass-production quality is problemfree and that reliable production and shipment are possible.

DR2 evaluation meeting

Mass production
Initial ﬂow
management

Bad News First
Execute (until the reporter receives feedback)
When abnormalities arise: Stop, Summon, Wait

Supplier Award List (FY2018)
Base

Award

Description

Customer

KIMZ (China)

Supplier Commendation

Received all three commendations: QCDS, Quality, Special Award

Jatco Guanzhou Ltd.

KYBT/KST (Thailand)

Regional Quality Award

Received commendation for contributing to quality

Nissan Motor Co., Ltd.

KYB Kanayama

Supplier Commendation

Received commendation in recognition of excellent quality

General Motors Japan Limited

KYBT (Thailand)

Quality Excellence Award

Received commendation in recognition of excellent quality

General Motors (Thailand)Co., Ltd.
KYB Group Report 201927

Human Resources Management

Human Resources Development
We nurture people with a high awareness of compliance – people
who can compete internationally. We use a broad spectrum ofeducation and training to enable them to enhance their expertise,
operate independently across borders and regions, and performtheir duties competently. Programs include class-speciﬁc education,compliance education, specialized technical education, production

system improvement, monozukuri (Japanese manufacturingexpertise), globalization, and health and safety.
In addition, employees of Group companies in Japan haveaccess to the same education system so that the entire KYB Groupcan develop people as valuable human assets.

The KYB Education System
Class-speciﬁc
education

New employee training
New manager training
Approx. 20 other courses

Compliance education
Compliance awareness education

High awarenessof complianceand quality
An open workplaceenvironment

Engineer
education

Specialized technical educationin ﬁelds including mechanics,
electricity, electronics, control
and materials
Approx. 50 other courses

KPS training and study abroad

Enhancementof techniques,
skills and ability tomake improvements

Monozukuri education

Quality education
Employeehealthand safety

Safety education
Mental health education

Languagetraining

Short-term language training
assignments
Overseas trainee systemand others

Training prior to overseas assignments

Globaloperations

Global engineer education
Distance learning (approx. 270 courses)

Support for selfdevelopment

Specific Initiatives
Compliance Awareness Education
The KYB Group is committed to an open corporate culture inwhich management and employee communication is energized bysharing perceptions of the current state of affairs.
We promote quality management, which is fundamental tomanagement, by positioning compliance awareness as the foundationof the KYB Group. We are working to foster a mindset of abiding withmoral, ethical, legal and societal rules at every level of the organizationfrom senior management to rank and ﬁle employees.

Regain trust
Senior management
Shared perceptionof the current
state of affairs

Strategy of successthrough quality management

An opencorporate culture

Executives, managers
and supervisors
Energetic communication

Employees
Delivering 100% quality

Compliance awareness*
The foundation of the KYB Group* Mindset of abiding by moral, ethical, legal and social rules

28

KYB Group Report 2019

Taking on the Challenge of the National Skills
Competition
The Ministry of Health, Labourand Welfare and the Japan
Vocational Ability Development
Association organize the
National Skills Competition
as a technical skill-based
competition for young people.
People throughout Japan in 42
occupations in ﬁelds that
include machinery are selected to participate.
KYB participates in the Lathe Operation category as part of its
activities to develop young, highly skilled technicians who possess
processing skills, judgment, insight, and patience. In FY2019, two
young employees will participate in this competition.

Global Engineer Training
We provide global engineer
training on an ongoing basis
for employees of overseas
Group companies.
We currently offer ninecourses: plating, welding,painting, centerless grinding,equipment maintenance, measurement and material inspection, KYB
Production System (KPS), casting, and heat treatment.

Small Group Activities
What Are Small Group Activities?
In each workplace, we form small teams that have been optimized
for speciﬁc objectives. Guided by a supervisor, they work toestablish compliance awareness and improve safety, quality andproductivity. The goal of these Companywide activities is to help

prevent improprieties, enhance corporate performance, energize
the workplace and improve communication, and to develop our
people by enhancing their ability to make improvements.

Basic Approach for Small Group Activities
Formulate policies (Goals and measures)
Execute policies (Goals and measures)Supervisor support must be suited to the problems and tasks that arise in policy execution.

Select and address next theme

Continuous initiatives as an organization

Identify problems and tasks
Theme resolution

Continuous initiatives as individuals

Select themes

Assess abilities and certify qualiﬁcations
Acquire methods for
improvement andbusiness knowledge

Formulate action plans

Education and training

Resolve problems and achieve tasks

Improve motivation
and awareness

Summarize, report and announce

Evaluate and commend

Deploy and use results
Reﬂect on and review activities

Specific Initiatives
Development of Trainers for Overseas Bases
Overseas Group companies aredeveloping trainers for key
onsite people who will be
responsible for running small
group activities. In March 2019,18 trainees from nine countries
participated in the ﬁrst trainer
development program, where
they learned about the role of the Small Group Activity Ofﬁce,
approaches, and quality control methods. We will continue to
conduct trainer development to increase the number of key onsite
people who can run small group activities.

Presentation of Outstanding
Small Group Activities
We share small group successstories at two Companywide
events – one for manufacturing
departments and one formanagement, administrativeand sales departments – thatshowcase the results ofoutstanding teams selected
through tournaments at each location, and at tournaments at Group
companies in Japan.

These events help create an open workplace environment anddevelop our people in ways such as promoting the use of small group
activities for preventing improprieties.

Training in Quality Control Methods
We promote small group activities through two-day courses that teachthe methods used by these groups and how to implement them.
1. Practical course on quality control methods and problem resolution
2. Practical course on new quality control methods and task achievement
We have steadily increased the number of participants by making
the courses a prerequisite for promotion.

Increase in the Number of Participants in Practical
Courses on Quality Control Methods(Cumulative number of participants)
800

771
698

600
462

511

■ Practical course on quality
control methods andproblem resolution

400
200

207

■ Practical course on new
quality control methods
and task achievement

155

0
2016

2017

2018

(FY)

KYB Group Report 201929

Promoting Health Management
KYB Health Declaration
KYB sees the health of employees and their families as an important management resource and source of corporate vitality,
and is working to achieve sustainable growth through the creation of an environment in which all employees can work in good
health both physically and mentally.
We are committed to actively supporting employees who are engaged in health promotion activities and to promoting
organizational measures for health promotion in order to live up to our Corporate Spirit by “building a corporate culture full ofvitality and holding high goals.”
November 1, 2019
Representative Director and President Executive Ofﬁcer

Organizational Structure for Promoting Health Management
Health management ofﬁcer(Representative Director,
President Executive Ofﬁcer)

Health management promotionofﬁcer (Director in charge of
Human Resources)

Health management
promotion team

Human Resources Division
Health Management Center

Policy execution

Health Insurance Association
Functional andbusiness divisions

SupportLabor Union

Key Initiatives
1. Measures for Lifestyle-Related Diseases(Collaboration with Health Insurance Association)

2. Mental Health Measures• Promoting mental health education• Creating an environmentthat facilitates exercise

We promote class-speciﬁc education for primary prevention ofmental health issues in the workplace.

We have installed walking
courses and hold Companywide
walking events.

Class-Speciﬁc Education in FY2018• Initiatives to keep the percentage of employees
undergoing scheduled health checkups at 100% and to
improve the percentage of employees undergoing
speciﬁed health checkups
Percentage of Employees Undergoing Health Checkups
Regular healthcheckups

Speciﬁed healthcheckups

FY2017

100%

73.5%

FY2018

100%

77.4%

• Health seminars
Visiting lecturers give annual health seminars at all of our businesslocations in order to raise health consciousness among employees.

Seminars held

Attendance rate

Supervisors

5 per year

92.5%

Managers

3 per year

96.0%

• Activities for freedom from harassment in cooperation
with functional and business divisions
Based on the belief that freedom from harassment is essential for
creating a vibrant and rewarding workplace, we have madefreedom from harassment a corporate priority and are executing
policies for all functional and business divisions.

3. Passive Smoking Countermeasures• Smoking environment countermeasures
87.7% of smoking areas areoutside and 66.7% of businesslocations have introduced ﬁxed
smoking times.
• Support for smoking
cessation
We provide support for employees who want to quit smoking.

30

KYB Group Report 2019

Human Resources Management

Promoting Work Style Reform
Basic Approach
We are focusing on building and enhancing systems using thethemes shown on the right to achieve a rewarding workplace inwhich diverse individuals can contribute over the long term.
In addition, in FY2018 we began conducting an Employee
Awareness Survey for all KYB employees regarding workplace
climate, working conditions, management policy and othermatters. Answers are anonymous, and an external organizationcompiles and analyzes the results. Consequently, response rates
have been high (95.6% for the ﬁrst survey in 2018, 97.1% for
the second survey in 2019) and we have learned the true
opinions of employees.
We will continue to conduct this survey regularly and use thedata to promote Companywide initiatives for employee work
style reform.

1. Support for work-life balance
Flextime system, hour-based annual leave system, etc.
2. Consideration of diverse work styles
Promotion of telecommuting, shortened working
hours to accommodate childcare, etc.
3. Promotion of employee healthSee “Promoting Health Management” on page 30
for details.
4. Improvement of work process efﬁciency
Includes productivity improvement projects foradministrative operations

Specific Initiatives
Enhancing the Productivity of
Administrative Operations
In FY2017, we launched the Administrative Operations Productivity
Improvement Project and are working to improve efﬁciency andadded value in administrative operations, including general affairs,
accounting, human resources and production management.
Each administrative department has formulated a Work Process
Improvement Action Plan to review existing work from theperspectives of Eliminate, Reduce and Change, with the goal of
improving work process efﬁciency by about 20% over three years
through a transition to higher added value.
In addition, we have introduced robotic process automation (RPA)
tools in some departments to automate routine work processes. We
will continue to study and verify all measures to increase efﬁciency inorder to improve the productivity of administrative operations.

Eliminate

Eliminate process
entirely① Terminate process② Eliminate

redundancies

ReduceIncrease processing
speed and quality(Quantity andQuality ÷ Time)① Standardize② Systematize

ChangeReduce work processunit costs(Yen ÷ Time)① Change managers② Outsource

employees raising children. Employees had indicated that thechildcare leave period stipulated by law made it difﬁcult to placechildren in nursery school because the leave period ended in the
middle of the ﬁscal year, before the start of the school year.
Furthermore, we revised the ﬂextime system in April 2019 byextending the period of the workday available for ﬂextime workand applying the system uniformly at all business locations. This
enables ﬂexible work styles that match employees’ private lives andwork schedules.

Promoting Telecommuting
One of our work style reform initiatives has been to promotetelecommuting, with the goal of reducing time and energy spent incommuting, and using the time saved more effectively. In November
2017, we launched a trial program focused on supporting work-lifebalance for employees raising children or providing nursing care forfamily members. We then expanded the scope of the program toinclude all employees at the head ofﬁce and branches, allowing
them to telecommute up to twice a week.
In addition, we registered with the organization implementing
Telework Days 2019, a program set up ahead of the 2020 Tokyo
Olympics and Paralympics by theministries involved and by the
Tokyo Metropolitan Government,
and encouraged employees towork from home.
Based on employee feedback,we plan to improve ourtelecommuting system by making
it more user-friendly, and to
broaden eligibility.

Support for Work-Life Balance
KYB supports work-life balance for its employees as a means tocreate an environment in which employees can participate withenthusiasm. In April 2018, we extended the childcare leave period
to the end of April after the child turns three in order to support

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