Activities of JAPIAThe 13th Background and Aims of Establishing “Health and Safety Subcommittee”
Report: Health and Safety Subcommittee
Subcommittee activities started this year, providing various information and measures toachieve "Zero Workplace Accidents" for member companies
Subcommittee activities started this year to provide various Information and measures to aim
for "Zero Industrial Injuries" in member companies. JAPIA has newly established Health andSafety Subcommittee this fiscal year to disseminate information to all member companies withthe aim of reducing industrial injuries to zero. In recent years, in addition to efforts to prevent
industrial injuries, attention has also been focused on the diversified mental health and healthmeasures of workers as one of the roles that companies should fulfill. Mr. Michiaki Tanabe(Senior Expert, Safety & Health Section, EHS Department, Sustainability Promotion Office, NOKCORPORATION), Chairperson of Subcommittee, and Mr. Chihiro Kouyama (Senior Advisor,Safety & Environment Department, CSR & Safety Division, KYB Corporation), a member ofSurvey and Research Working Group (WG), introduce their efforts in this session.
Themes List for Safety and Health Convention Presentations (since FY2010)
Fiscalyear
2022

JAPIA Group A

JAPIA Group B

Investigating the causes of past disasters and preventing future occurrences

Effective use of VR in safety education."

Working environment management and improvement surveys in welding work Consideration of law revisions related to welding fumes
Safety management of premises consignment/contracting, delivery and removal
operations

Considerations on safety management for managers and supervisors: To watch
safety in their own workplaces closely.
Considerations on ensuring the safety of foreign workers as workplace companions inproduction activities

2019

Consideration of fall accident prevention

Considerations for reducing the incidence of heat stroke

2018

Safety activities utilizing disaster information

Workplace-based health and safety activities

2017

Prevention of fall injuries among older workers

Consideration of human error and investigation of preventive measures

2016

Consideration of measures to deter risk-taking

Safety Activities of Managers and Supervisors
Recommendations for improving "unsafe behavior, lack of confirmation of conditions"2015

Traffic accident prevention ~Deterring unsafe behavior and raising awareness of safe
Prevention of accidents due to handling of tools
driving

2014

Consider hazard sensitivity

A Study of safety and health education for the prevention of industrial injuries

2013

What kind of health and safety staff are needed today?

Activities to reduce industrial injuries in non-routine work - Creation of safety
management guidelines for non-routine work

2012

Developing people who can think and act on their own for safety Part II

Creating rules that can be followed - Results of the survey

2011

Developing people who can think and act on their own for safety

Creating rules that can be followed - Developing a rule-making model

2010

Case study for improving safety management through risk assessment - How to dealwith risk

Creating rules that can be followed - Understanding the current situation and identifying
issues2021
2020

Engaging in measures against work-related accidents and activities to improve mental healthbeyond the boundaries of the company in the spirit of "no boundaries in health and safety"
Mr. Tanabe, Chairperson
Labor relations in the automobile industry have been handled by Automotive Industry
Managers Federation (Jikei-ren), an organization of the automobile industry under Japan
Employers Federation (Nikkeiren), and has been active in the industry as a member ofautomobile manufacturers, automobile parts suppliers, and auto body manufacturers. However,when Nikkeiren merged with Keidanren in 2002, and Jikeiren merged with Japan Automobile
Manufacturers Association (JAMA), JAPIA established "Personnel and Labor Affairs ResearchSociety" to receive parts manufacturers separated from the activities of JAPIA, the 26
companies that were members of the former Jikei-ren have continued their activities.
"Personnel and Labor Affairs Research Society" includes Labor Policy Subcommittee,
International Human Resources Subcommittee, Health and Safety Subcommittee, Survey andResearch WG, and Health and Mental Health Subcommittee, which have been conducting
activities on individual themes. In FY2022, the activities of Labor Policy Subcommittee andInternational Human Resources Subcommittee were transferred to Human Resources andLabor- Management Relations Subcommittee at Headquarters, and the activities werecontinued as "Safety and Health Research Society" specializing in safety and health activities,
however, since safety and health activities are important activities common to all JAPIAmembers, "Safety and Health Research Society” was dissolved in FY2022, and a new "Safety
and Health Subcommittee" was established in FY2023 to develop activities for all membercompanies.
Health and Safety Subcommittee regularly holds plant tours and other events as part of its
efforts to eradicate industrial injuries and protect the physical and mental health of employees atmember companies, and actively provides opportunities to exchange opinions and share goodpractices. Also, under Subcommittee there are Survey and Research WG, which conducts
surveys and research to resolve issues related to health and safety, and Health and Mental
Health Subcommittee, which promotes networking and information exchange among industrial
health staff (public health nurses and nurses) to improve the level of mental health activities.
The phrase "safety and health have no boundaries" has left a strong impression on me as I
have participated in JAPIA's safety and health activities. There are many companies thatcompete with each other in their core business, and in some cases, it is difficult to share
information, but all companies have the same attitude toward safety, even if they are rivals. I
would like to provide a place where members can actively share information about safety andhealth without barriers.
Last year, Survey and Research WG conducted research on the theme of "Effective Use of
VR in Safety Education" and shared effective examples of VR use at member companies and indifferent industries. The aim of using VR is to have the younger generation in particular visuallyexperience workplace hazards and to prevent safety education from getting stuck in a rut. VR
technology is in the process of growing, and functional improvements and cost reductions areprogressing year by year. Since "promotion of DX in safety and health measures" is included in
the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare's 14th Industrial Accident Prevention Plan for thecurrent fiscal year, the number of companies using VR is gradually increasing.
This is something I personally feel as well, recently, dangerous situations have beeneliminated as much as possible in our daily lives (which is a very good thing), and on the other
hand, there seem to be fewer situations where we can sharpen

our sense of danger, such asnear-misses and "KY"(Kiken-Yochi : hazard prediction). Comparing it to driving a car, if
recognizing situations where accidents are likely to occur and points to pay attention to leads tosafe driving, it is important to understand in advance situations where accidents are likely to occur
and sources of danger to pay attention to at work sites as well, in order to prevent work-relatedaccidents.
Mr. Kouyama
Survey and Research WG decides on several themes each year and conducts research on
safety and health issues. The results of the research are presented at the annual automobileindustry safety and health convention (co-hosted by JAPIA and JAMA) held every fall, and are
disseminated not only to all member companies but also to related and cooperating companies.
It is also presented at the following year's National Industrial Safety and Health Convention, andresearch cases are deployed to many companies. This year, as one of our research themes, weare tackling the topic of spur-of-the-moment KY (Kiken-Yochi: hazard prediction). In ordinary
production work, the sources of danger are clearly identified through a series of repetitive tasks,and the frequency of workplace accidents is low. However, in non-routine tasks such as
returning to work due to machine trouble, repairs, and maintenance, the sources of danger are
not fully identified, and the possibility of workplace accidents is high. In such work, accidents
occur as a result of attempts to proceed quickly based on one's own rule of thumb, simplified
work, spontaneous actions that result in a quick hand, and failure to recognize sources ofdanger that would normally be understood. To eliminate such cases, it is important to be awareof hazards on a daily basis. We study the root causes and countermeasures while sharing
information about failures and good practices at other companies.
The revision of the law on voluntary control of chemical substances has been a major topicof discussion this fiscal year. One of JAPIA's major roles is to compile member companies'
knowledge on how to respond to laws and regulations and make recommendations for future
actions. In FY2021, we worked on the theme of "Consideration of Legal Revisions in Welding
Fumes." This was a revision of the law to protect workers from fumes generated during welding.
We worked on how to properly understand the content of the law and how to respond to it,
including points for improving workplaces, wearing protective equipment, and requiring fit tests
to confirm that dust masks are properly fitted. At that time, it was not clear what the law was andwhat exactly should be done, and it was not clear what the appropriate measures were, as there
were differences in understanding and interpretation among the companies. The WG members
surveyed the working environment and response status of each company, compiledrecommendations for future measures, and presented them at the Automobile Industry Safety
and Health Convention as well as at the National Industrial Safety and Health Convention.
Since each manufacturing process is different among the member companies, it is an
opportunity to gain knowledge that one's own company does not have. We also conduct plant
tours to different industries other than automobile manufacturing (e.g., railroads, chemical

manufacturers, electronics manufacturers, etc.), which provides a valuable opportunity to learn
about the initiatives of other companies.
On the subject of welding fumes, I visited a welding equipment manufacturer and wasparticularly impressed by their approach to legal revisions from a different perspective. Inaddition, through visits to different industries, we learned that each company has a different
view of product life, and that manufacturing from a life cycle perspective was interesting andinstructive.
Mr. Tanabe, Chairperson
Employee mental health care is also becoming increasingly important. At Health and Mental
Health Subcommittee, experts provide guidance on preventive measures to protect the mental
health of employees. In mental health care, "self-check" by employees themselves and "linecare" by managers and supervisors are important before seeing a specialist. In order torecognize mental health problems as soon as possible, it is important for employees to beaware of their own behavior on a daily basis and to carefully observe the behavior of employees
around them. We provide opportunities for the occupational health staff of each company tosupport this and enhance their skills as professionals.
Mr. Kouyama
I believe that one of the challenges for the future is to take into account the diversification of
the workforce (age, gender, nationality, etc.). I feel that there is a difference in awareness ofdanger between younger workers and senior workers. If they cannot imagine "what will happen
if I put my hand out here," it could lead to an industrial accident. Even if seniors are aware of thedanger, they may suffer unexpected accidents such as falls due to omitted behaviors such as"this much is OK" or physical decline. In addition, the number of foreign employees has been
increasing recently, and we feel it is difficult to share the values of Japanese-style
manufacturing and safety awareness. We believe that the need to respond to the diversificationof employees will increase in the future.
Mr. Tanabe, Chairperson
In the future, as automation makes machines intrinsically safe, we can expect to see a
reduction in risks at work sites. However, it is human beings who operate the machines, and it isessential to manage on-site safety and health/mental health in consideration of diversification. Itis the mission of the manufacturing industry to create an environment in which employees canwork with peace of mind in terms of both of these aspects. "Zero industrial injury" is the eternal
theme of our member companies. Through Subcommittee, we will continue to contribute toimproving the level of safety and health management at each company.