E H S R e p o rt

Health and Safety
Health and Safety

The Tokyo Electron Group promotes good health and safety for all who are involved in our business.
We believe effective health and safety management is one of our responsibilities to society and an
important element of our operations.
For the Safety of All

Preventing Accidents

The Tokyo Electron Group places great emphasis on the health andIn fiscal year 2008, while sales and shipment of products were

safety of customers, employees and anybody else involved in ourincreasing, the Tokyo Electron Group saw at least a 40% decline inbusiness. Ensuring a safe workplace, safe products and healthy lives

the number of injury accidents (excluding minor accidents) fromfor our stakeholders is part of our responsibility to society.

the previous year, achieving the goal of a 33% reduction from theBased on this belief, we provided safety training seminars for2000 level. This dramatic reduction was made possible thanks tomanagers from October 2006 to March 2008. A total of 55 sessions

our global safety management program, which was previously only

were held at 12 plants and offices in Japan, in which 818 managers

operated in Japan. We particularly focused on safe installation of ourof our Group participated.

products in factories of new customers in Asia. As a result, far fewer

Highlights

The training program started with a video message from top

injury accidents occurred during installation or maintenance work.

management, moved on to a lecture on human factors in accidents,

Other contributors to the reduced injury rate were the development

analysis of actual accident cases and video-based learning on theof original safety tools, improvement of safety training programs

obligation to maintain safety. It wrapped up with a presentation byand product design changes to reduce work in high places andeach participant on their safety action plans. A great deal of positive

heavy lifting. We are planning to take further steps to reduce injury

feedback was given in the post-seminar survey, with comments

accidents. In addition, from the fiscal year 2008 data, we haveincluding, “The best training program ever;” “From now on, I would

begun to calculate the frequency of occupational accidents based onlike to practice what I learned in the program;” “I was able to follow

the number of accidents resulting in one or more full-day absence

the course easily because the example cases were familiar;” andin Japan.

“The seminar made me

MANAGEMENT Report

recognize that I am thesteward of my group

Frequency of Occupational Accidents and Number of Injury Accidents(Number ofinjury accidents)

members’ safety.”

1.79

48
33
Safety Seminar for Managers0(Frequency)

1.77

1.78

1.85

41

37

43

39

1.90

47

1.83

1.09

0.97

0.98

0.98

1.02

28

0.36

0.35

0.99
0.39

1.01

0.34

0.40

0.37

0.39

0.18

0.15

0.24

0.39

0.32

0.18

0.19

’02

’03

’04

’05

’06

’07

’08 (FY)EHS Report

Number of injury accidents that occurred in the Group
Average for all industry accidents in Japan
Average for Japan’s manufacturing industry

TOPICS

1.95

Average for Japan’s electromechanicalmanufacturing industry
Tokyo Electron Group
Target for the number of injury accidents

Note: T he number of injury accidents is shown, taking the number in FY 2001 as 100.
Frequency of occupational accidents: based on the number of occupational
accidents per one million labor hours

Development of New Weight Scale to Reduce Accidents
during Handling of Heavy Objects
Accurate measurement of weight is an important process in handlingheavy objects. Visual or tactile assessment of weight tends to be

SOCIAL Reportmisleading; workers often find the actual weight is heavier than they
estimated. In the past, inaccurate measurement of the objects tobe handled led to many injuries of Group employees, with the mostcommon problems being back pain or getting stuck under the object.
To prevent such accidents, we have implemented special weightscales which are traditionally equipped with tools for handling smallparts and products.

32

TOKYO ELECTRON Environmental and Social Report 2008

0Weight scaleOffering Safety Training with Hands-on Experience

Safety has become an increasingly important element of ourDesktop training and other vicarious learning may not be powerfulequipment design and development, reflecting growing demandenough to develop necessary vigilance for safe operations. Therefore,

from employees and customers. In response, we provided an online

our Saga Plant provides hands-on experience training which aims toequipment safety education program in fiscal year 2007 with regard

provide actual or simulated experience of what dangerous operational

to the handling of our products. This web-based education provides

work is like, to raise employee awareness of occupational safety,

necessary information for equipment safety design, such as risk

reducing accidents and the resulting

assessment details, and lessons learned from past accidents.

damage and injuries. During thetraining to experience work in highequipment has become

places, participants learn about

taller as we seek better

proper usage of safety belts throughproductivity amid smalleruse of a torso belt or a harness-type

space requirements. Thissafety belt.

means a greater number of

Immersion into liquid

assembly and adjustment
processes need to beHighlights

In recent years, ourHealth and Safety

Ensuring Product-Related Safety

conducted in high places
and there is greater riskthat our employees may
fall. We work in earnest toTo learn the risk of handlingminimize accidents during

pressurized liquid chemicals,

work in high places as part of our effort to achieve genuinely safe

participants wear protective

product design, “A safety program for product handling.” Our latest

clothes and goggles and are exposed to simulated pressurized water in acoater/developers are designed to require less work, especially lesspipe. This experience is designed to ensure participants understand theheavy lifting, from high places. In particular, heavy components thatimportance of wearing protective gear in the correct manner.

were previously located on the top of equipment are now installed

To experience the potential of being electrocuted, participantson the inside. In addition, we reduced the number of component

touch an energized electrode with bare hands. Although sparks will

adjustments and revised the frequency of periodic maintenance.

result if a pair of energized electrodes come into contact, the shock

When assembling previous models, we needed to use safety

from the three 12-V batteries connected in series does not affect thesteps and access platforms 90 times to complete one piece of ourMANAGEMENT Report

Online safety management training program

Experiencing being hunghuman body.
Witnessing the powerof heavy objects

EHS Reportequipment, whereas the latest model requires 50 times.

Eliminating Units on the Top Side
Before improvement

After improvement

Electrode used in training

SOCIAL Report

Participants also learn the potential risks of heavy objects byseeing floor tiles (the same type of those used in actual clean rooms)
falling, crushing empty cans.

TOKYO ELECTRON Environmental and Social Report 200833