Safety and Health

To ensure DENSO’s business foundation as a global company, it is absolutely essential to improve safety and health management. As such, the DENSO Group is working to achieve continuous improvements in safety and health based on the premise that creating safe and comfortable working conditions is the best way to realize both human dignity and high productivity. This policy is built on the fundamental principles of safety, health, and the environment established by DENSO CORPORATION in 1969.

At DENSO, committees are established for each business group (region), workplace, and Group company under the Companywide Safety, Health, and Environment Committee (chairperson: vice president with oversight) to achieve continuous improvements in safety and health.
Furthermore, taking the laws and regulations of each country into consideration, DENSO CORPORATION actively supports each business through independently establishing safety and health management systems that are top tier in their respective countries.

DENSO practices the PDCA (Plan, Do, Check, Act) cycle based on domestic and international occupational safety and health management system (OSHMS/ISO 45001) standards. In Japan, DENSO’s Daian Plant acquired ISO 45001 certification in 2020, and the Company plans to have five offices or companies, including domestic Group companies, certified in 2022.
In addition, 32 overseas Group companies have completed the transition from the OHSAS 18001 certification, which is based on the BS8800 standard set by the British Standards Institution, to ISO 45001.
Consequently, as of March 31, 2022, 33 (40%) of DENSO’s 82 locations* have acquired the ISO 45001 certification, which is the international standard for occupational health and safety management systems.

*Locations subject to health and safety management: DENSO CORPORATION’s manufacturing plants, and production companies of subsidiaries in which DENSO CORPORATION’s shareholding ratio is 50% or more

DENSO’s Safety and Health Management System

In order to minimize risks in and after the planning and design stages of equipment, and to ensure the installation of equipment with a high level of safety, DENSO has established and is implementing standards for conducting equipment risk assessments, which are defined in the DENSO Safety, Health and Environment Standards (DAS). Sources of hazards in equipment and chemical substances are identified, risk levels are quantified, and risk reduction measures are formulated in accordance with DAS and reflected in equipment design.

After the equipment’s completion, we conduct risk assessments in the same manner, focusing on the work performed on the production line. The risks identified are reflected in tangible safety measures, education and training, and manuals.

As part of our safety and health management system, members of the Internal Audit Department assess the status of PDCA implementation in each business division and at each domestic and overseas Group company in terms of 22 safety and health items (policies, education, risk evaluation, self-inspections/records, etc.), in addition to monitoring quality control. The results of these assessments are reviewed by DENSO’s management during quality control inspections to ensure that the highest priority is being given to safety.

In fiscal 2022, DENSO conducted activities for all employees with a focus on preventing explosions, fires, and serious accidents, and reducing Type 1 accidents involving working parts and heavy objects. The activities included safety communication patrols led by division leaders, strengthening of accident prevention through hands-on actions such as troubleshooting, and inspections to prevent explosions and fires, with an emphasis on high-risk equipment. Despite these measures, domestic Group companies were unable to meet some of their targets due to an increase in the number of accidents. By analyzing the causes of accidents, we found that many occurred as a result of hands getting caught in the working parts of production equipment. As such, we have incorporated special activities that emphasize the importance of not touching moving parts of machinery and are continuing our activities to prevent accidents.

• Additional performance data

As part of the 3-3 activity, managers and directors stop and stand in one place for three minutes, in three separate places throughout the day, to observe work methods, behavior, and equipment. By providing guidance on and improving flaws, as well as commending strengths, we are making efforts in accident prevention primarily from a behavioral perspective. Furthermore, we are promoting “3S and first touch use on derricks (3S + D)”* disaster prevention activities with the goal of eliminating accidents caused by a failure to turn off equipment. These activities ensure equipment cooling time and prevent hasty actions and careless mistakes through the use of pointing and calling at important locations on the equipment as a means to properly switch off equipment during abnormal conditions.

* 3S is a process that involves pointing at and calling out important locations on equipment in correct sequence　(pointing at and calling out “Switch off,” “Switch off, OK!,” and “Stop, OK!”) as a means to properly switch off equipment during abnormal conditions. As soon as the 3S process is complete, a specialized tool is used to actually switch off the piece of equipment (“first touch use on derricks”), rather than switching off the equipment by hand.

Together with affiliated companies that conduct facility and equipment installation, remodeling, and equipment relocation within Company premises, DENSO CORPORATION has established Safety and Health Council regarding the Work within DENSO premises. This Committee works to prevent accidents from occurring during construction work on Company premises by promoting safety education, conducting safety patrols, and other means.

Initiatives to establish employee-friendly working environments that give consideration to employee safety and health are becoming even more important. To that end, we will continue activities geared toward creating a structure for preventing explosions, fires, and other serious accidents, sharing and following up on past instances of accidents on a Groupwide basis, and ensuring that we learn from these instances to prevent accidents from happening again. In these ways, we will further reinforce the concept of “Safe DENSO” across the entire Group.