Responsible care (RC) activities

Corporate management's commitment to industrial safety

Basic philosophy and basic guidelines relating to security and safety

Based on the Compliance Code, KH Neochem believes that the thorough implementation of security, safety, and environmental conservation in business activities is essential for the sustainable enhancement of corporate value and the fulfillment of social responsibilities. The company has therefore established an Environmental Security Policy and is working to ensure security, safety, and environmental conservation.
In order to comply with this Policy, KH Neochem will engage in the following Responsible Care ("RC") programs in good faith.
(1) Maintaining and improving a safe workplace
(2) Maintaining and improving safe and stable operations
(3) Contributing to society and environmental conservation
(4) Contributing to the local community

Allocation of resources to industrial safety

Human resources: We are acting to rehire employees who have resigned on reaching the mandatory retirement age and having them pass on their technology to younger employees. We are actively hiring human resources with a focus on our concept for future personnel.
Maintenance and equipment investment: We take into consideration the aging of equipment and are systematically working to prevent deterioration and damage caused by external surfaces.
In addition to the above, we are working on stabilizing plant operations using advanced plant control systems, and are also considering introducing a predictive diagnostic system that can detect abnormalities early.

Setting industrial safety targets

The numerical targets for the priority measures for FY2023 are as follows.
(1) Environmental conservation: zero environmental accidents
(2) Safety and disaster prevention: zero safety-related accidents
(3) Occupational safety and health: zero work-related accidents requiring days off from work, and seven or fewer work-related accidents (below the average for the last five years)

Formulation of implementation plans for industrial safety measures

Risk assessment (RA)

We actively perform risk assessments: at the time of work, by identifying hazards that can be anticipated to result in work-related accidents and taking corrective actions; for routine operations, at the time of starting up a new process, by identifying hazards in the scope of potential risks inherent in a plant and problems in operation; for non-routine operations, at the time of emergencies and plant start-up. In addition, we are actively engaged in risk prediction activities to reduce risks by identifying risks from the "hiyari hatto," close call recognition, and "kigakari memo," memos on matters of concern, which we use to record close calls and other matters of concern noticed during work that could lead to a work-related accident.

Education and training for human resource development

We identify the potential impact of deviations from the plant operating procedures as well as the potential risks in the plant, and make use of these findings for technical training for young employees.
We are conducting technical training to develop understanding of basic technology, carrying on education using educational materials and equipment, and conducting training for emergency scenarios as well as emergency reporting drills.
In addition, the safety message video (2nd edition) created and distributed by the Japan Petrochemical Industry Association is viewed at safety meetings and other events, and is utilized for security and safety activities. Furthermore, we have started VR education to ensure thorough understanding of fall risks and thorough countermeasures.

Active use of accident information

For accidents that occur within the company, as well as for other risk situations, we survey and investigate the causes, discuss whether there are any problems with the corrective measures taken, and share the information within the company. In addition, for accidents that occur at other companies, accident information that can be considered to have similarities with our facilities is subjected to accident case studies. In this way we make every effort to heighten the safety awareness of our employees, taking action to prevent the occurrence of similar problems.

Organizational management

At our production sites, in principle, plant management meetings are held monthly, and close communication is maintained with the head office.
At our production sites, liaison conferences of our three main business groups are held as necessary, and steps are taken for coordination and communication between all of the groups.

Equipment maintenance and measures against deterioration

For equipment maintenance, we are working to establish the selection of and the timing of construction based on risk assessment to conduct maintenance operations efficiently. We have also started considering the use of drone cameras to conduct visual inspections of high places.

Voluntary earthquake-resistance diagnosis of existing piping systems in high pressure gas facilities

In our capacity as high pressure gas accreditation inspectors, we assign priorities and carry out earthquake-resistance diagnosis of existing piping systems, though only at critical Category Ⅲ facilities.

Adoption of new techniques and technology to enhance safety

We are incorporating advanced control programs in our operations management and taking steps to achieve further stability of our plants.
We are also working to introduce a predictive diagnosis system for early detection of defects.When introducing new technologies, in-house education is provided by the supervising department.In addition, training is provided to all operators in the manufacturing section where the plant advanced control system has been introduced.

Implementation of safety management that also includes cooperating companies

We are conducting education and training for construction site supervisors, construction workers, transportation operations managers, transport crew members, and other such personnel.
We have established safety cooperation councils in order to realize smooth operations and the improvement of safety in the construction work done in our production sites and work related to physical distribution.
Our cooperating companies also participate actively in risk prediction activities by means of "hiyari hatto," close call recognition, and "kigakari memo," memos on matters of concern.
The status of the implementation of safety measures between the ordering party and the main contractor was checked at the site before the start of the work, and if there is a shortage, the installation of equipment for carrying out the work more safely was added to the regulations and revised.The aforementioned additional information was disseminated to KH Neochem Safety Cooperative Committee.In addition, we again disseminated this information in the construction site supervisor certification seminar.

Surveys and evaluations of the achievement status of priority measures for the fiscal year, and the implementation status of measures

KH Neochem has established the Environmental and Safety Committee as an advisory body to the President, to report on the status of achievement of priority measures for the fiscal year, and to deliberate and report on the improvement of non-achievement and the formulation of priority measures for the next fiscal year.
The Environmental and Safety Committee is chaired by the director in charge of environment and safety and the President makes decisions on the matters that have been discussed and reported by the committee. The priority measures for the fiscal year that have been approved by the President are rolled out to each department, and their progress is confirmed through periodic environment safety inspections conducted by the head office.
Based on the results of the review, in fiscal 2023, we strengthened our efforts to promote the Comprehensive Safety Check Initiative 2022 and Smart Industrial Safety.

Measures to promote autonomous safety activities (Cultivation of safety culture)

We give points for improvement proposals from employees, and awards to the top groups with high per-person scores. We also give awards to the production sites that have established and maintained an excellent safety management system and achieved no disasters and no accidents during the required time.

Making use of knowledge from outside the company

The production sites underwent safety capability evaluations by a third-party organization (the Japan Society for Safety Engineering), and we are continuing to address the issues presented as weaknesses.

Risk communication with regions, communities, and so on

We participate in the Chiba district and Yokkaichi district RC regional dialogue that is held every two years.
Every year, we hold voluntary cleanup activities of roads around our plants.
We recruit volunteers from all of our facilities to conduct company-wide social contribution activities related to our business in the local communities of both plants.

Measures to help prevent industrial accidents caused by natural disasters such as earthquakes and tsunami

At the Yokkaichi Plant, we have revised relevant documents in preparation for the occurrence of a Nankai Trough earthquake and have improved our response in the event of a tsunami.
At the Chiba Plant, joint site earthquake tsunami evacuation drills are conducted.