Olympus Corporation of the Americas implements online basic environmental safety and health training for all employees every year across the Americas. In FY2024, in addition to occupational health and safety, the training covered regulatory topics such as the safety of chemical substances as well as environmental management systems, adding a safe driving program aimed at reducing work-related accidents and traffic accidents while commuting.
Occupational Safety and Health
- Basic Approach and Policy
- Global Safety and Health Organization
- Occurrence of Occupational Injuries
- Employee Training
- Regional Activities
Basic Approach and Policy
The Olympus Group has stated its policies on occupational safety and health and its basic approach to employee health management and the actions necessary to achieve them in the Olympus Global Code of Conduct.
We established the Environmental Health and Safety Policy to practice the Code of Conduct and are developing working environments that ensure safety and health for our employees.
Promotion Structure and Initiatives
Global Safety and Health Organization
In the Olympus Group, the CEO and the CHRO are appointed as the top executive officers for occupational safety and health. Based on the Environmental Health and Safety Policy, the EHS division stipulates the policy for EHS efforts each fiscal year and promotes these efforts at each business site around the world. With the aim of realizing a safer and healthier workplace, the Olympus Group promotes various initiatives at each global site to comply with laws and regulations and to reduce occupational safety and health risks.
External Certification (Occupational Safety and Health Management Systems)
Olympus is committed to establishing, maintaining, and continually improving our occupational safety and health management systems. External certification for occupational safety and health management systems have been acquired at several of the Group’s companies and global sites.
| Sites | Certification | Year of Certification |
|---|---|---|
| Aomori Olympus | JISHA OSHMS Standards*1 | 2009 |
| Aizu Olympus | JISHA OSHMS Standards*1 | 2011 |
| Olympus Trading (Shanghai) Limited | Certified as Safe Production Standardized Company | 2015 |
| Shirakawa Olympus | ISO 45001 | 2020 |
| KeyMed (Medical & Industrial Equipment) Ltd. | ISO 45001 | 2020 |
| Olympus Iberia S.A.U. | ISO 45001 | 2021 |
*1 JISHA OSHMS Standards Certification: Certification bodies certify sites that comply with the JISHA OSHMS Standards certification conducted by the Japan Industrial Safety & Health Association.
Occurrence of Occupational Injuries
In FY2024, the Olympus Group promoted various health and safety activities with the goals of achieving zero serious accidents and reducing its lost time injuries frequency rate less than the previous fiscal year (0.63) at its global bases. Such initiatives include establishing safety and health management systems, conducting risk assessments, risk reduction activities, employee education and training, internal audits, workplace patrols, and risk assessments by outside experts.
As a result, the number of fatalities involving employees and contractors remained at zero. The lost time injuries frequency rate was 0.60, a reduction of 12% from the previous year, beyond the target of 0.63. Reinforcing measures to prevent typical accidents such as falls and cutting injuries enabled these decreases.
We will continue to implement safety and health measures in FY2025, aiming to maintain zero fatalities and achieve an even lower lost time injuries frequency rate of 0.58.
| FY2020 | FY2021 | FY2022 | FY2023 | FY2024 | Target of FY2024 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number of fatalities*2 | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0)★ | 0 (0) |
| Number of lost time injuries | 38 | 28 | 31 | 31 | 26★ | |
| Lost time injuries (of one day or more) frequency rate*3(LTIFR) | 0.66 | 0.52 | 0.66 | 0.68 | 0.60★ | 0.63 |
★ Indexes certified by external assurance.
*2 Numbers in brackets indicate contractors
*3 Lost time injury frequency rate: number of lost time injuries per 1,000,000 working hours
Employee Training
The Olympus Group implements a variety of safety and health training programs to raise employee awareness. These include basic knowledge and training to ensure health and safety on the job and in the workplace, as well as risk assessment training necessary for running a safety and health management system, and specialized training for specific job categories.
Regional Activities
Activities in Japan
Enhancement of health and safety management system and horizontal deployment of accident-related information
In line with our Occupational Safety and Health Management Rules, we have established a Safety & Health Promotion Committee in Japan. The Committee consists of representatives of the safety & health promotion committees at each business site and plans activities that help to achieve our safety and health activity plan. In addition to the Group’s initiatives to improve its current safety and health management system, establish risk management based on risk assessments, and introduce more employee training and education to raise awareness, in the event of a major health and safety accident, the Olympus Group holds ad-hoc committees to implement the horizontal deployment of information across all Olympus Group companies in Japan to prevent the recurrence of similar accidents.
Raising awareness of fall injury prevention
To prevent accidents involving falls, a significant portion of work-related accidents, we carry out repeated awareness campaigns through a health and safety committee at each site, internal newsletters, and posters to keep workers aware of such things as keeping the floor neat and tidy, not doing something else while walking, and measures to prevent slippage on icy roads in winter.
Elimination of hand-held work with single-edge razors in manufacturing processes
(Aizu Olympus, Aomori Olympus)
Safety and Health Management Division and Manufacturing Division collaborated to implement efforts aimed at changing from holding single-edge razors to box knives, etc., and abolishing work holding single-edge razors by means of the preparation of jigs in order to make the use of knives in manufacturing processes safer. As a result, it was possible to abolish 100% of work holding single-edge razors at Aizu Olympus by the end of FY2023, and it has subsequently maintained zero occupational incidents due to single-edge razors.
Activities in Americas
Implementing environmental health and safety training
(Olympus Corporation of the Americas)
Safety Committee
(Olympus Surgical Technologies America)
The Safety Committee meets monthly to discuss what measures could have prevented recent accidents and what might help to reduce the risk of future accidents. Committee members also conduct on-site safety inspections and will promptly implement corrective measures when necessary.
Spreading awareness through health and safety newsletter and digital signage
(Olympus Surgical Technologies America)
Efforts to raise awareness among all employees on topics essential to health and safety are carried out regularly through a monthly e-newsletter and digital signage at sites. To date, we have communicated to employees about stress control in the workplace, taking precautions in handling electrical products, and emergency procedures.
Activities in Europe
Measures to prevent finger cut wounds
(Olympus Surgical Technologies Europe | Olympus Winter & Ibe GmbH)
Risk assessment education
(KeyMed (Medical & Industrial Equipment) Ltd.)
KeyMed has expanded its online education portal site, which integrates educational content on the topics of health and safety, well-being, and the environment, to include a new course on risk assessment that will enhance the understanding of those tasked with on-site risk assessment. Easy-to-understand videos and illustrations are used so that participants can understand the content intuitively.
Fire evacuation drill
(Olympus Medical Products Portugal, Unipessoal LDA)
Activities in China
Implementation of equipment safety measures for automatic label applicators
(Olympus Trading (Shanghai) Limited)
To prevent getting caught or entangled in the automatic label applicator, which was identified as a high risk in the risk assessment, risk reduction measures were implemented, such as installing a safety barrier and gate to prevent entry into the equipment area by non-work-related personnel.
Hazardous chemicals and hazardous waste warehouse improvements
(Olympus Trading (Shanghai) Limited)
To reduce risks caused by hazardous chemicals, storage warehouse management and operational systems were revalidated and the classification-based management and labeling of hazardous waste improved. Semi-annual emergency drills continue to be conducted to prepare for a hazardous chemical leak or fire.
Traffic safety education
(Olympus Trading (Shanghai) Limited)
Activities in Asia/Oceania
Occupational health and safety patrols and Occupational Health and Safety Month
(Olympus Vietnam Co., Ltd.)
To raise awareness of safety, the Kaizen Contest for Occupational Health and Safety was held in June, which was Occupational Health and Safety Month. Many ideas for improving safety were proposed, and 17 employees received a commendation for their excellent ideas. Also, a risk assessment team carries out patrols of work areas every month to further enhance workplace safety. If risks are discovered during these patrols, corrective measures are taken as soon as possible.
National Safe Work Month campaign
(Olympus Australia Pty Ltd.)
As part of the National Safe Work Month campaign in Australia every October, in 2023 Olympus raised awareness about ergonomic precautions for desk work at office or at home and carrying heavy objects each week of the month through our internal social networking service, videos, and webinars.
Implementation of risk assessment
(Olympus Korea Co., Ltd.)
In the first half of the year, risk assessments were conducted at each workplace to identify hazards and risk factors and estimate their potential for causing injury or illness and the possible severity. Risk reduction measures were then implemented based on the results. In the second half of the year, outside experts were added to the risk assessment team to make it more effective.
Warehouse refloored to reduce the risk of falls
(Olympus Hong Kong and China Limited)
The entire warehouse floor was replaced with a stronger and wider floor sheet to reduce the risk of employee falls due to damaged, aging floor tiles in the warehouse area.
Reporting Saves Lives campaign
(Olympus Singapore Pte. Ltd.)
