KeyMed (Medical & Industrial Equipment) Ltd. had formerly managed health and safety in the workplace under OHSAS 18001 certification. The company completed the transition from OHSAS to ISO 45001 certification in all KeyMed sites in January 2021. We maintain this certified status by receiving regular external audits for compliance with each item specified in the standards.
Occupational Safety and Health
- Occupational Safety and Health
- Global Safety and Health Organization
- Industrial Accident Data
- Regional Activities
Occupational Safety and Health
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.
Under the Code of Conduct, we are developing working environments that ensure safety and health for our employees.
Safe and Healthy Workplace
Occupational health and safety is a major priority. We take proactive steps to prevent accidents and occupational illnesses at work. We want our employees to work in an ergonomic and work-friendly environment. At Olympus, we promote good health and wellness.
What We Do:
- Use good judgment and act in a manner that is safe for you and others.
- Report safety concerns and work-related injuries or illnesses.
- Never joke about violence and report any violent threats or warning signs from others.
- Comply with applicable health and safety regulations.
Establishing the Environmental Health and Safety Policy to practice the Code of Conduct, we are developing working environments that ensure safety and health for our employees.
Environmental Health and Safety Policy
Promotion Structure and Initiatives
Global Safety and Health Organization
The Olympus Group is promoting a global safety and health organization led by top management, as shown below. Based on the Environmental Health and Safety Policy, we set out an annual EHS action plan and disseminated it throughout our global sites. We keep up on the safety and health activities and the status of industrial accidents in each region through regular assessments to ensure group-wide implementation of safety and health activities and the risk reduction structure.
External Certification (Occupational Safety and Health Management Systems)
For the maintenance and continual improvement of our occupational safety and health management systems and to retain the trust of our customers and stakeholders, we are acquiring certification for our occupational safety and health management systems. Shirakawa Olympus (Japan), KeyMed (Medical & Industrial Equipment) Ltd. (UK) acquired ISO 45001 certification in FY2021.
| Sites | Certification | Year of Certification |
|---|---|---|
| Aizu Olympus | JISHA OSHMS Standards*1 | 2011 |
| Shirakawa Olympus | ISO 45001 | 2020 |
| Aomori Olympus | JISHA OSHMS Standards*1 | 2009 |
| Olympus Scientific Solutions Americas Corp. | OHSAS 18001 | - |
| KeyMed (Medical & Industrial Equipment) Ltd. | ISO 45001 | 2020 |
| Olympus Iberia S.A.U. | OHSAS 18001 | - |
*1 ISHA OSHMS Standards Certification: Certification bodies certify sites that comply with the JISHA OSHMS Standards certification conducted by the Japan Industrial Safety & Health Association.
Industrial Accident Data
Starting in FY2020, the tabulation and analysis of data on industrial accidents has been expanded to cover major sites in the Olympus Group (North America & manufacturing sites and repair bases; regional headquarters in Europe and its manufacturing and repair bases; and manufacturing sites and repair bases in Asia).
The scope of the data on industrial accidents is as follows.
Japan: FY2017 & FY2018 for Olympus Corporation and its 11 major Japan subsidiaries
FY2019, FY2020 & FY2021 for Olympus Corporation and its 14 major Japan subsidiaries
Americas: Olympus Corporation of the Americas (regional headquarters) and its major subsidiaries
Europe: Olympus Europa SC & Co. KG (regional headquarters) and its major subsidiaries
Asia/Oceania: Major manufacturing sites
Number of Industrial Accidents
| FY2017 | FY2018 | FY2019 | FY2020 | FY2021 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Japan | 55 | 64 | 50 | 56 | 35★ |
| Americas | - | - | - | 55 | 26★ |
| Europe | - | - | - | 20 | 47★ |
| Asia/Oceania | - | - | - | 10 | 13★ |
| Total | - | - | - | 141 | 121★ |
★ Indexes certified by external assurance.
Number of Lost Time Injuries
| FY2017 | FY2018 | FY2019 | FY2020 | FY2021 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Japan | 11 | 10 | 6 | 4 | 2★ |
| Americas | - | - | - | 20 | 4★ |
| Europe | - | - | - | 6 | 16★ |
| Asia/Oceania | - | - | - | 8 | 6★ |
| Total | - | - | - | 38 | 28★ |
★ Indexes certified by external assurance.
Lost Time Injuries (of one day or more) Frequency Rate*2 (LTIFR)
| FY2017 | FY2018 | FY2019 | FY2020 | FY2021 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Japan | 0.39 | 0.34 | 0.20 | 0.13 | 0.08★ |
| Americas | - | - | - | 1.93 | 0.39★ |
| Europe | - | - | - | 1.07 | 2.04★ |
| Asia/Oceania | - | - | - | 0.77 | 0.62★ |
| Overall | - | - | - | 0.66 | 0.52★ |
| All industries (Japan)*3 | 1.63 | 1.66 | 1.83 | 1.80 | 1.95 |
| Manufacturing industry (Japan)*3 | 1.15 | 1.02 | 1.20 | 1.20 | 1.21 |
★ Indexes certified by external assurance.
*2 Lost time injury frequency rate = number of lost time accidents ÷ (average number of employees for that fiscal term × work hours) × 1,000,000
*3 Survey on Industrial Accidents, Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare
Occupational Illness Frequency Rate*4 (OIFR)
| FY2017 | FY2018 | FY2019 | FY2020 | FY2021 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Japan | 0.07 | 0.07 | 0.07 | 0 | 0★ |
★ Indexes certified by external assurance.
*4 Occupational illness frequency rate = number of cases of occupational illness that result in lost time*5 ÷ (average number of employees for that fiscal term × work hours) × 1,000,000
*5 Industrial accidents found in the list of occupational diseases of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (Appended Table 1-2 of the Ordinance for Enforcement of the Labor Standards Act (Ordinance of the Ministry of Health and Welfare No. 23 of August 30, 1947))
Number of Fatal Industrial Accidents
| FY2017 | FY2018 | FY2019 | FY2020 | FY2021 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Japan | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0★ |
| Americas | - | - | - | 0 | 0★ |
| Europe | - | - | - | 0 | 0★ |
| Asia/Oceania | - | - | - | 0 | 0★ |
| Total | - | - | - | 0 | 0★ |
★ Indexes certified by external assurance.
Employee Training
To raise employee awareness of safety and health, the Olympus Group implements a variety of safety and health training programs, led by the safety and health officers at each facility.
| Region | Contents |
|---|---|
| Japan |
|
| Americas |
|
| Europe | Mental health workshop (October 2020, and February and March 2021) |
| China |
|
| Asia/Oceania |
|
Regional Activities
Activities in Japan
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. We are working on initiatives to improve our current safety and health management system, establish a risk management based on risk assessment and introduce more employee training and education to raise awareness.
Shirakawa Facility
Transition from OHSAS 18001 to ISO 45001
Shirakawa Olympus Co., Ltd. and the Shirakawa Facility of Olympus Corporation have been operating their occupational safety and health system under the OHSAS 18001 standard.
With ISO 45001 coming into effect, we have clarified our management's commitment to the health and safety system and are working to make it into a system in which all employees can participate. We acquired ISO 45001 certification in December 2020 after an audit conducted online due to the impact of COVID-19. We are introducing initiatives to create a workplace environment where all employees can work with safety through continuous improvements in safety and health.
Hazard Awareness Training
Industrial accidents occur when unsafe conditions in the workplace coincide with unsafe human behavior. Until now, the Olympus Group has focused on reducing hazards that were founded on unsafe conditions in the workplace. Our current training focuses on unsafe human behavior, a characteristic of our manufacturing sites at Aizu Olympus, Aomori Olympus, Shirakawa Olympus and Nagano Olympus. We provide training programs that use simulation. The simulation programs enable employees to experience "entanglement"—the hazard of getting their fingers or clothing entangled in a machine, and "stabbing" using a simulated hand—the danger of a screwdriver slipping when components are not fixed in place.
Risk assessment training for officers responsible for safety and health
We consider risk assessment to be one of the most important initiatives in promoting safety and health. To improve the effectiveness of our risk assessment, we invited an external expert to give an online training program for officers responsible for safety and health, and 101 people participated. We conducted interactive role-playing sessions on how to identify sources of danger and how to carry out a risk assessment.
Activities in Americas
Employee Near-Miss Reporting
(Olympus Corporation of the Americas)
At Olympus Corporation of the Americas, all the employees and locations are encouraged to report all incidents where an injury or illness could have occurred but fortunately did not result in injury or illness. The corrective actions resulting from these incidents will assist in preventing an injury or illness to other employees.
Activities in Europe
International SOS
(Olympus Europa SE & Co. KG)
Olympus Europa SE & Co. KG (OEKG) has a support system for employees on business trips to inform them about possible risks, health hazards and possible special conditions of the countries to be travelled through. OEKG especially prepares for business trips to countries with difficult political situations, problematic medical care and infrastructure, or the effects of natural disasters. ISOS provides daily updated information on its homepage on all important questions concerning the trip and the countries involved. In addition, it provides support before and during the business trips such as medical emergencies, searches for Western standard hospitals, evacuation in the event of unrest, and advice on unusual incidents such as theft. The assistance centers are open 24/7.
Transition to ISO 45001
(KeyMed (Medical & Industrial Equipment) Ltd.)
Activities in China
Award Received from Shanghai Free-Trade Zone
(Olympus Trading (Shanghai) Limited)
A letter of appreciation from the Shanghai Emergency Management Bureau
Olympus Trading (Shanghai) Limited has developed a safety production management system that includes manufacturing safety, industrial health and workplace environment evaluations in compliance with the basic requirements of corporate safety production standards mandated by the Shanghai Emergency Management Bureau. The company has established a policy and targets for manufacturing safety, set up a committee, assigned detailed responsibilities and produced an emergency response manual, all aimed at putting top priority on safety, prevention and total management. It also organizes annual emergency response drills.
The company received a letter of certification as a manufacturing safety standardization company for the first time in June 2015. In addition, further improvements in manufacturing safety led to an award from the Shanghai Free-Trade Zone in FY2019.
The company analyzes the risks and looks at case studies of manufacturing safety on a regular basis, at the same time working to improve employee awareness of manufacturing safety through a range of training programs.
Health and Safety Patrols & Firefighting & Evacuation Drills
(Olympus (Guangzhou) Industrial Co., Ltd.)
Olympus (GuangZhou) Industrial Co., Ltd. conducts a safety check twice a day to maintain a safe and healthy workplace. In addition, an extensive health and safety patrol takes place before holiday periods, such as for the foundation anniversary. The Company organizes annual firefighting & evacuation drills as part of its efforts to raise employee awareness of safety. This is aimed at raising coordination among firefighting organizations, upgrading leadership capabilities, improving the capabilities of firefighting team in evacuation, rescue and firefighting, as well as in improving employee awareness of firefighting and safety.
Activities in Asia/Oceania
Labor Safety Training
(Olympus Vietnam Co., Ltd.)
Olympus Vietnam Co., Ltd. (OVNC) provides labor safety training at least once a year based on Vietnamese regulations.
Since OVNC has a large number of employees, up to about 5,000, it uses internal and external venues to hold trainings.
OVNC is committed to training and improving knowledge on occupational safety and sanitation for employees to ensure compliance with the principles and rules of labor safety in the factory. To all people—support the criteria: "Safety comes first."
Promotion of safe driving
(Olympus Australia Pty Ltd.)
Olympus Australia Pty Ltd. has newly established internal safe driving rules for its field staff to help reduce traffic accidents.