Based on our management policy of making safety the top priority in everything that we do, we have continued to implement a range of safety activities throughout the Mitsui Chemicals Group. Nevertheless, an explosion and fire occurred at the resorcinol production facility inside our Iwakuni-Ohtake Works in 2012. We take this latest incident very seriously and will strive to prevent any future recurrence. Reflecting on that incident, we have been implementing a series of initiatives to prevent major accidents such as fundamental safety measures to ensure that nothing like that ever happens again.
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Safety and Prevention
Initiatives to Prevent Major Accidents
Top Management’s Strong Commitment to Safety and Prevention
On Safety Day and during National Safety Week, etc., the President of Mitsui Chemicals repeatedly conveys to all Group employees that they follow the management policy of “making safety the top priority in everything they do.” In addition, we are working to ensure active involvement in activities to nurture our safety culture at worksites by having executives, including Senior Managing Executive Officers and the Executive of the Production & Technology Center, visit Mitsui Chemicals Works and each production site of our domestic and overseas affiliates. The fiscal 2023 results are as follows.
- Instructions to make safety the top priority provided directly to employees at Head Office during the opening address (simultaneously broadcast to all domestic sites)
- Broadcasting the President’s Safety Day moral discourse across the Group as a whole (in Japanese and English)
- Communicated safety instructions directly to employees at Head Office on Safety Day (broadcast pre-recorded video to all domestic production sites)
- Broadcasting the President’s National Safety Week message across the Group as a whole (in Japanese, English and Chinese)
- Direct safety instructions provided to employees at Works through safety talks and the like.
- Publishing of features on safety in the company newsletter with messages to employees
Safety Day
To keep alive the memory of the resorcinol production facility explosion and fire accident, Mitsui Chemicals has designated April 22, the day of the accident, as Safety Day. it is a day on which a safety pledge ceremony and presentations take place at each site every year.
In fiscal 2023, a video of the President's moral discourse on safety was broadcasted to all sites. The ceremony at the Head Office was attended by the President, directors, and general managers who work at the Head Office. In addition, the Chief Technology Officer (CTO) participated in the ceremony at the Iwakuni-Ohtake Plant, together pledging with all employees that "safety is our top priority."
Head Office safety pledge ceremony (April 2023)
Safety pledge ceremony at Iwakuni-Ohtake Works (April 2023)
Development of Fundamental Safety Measures
Mitsui Chemicals takes the explosion and fire at the resorcinol production facility at the Iwakuni-Ohtake Works on April 22, 2012, extremely seriously. For these past 11 years, we have been introducing a series of fundamental safety measures to thoroughly review and improve safety and prevention throughout the company. Since fiscal 2022, we have refined the fundamental safety measures developed to date as "new fundamental safety measures" to realize the "ideal state of safety" and pursue accident-free and disaster-free operations across the entire Mitsui Chemicals Group.
Overview of Efforts Aimed at Advancing New Fundamental Safety Measures
New fundamental safety measures are being implemented by the entire Mitsui Chemicals Group, including its subsidiaries and affiliates.
*1 Steering committee:
To make swift progress of fundamental safety measures, the members shown in the diagram meet to discuss Group-wide issues and set the direction of activities.
*2 PL: Part Leader
Initiatives Aimed at Advancing New Fundamental Safety Measures
We defined three issues and seven strategies for new fundamental safety measures, which are incorporated into specific measures at the Head Office, Works, and domestic subsidiaries and affiliates. In fiscal 2023 as well, in addition to the existing dialogue between Head Office management and Works, we will continue to carry out education, safety culture assessment, and advanced risk assessment (RA), work style reform for Works, foster young employees, promote women's activities, and develop autonomous career measures, while expanding the scope of these measures to our affiliates and to the entire Group.
"Issues and Strategies" for New Fundamental Safety Measures
| Challenge 1: Line managers must be able to manage generational change and work style reform. | |
|---|---|
| Strategy (1): Reduce workload in the Works. | |
| Strategy (2): Further strengthen line managers’ management skills. | |
| Challenge 2: Further improve technical skills and ensure that skills are passed down. | |
| Strategy (3): Strengthen the operation of the technical evaluation system and upgrade risk assessment. | |
| Challenge 3: Ensure that safety is a top priority, foster a sense of professionalism, and provide a sense of accomplishment in their work. | |
| Strategy (4): Reinforce making safety the top priority. | |
| Strategy (5): Cultivate and bolster professionalism through independence and autonomy (self-discipline). | |
| Strategy (6): Improve teamwork, communications within organizations, and inter-organizational collaboration. | |
| Strategy (7): Enhance career development plans for young employees and line managers. | |
Initiatives to Achieve VISION 2030
VISION 2030 sets a goal of “zero major accidents and serious occupational injuries.” However, we believe it is important to evaluate not only the results but also the process of achieving this goal, so we have newly defined “activities that are important for achieving this goal” in conjunction with non-financial metrics and we are monitoring the progress by setting indicators. In particular, we are working on safety measures that are effective from a long-term, comprehensive perspective as an important activity.
Establish an Advanced Risk Assessment System
Mitsui Chemicals has conducted hazard source identification, risk assessment, and risk reduction during startup, shutdown, emergency, and other non-routine operations in addition to new construction, expansion, and modification of facilities. With the aim of establishing an even more advanced risk assessment (RA) system, Mitsui Chemicals is working toward achieving "identification of hazard sources from a comprehensive perspective," "risk assessment without variation among assessors," and "reliable risk reduction."
For "identification of hazard sources from a comprehensive perspective," in order to eliminate variations in the competence among those who conduct RA, RA leaders who promote RA in the workplace are trained and assigned after their competence is certified. For "risk assessment without variation among assessors," we are working to establish a quantitative risk assessment method (HAZOP-LOPA*). For "reliable risk reduction," RA advisors, who provide advice and guidance across Works, check the validity of RA results from a third-party perspective.
These activities were first introduced at the Osaka Works in fiscal 2020, followed by the Ichihara Works and Iwakuni-Ohtake Works, and implementation began at all Works of Mitsui Chemicals in fiscal 2023. In addition, to establish an advanced RA system Company-wide, RA specialists are assigned at the Head Office to promote and support the system across the Company.
We will continue to promote the establishment of an advanced risk assessment system and aim to strengthen our voluntary safety measures.
* HAZOP-LOPA:
Hazard and Operability Studies-Layer of Protection Analysis.
A way to determine additional risk reduction measures by ascertaining the frequency [/y] of "impacts" (fire, explosion, etc.) for each "cause" of deviation and possible "impact" identified in HAZOP, which assumes and exhaustively analyzes deviations from normality, as the product of the probability of occurrence of the cause and the probability that existing safety measures will be breached.
Upgrading to Smart Works (Safety and Prevention with Advanced Technology)
By effectively adopting advanced technologies, the Mitsui Chemicals Group aims to upgrade to next-generation works (Smart Works) that function in a highly efficient, safe, and stable manner.
Key Technologies Introduced
| Objective | Specific technologies |
|---|---|
| Early detection of facility abnormalities and leakage, failure prediction | Wireless vibration sensor, gas leakage detection camera, facility abnormality detection AI, etc. |
| Improving safety | AI-based safe work guidance, work risk detection technology, etc. |
| Worksite work support and operational efficiency improvements | Wearable cameras, mobile terminals for worksite work support, etc. |
We continue to strengthen our production technology by reforming factory operations and safety management with advanced technologies to achieve safer and more stable production.
Safety Culture Assessment
The Mitsui Chemicals Group is collaborating with Niigata University to conduct safety culture assessments with the aim of "fostering a culture of safety," which enables the visualization of a workplace’s strengths and weaknesses. By repeated in-house discussions on all rank-specific gaps, the assessment can also be used as a tool to improve workplace communications.
Each Works conducts this assessment every three to four years. Each of the Works has confirmed that the weaknesses visualized by the first assessment have been resolved by the second assessment through implementing improvement measures, such as safety training, active participation in small-group activities, reduction of workload, and skill transfer.
One Works diagnosed in fiscal 2023 showed a decline in "learning" scores, mainly in the manufacturing workplace, which was determined to be a result of anxiety about the rapidly lowering workforce age. The Works is formulating countermeasures by introducing more practical training adapted to operators of younger generations.
*Eight axis model of safety culture:
Motivation, Governance, Commitment, Communications, Resource Management, Work Management, Learning, and Awareness Answering 110 questions built around the above eight elements visualizes the safety culture in a factory or workplace, as well as clarifying the strengths and weaknesses of the workplace compared with industry benchmarks.
Implementation Status of Safety Culture Assessment (up to fiscal 2023)
| Mitsui Chemicals, Inc.* | One branch factory has been examined twice, five Works factories have been examined three times, and one branch factory has been examined four times. VISION HUB™ SODEGAURA has already been examined. |
|---|---|
| Domestic Subsidiaries & Affiliates | Of the 17 companies covered, 13 companies (19 Works) have already been assessed. Of these, 8 companies (12 Works) have already been assessed twice. One company (1 Works) has already been assessed three times. |
| Overseas Subsidiaries & Affiliates | Of the 27 companies covered, 4 companies (4 Works) have already been assessed. Of these, one company (1 Works) has already been assessed twice. |
*Including subsidiaries and affiliates within our Works, where the general managers of each Works bear the responsibility for implementing Responsible Care.
Receiving Third-party Assessments of Process Safety Capability
In addition to self-inspections for safety culture assessment, the Mitsui Chemicals Group continuously undergoes third-party assessments of its safety capabilities by the Japan Industrial Safety Competency Center. Aimed primarily at manufacturing industries dealing with petroleum and petrochemical products, the assessments cover security from the viewpoint of safety infrastructure and safety culture and enable the visualization of strengths and weaknesses with regard to safety capability by means of numerical values. Through its process safety capability assessments, the Japan Safety Competency Center is aiming to raise the safety level of the Japanese chemical industry, a purpose with which the Company is in full agreement.
By fiscal 2018, the Osaka, Ichihara, and Iwakuni-Ohtake Works had undergone the first assessment, and in fiscal 2023, the Iwakuni-Ohtake Works underwent the second assessment. The assessment results showed that our safety infrastructure and safety culture were generally “fair”; however, we are now keen to address the issues identified in the assessment. In particular, in response to the suggestion that the "Basic Safety Design Policy" was scattered among various standards and was difficult to understand, the Head Office took the initiative in establishing the "Detailed Rules for Safety Management" as the upper-level rules, and are deploying them to Works.
Safety capability evaluation at Iwakuni-Ohtake Works
High-Pressure Gas Handling Accreditation
Mitsui Chemicals Osaka Works in 2021, Ichihara Works in 2022, and Iwakuni-Ohtake Works in February 2024 were certified as Super Accredited Business Operators (commonly known as "Super Certified Business Sites") under the Super Accredited Businesses System* established by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry in recognition of their autonomous advanced security initiatives. This system requires businesses to ensure a higher level of safety, taking measures covering adoption of the latest technologies and risk assessment, and employee training, compared with conventional accreditation systems. Maintaining these practices to retain accreditation increases the level of voluntary safety management.
We will continue to work to strengthen and improve the level of voluntary safety management for the entire Group by disseminating know-how across the Group.
*Super Accredited Businesses System:
An accreditation system started by METI in April 2017 to recognize a business that adopts measures to ensure a particularly high level of safety as a Super Accredited Business. The accredited businesses are given more freedom in selecting methods for in-house facility safety inspections and their scheduling. This also helps increase international competitiveness.