Safety and Prevention
Initiatives to Prevent Major Accidents
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.
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 the Vice President, Senior Managing Executive Officers, and the Executive of the Production & Technology Center, visit Mitsui Chemicals works and each production sites of domestic and overseas affiliates. The fiscal 2022 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, and pledge to make safety the top priority published in Company newsletter (in Japanese and English)
- Communicated safety instructions directly to employees at Head Office on Safety Day (broadcast pre-recorded video to all domestic 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 (held online to prevent the spread of COVID-19)
- The Company newsletter featured the president safety interview
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, a day on which a safety pledge ceremony and presentations take place each year. Similar to fiscal 2021, the events in fiscal 2022 took place at each site with COVID-19 prevention measures implemented and by utilizing web conferencing systems.
In the safety pledge ceremony, the President’s lecture on safety matters given at Iwakuni-Ohtake Works was relayed to the Head Office and all employees reaffirmed their commitment to making safety the top priority in everything they do. In addition, the President's Safety Day moral discourse was posted on the Company's internal portal to all employees are aware that safety is the 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 10 years, we have been introducing a series of fundamental safety measures to thoroughly review and improve safety and prevention throughout the company. From FY2022 onward, we will further develop the fundamental safety measures we have developed to date as "new fundamental safety measures" to realize the "ideal state of safety" and pursue accident-free and disaster-free operations. The entire Mitsui Chemicals Group will also be involved in this activity.
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
In fiscal 2022, we defined three issues and seven strategies for new fundamental safety measures, which were incorporated into specific measures at the Head Office, Works, and domestic subsidiaries and affiliates. In fiscal 2022, in addition to the dialogue between Head Office management and Works, improvement and implementation of existing activities such as education, safety culture assessment, and deployment of advanced RA, we have begun deploying new fundamental safety measures, such as work style reform at Works, training of young employees, empowerment of women in the workplace, and deployment of autonomous career measures.
"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
With the aim of establishing an autonomous advanced security system, Mitsui Chemicals has defined the ideal form of risk assessment (RA) as "identification of hazard sources from a comprehensive perspective," "appropriate risk assessment without variation," and "reliable risk reduction measures." To realize the ideal, we are working to establish RA leaders and RA advisors at each Works and to establish quantitative risk assessment methods.
Conventionally, HAZOP*1 has been used to identify hazardous sources, assess risks, and reduce risks in the new construction, expansion, and modification of facilities. In addition, in order to eliminate the variation in risk assessment results among RA implementers, we are training, certifying, and assigning RA leaders to promote RA implementation, and establishing HAZOP-LOPA,*2 a quantitative risk assessment method that has been added to the conventional risk assessment method.
In addition, in order to ensure comprehensiveness, we have prepared "Non-routine Risk Assessment Guidelines" to address potential hazard sources in non-routine operations such as startup, shutdown, and emergencies, and have deployed them throughout the company. We conduct RA based on these guidelines.
The results of such RAs are evaluated by the RA Leadership Committee in addition to the RA Advisors to confirm the validity of the RA results from a third-party perspective, and the RA results are shared. Through these activities, we are working to ensure that all workers involved in the Works ultimately understand the residual risk in the business site, thereby reducing the risk.
*1 HAZOP:
Hazard and Operability Studies. A method to formulate safety measures by seeking any possible deviation from normal operations, and analyzing the cause of such deviation and its possible impact.
*2 HAZOP-LOPA:
Hazard and Operability Studies－Layer of Protection Analysis. A method for determining additional risk reduction measures by determining the frequency [/y] of possible impacts (fire, explosion, etc.) for each possible impact identified in HAZOP as the product of the probability of the cause and the probability that each independent protective layer, which is an existing safety measure, 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.
Specifically, we are introducing wireless sensors, inspection tablets, inspection drones, and equipment abnormality detection AI to detect equipment abnormalities and leaks at an early stage, predict failures, and use equipment data and AI to formulate optimal maintenance plans in order to improve equipment reliability.
In addition, to improve safety, we are introducing gas inspection cameras and plant monitoring systems to enhance the visualization and monitoring of plant operating conditions, safety work guidance, wearable cameras to support on-site work, operation tablets, 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 improved by the second assessment by implementing improvement measures, such as safety training, active participation in small group activities, reduction of workload, and passing on of skills.
One Works that was assessed in fiscal 2022 was found to have a weakness in "learning transfer" in the previous assessment. To eliminate this weakness, procedures and knowledge that have become second nature to veteran employees were reorganized and shared with less experienced employees. As a result, this assessment showed significant improvement. With this improvement, we have also made a step forward in resolving the issue of new drastic measures: line managers must be able to manage generational change and work style reform.
*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 2022)
| Mitsui Chemicals, Inc.* | Two works and one branch factories have been examined two times, and three works and one branch factories have been examined three times. VISION HUB™ SODEGAURA has already been examined. |
|---|---|
| Domestic Subsidiaries & Affiliates | Of the 18 companies covered, 12 (14 works) have already been assessed. Of these, 7 companies (10 works) have already been assessed twice. |
| Overseas Subsidiaries & Affiliates | Of the 22 companies covered, 6 (6 works) have already been assessed. Of these, one company (1 work) 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 based on safety culture assessment, the Mitsui Chemicals Group continuously undergoes third-party assessments of its safety capabilities by 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 2021, the Ichihara 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. We are particularly focusing on risk assessments related to safety and accident prevention as we believe further precautions are necessary. The Head Office is also leading the implementation of measures for issues that should be addressed on a company-wide basis.
Safety capability evaluation in Ichihara Works
High-Pressure Gas Handling Accreditation
In 2021 and 2022, respectively, Mitsui Chemicals Osaka Works and Ichihara Works were certified as a Super Accredited Business Operator (commonly known as "Super Certified Business Site") under the Super Accredited Businesses System* established by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry in recognition of these 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.