Safety Management

NSK’s Approach
System
Targets and Performance
Occupational Safety Measures

NSK’s Approach

The NSK Group has positioned safety as one of its core values. We continuously strive to increase our employees’ safety awareness so that safety will always be their basis for determining the best course of action. We implement various measures based on our Safety Philosophy to protect the safety and health of every employee, and to ensure the safe conduct of everyone in the workplace. Never content with the status quo, we constantly work to further raise the level of safety.

NSK Group’s Safety Philosophy

We are committed to protecting the safety and health of all employees and business partners working within the NSK Group. This philosophy expresses our conviction that safety takes precedence over any business concern and that corporate activities depend on safety. It is the foundation of each and every NSK Group employee’s mindset. In all our workplaces worldwide, employees take action on one’s own initiative to ensure safety and to create comfortable environments where they can work with peace of mind.

NSK Group Safety Policy

The NSK Group has three key safety policies. As part of “Foster, spread, and instill a culture of safety,” workshops are held for employees working at production sites to foster a mutually enlightening culture of safety. In addition, to encourage management to exercise felt leadership (leadership that is felt by employees), we have held core value workshops for executive management from FY2020. As part of building “zero accident” workplaces, we are working to prevent serious accidents by reducing the risks of equipment and operations through STOP 6+2 activities and risk assessments. We also work to create a safe working environment for our business partners, such as outsourcing contractors and subcontractors. In addition, we are promoting the “putting preventive and predictive technologies in place” for equipment to detect abnormal signs that could lead to disasters in advance and prevent major breakdowns.

NSK Group’s Safety Philosophy

NSK Group Safety Policy

System

Organizational Structure for Occupational Health and Safety Management

The NSK Group appreciates the importance of a proactive approach to safety and health in the workplace as the foundation of manufacturing and the key to providing an environment where employees can make the most of their abilities. Accordingly, we established a Safety and Fire-Prevention Enhancement Committee chaired by the president. We also adopt unified priority objectives through two bodies that hold regular meetings on global safety and fire-prevention issues—both for the regional heads of operation and for regional safety and fire-prevention managers.

Global Safety and Fire-Prevention Management System

　　　　　　　　　　　　　Safety Management System

In Japan, company and union representatives participate in the NSK Central Safety and Health Council and the Safety and Health Committee, where they discuss and analyze occupational accidents and share insights on how to further enhance safety measures.

Occupational Health and Safety Management System

Each of NSK’s plants has obtained external certification for ISO 45001, the international standard for safety and health management systems. We are not satisfied with the status quo, but are constantly striving to improve our activities in order to enhance the level of safety. NSK believes that the effectiveness of its management system can be enhanced by having each of its plants ISO 45001 certified and regularly audited by a third-party organization. By June 2023, 77 sites (29 in Japan and 48 outside of Japan) will be certified, and we plan to complete certification at all eligible sites in FY2023.

Targets and Performance

Mid-Term Management Plan 2026 (MTP2026) Targets, with Targets and Performance for Each Fiscal Year

Policy		Foster, spread, and instill a culture of safety and fire prevention	Build “zero accident” workplaces	Put preventive and predictive technologies in place
MTP2026	Targets	Foster a culture of safety through the global rollout of NSK safety culture workshops Train safety and fire prevention experts	Identify and eliminate accident and fire risks by conducting comprehensive risk assessments	Introduce and promote preventive and predictive technologies Analyze existing information and use it for preventive measures
FY2022	Targets	Deepen mutual understanding of safety culture by broadly sharing information about its significance and rolling out activities to all levels, including conducting NSK safety culture workshops at more sites Develop risk assessment promotion leaders (one leader per site in Japan) Continue training and education to have two fire prevention auditors at each site (14 certified)	Develop a risk assessment program covering all operations to reduce operational risks Expand fire risk assessment (cutting process, ball grinding process) and eliminate high risks	Create a model for accident prevention by introducing real-time monitoring and wearable systems
FY2022	Performance	Rolled out NSK safety culture workshops to plants in Japan and expanded them to Korea and the ASEAN region Started developing the first group of risk assessment promotion leaders Developed fire prevention auditors (established a two-person-per-site system)	Zero serious accidents, zero construction labor accidents Risk assessment promotion leaders reevaluated risk assessment Eliminated high risks of fires through Fire Prevention Subcommittee activities	Introduced an operator anomaly detection system
FY2023	Targets	Continue rolling out NSK safety culture workshops to plants in Japan and expand them to Korea and the ASEAN region Instill an independent culture of safety Start developing the second group of risk assessment promotion leaders	Improve equipment with safety levels L4 and L3 Have risk assessment promotion leaders reevaluate risk assessment Implement priority measures for risk levels IV and III	Expand deployment of anomaly detection system to maintenance operators and people working alone

Lost Time Injury Frequency Rate Target and Performance

MTP2026 Target	FY2022 Performance
0.10	0.38

Note: Lost time injury frequency rate = Number of workplace accidents resulting in one or more days of work absence / total actual working hours × 1,000,000
A lost-time injury incident is defined as a workplace accident resulting in one or more days of absence from work.

Occupational Safety Measures

The NSK Group employs two approaches to raise individual safety awareness: ongoing activities to increase safety awareness, and initiatives to give people more time to think about safety. Kiken Yochi (hazard prediction) Training (KYT), communication of near-miss incidents, and the safety practice of pointing and calling are implemented at workplaces on an ongoing basis as continuous activities to increase safety awareness. KYT is intended to prevent workers from getting stuck in unconscious routines. Past accidents and near-miss incidents at each workplace are compiled into a booklet, and everyone recites them in unison at morning briefings and other occasions. Our initiatives to give people more time to think about safety include “Look Across Activities,” “Core Value Contact,” and group activities related to safety. In these group activities, safety-related themes are set twice a year for sites in Japan, and improvement activities are carried out with the participation of all employees. Awards are given for outstanding activities.

Increasing Safety Awareness

Pointing and Calling

NSK Group sites in Japan follow the three steps shown on the right in the safety practice of pointing and calling. We also share best practices for this activity company-wide in an effort to spread them to all sites.

Three Steps of Pointing and Calling

Practicing “Core Value Contact” in Each Department

The NSK Group practiced “Safety Contact” at the beginning of meetings, morning briefings, and other occasions from FY2019 to FY2021. In this activity, employees shared their thoughts and ideas about safety. It gave employees more time to think about safety, with the expectation that this would enhance sensitivity to safety issues. The program received positive feedback such as: “It’s easy to relate to stories I hear from people close to me,” and “It allows me to see different ways of thinking about safety in a new light.” “Safety Contact” served as a valuable safety enhancement tool.
Starting in FY2022, the NSK Group expanded the “Safety Contact” program and renamed it “Core Value Contact,” to give employees not only more time to think about safety, but also about the Group’s Four Core Values (Safety, Quality, Environment, and Compliance) and their contribution to the Core Values.

“Look Across Activities”

At the NSK Group, we ask employees to see accidents at other sites as relevant to their own workplaces and examine those incidents to identify similar risks in their surroundings. Countermeasures are then implemented for those identified risks to prevent the recurrence of the accidents. We call these efforts “Look Across Activities.” Carrying out “Look Across Activities,” either on a workplace or individual level, makes it possible to identify new risks and make the working environment safer. These activities also increase communication about safety in the workplace and help to foster an interdependent safety culture in which employees are motivated to challenge one another on the safety of their actions.

Standardization of Safety Training and Education

The NSK Group has established “Safety Dojo” facilities at all plants, where employees can gain an appreciation of dangerous operations by participating in simulated experiences of workplace accidents. The goal is to make sure all employees learn about the importance of complying with operation rules to stay safe. All plant employees are required to take this experiential training every year. Safety Dojo operation procedures have been compiled into a manual and deployed to plants in each country to help foster a culture of safety.

Experiencing a safety harness

Preventing Fatal and Serious Accidents

STOP6 + 2 Activities

The NSK Group conducts “STOP6 + 2” activities as a means of preventing fatal and serious accidents. STOP6 is an initiative for occupational safety designed to prevent fatal and serious accidents. STOP6 classifies accidents in the manufacturing industry into six major types and defines key prevention activities. In addition to the accident types identified by STOP6, the NSK Group addresses “oxygen deficiency and poisoning” and “accidents caused due to an employee working alone” as two additional accident types in its “STOP6 + 2” activities.

Major Accident Types in STOP6 + 2 Activities

Preventing Accident Reoccurrence

Using Video to Share Cases of Accidents

The NSK Group in Japan posts cases of accidents on its intranet to share information. In the past, details of accidents were posted in writing. However, we received feedback that all of the technical terminology made it difficult for employees outside of manufacturing departments to understand the accidents and what caused them. Now, we post videos depicting recreations of accidents, which we believe has made it easier for everyone to “look across” and see how such accidents are relevant to their own workplaces. At some sites, all employees watch these videos together at morning briefings in order to start the day with a heightened awareness of safety.

External Recognition for Safety Activities

To improve safety levels, NSK focuses on risk assessment activities (identifying, prioritizing, and determining actions to be taken to address risks at work sites). We seek to acquire SA and SSA certifications to reduce the variation in knowledge and level among staff so that risk assessments can be conducted efficiently with correct knowledge. At the same time, we have reduced the number of accidents by promoting safety measures at our facilities. In recognition of these achievements in safety-related human resource development and the reduction of the number of occupational accidents, we received the Encouragement Award at the 8th Mukaidono Safety Award.^*

* Mukaidono Safety Award
Managed by The Institute of Global Safety Promotion, this is one of the country’s leading awards presented to individuals and organizations that have contributed to the maintenance, improvement, advancement, and dissemination of safety in the industrial sector.