Relationships with Employees
One of the UACJ Group’s company principles is to “nurture staff by creating safe and positive work environments.” Accordingly, we work to address issues concerning human rights, diversity, human resources development, work-life balance, and occupational safety and health.
Basic Workforce Data
UACJ Workforce Data
Fiscal 2019 | Fiscal 2020 | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
Employees | 2,953 | (240) | 2,941 | (227) |
Men | 2,688 | (226) | 2,672 | (215) |
% of total | 91.0% | 90.9% | ||
Women | 265 | (14) | 269 | (17) |
% of total | 9.0% | 9.1% | ||
Avg. age | 40.1 | 40.7 | ||
<Age 30 | 20.4% | 19.2% | ||
Age 30-50 | 55.6% | 55.6% | ||
>Age 50 | 24.3% | 25.2% | ||
Avg. years employed | 16.1 | 16.5年 | ||
New hires (excluding transfers) | 140 | 138 | ||
Men | 119 | 124 | ||
% of total | 85.0% | 89.9% | ||
Women | 21 | 14 | ||
% of total | 15.0% | 10.1% | ||
Separations | 118 | 145 | ||
Men | 112 | 133 | ||
% of total | 94.9% | 91.7% | ||
Women | 6 | 12 | ||
% of total | 15.0% | 8.3% | ||
Turnover rate | 4.0% | 4.9% | ||
(Voluntary resignations) | 3.2% | 2.8% |
- * Figures in parentheses are the average numbers of temporary hires (not included in totals).
- * As of March 31 of each year.
UACJ Group Workforce Data (Consolidated)
Fiscal 2019 | Fiscal 2020 | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
Group employees (consolidated) | 9,927 | (797) | 9,772 | (758) |
Men | 8,383 | (702) | 8,299 | (674) |
% of all employees | 84.4% | 85.4% | ||
Women | 1,544 | 1,423 | (106) | |
% of all employees | 15.6% | 14.6% | ||
By Region | ||||
Japan | 6,004 | (631) | 5,749 | (562) |
Asia | 2,463 | (15) | 2,182 | (20) |
Americas | 1,327 | (151) | 1,671 | (176) |
Europe, other | 133 | (0) | 120 |
* Figures in parentheses are the average numbers of temporary hires (not included in totals).
Employee Compensation
The UACJ Group properly compensates employees and makes no gender-based distinctions in base pay. Benefits for full-time employees include life insurance, assistance with medical expenses, disability and health insurance, childcare leave, retirement bonuses, and stock ownership plans. Among these, life insurance is made available to non-full-time employees as well.
Promoting Diversity
Basic Approach
The UACJ Group believes that its competitiveness relies on having diverse human resources. One of the major policies under the human resource development section of the Mid-term Management Plan is to “Promote diversity (by employing more older individuals, women, and immigrants).” We, therefore, are committed to building and maintaining a system that enables the continuous nurturing of human resources.
Diversity in Employment
The UACJ Group actively maintains a diverse work force to support its business endeavors in new fields and in the global arena. In fiscal 2021, our hiring of new graduates (entering employment in April 2021) included 24 people (19 men and 5 women) for staff positions, and 31 (28 men and 3 women) for skilled labor positions. We are also actively hiring people from other countries, and have brought 25 on board since fiscal 2011.
Hiring and Development of Human Resources for UATH
UATH* is actively hiring at the local level to grow its workforce with local people. Engineers fresh out of college are sent to Japan for three years of training in R&D units and then brought back to Thailand as a way to both improve the skills of local staff and promote interaction with people in other parts of the UACJ Group.
*UACJ (Thailand) Co., Ltd.
Creating Work Environments Supporting Career Success for Women
At the UACJ Group, we are actively working to increase career opportunities for women. Our objectives under our action plan based on the Act to Advance Women’s Success in Their Working Life include: 1) Making women 40% of the new career-track college graduates we hire into administrative positions and at least 10% of technical positions; and 2) Increasing the number of women in management positions 40% (based on the figure at the end of fiscal 2015) by the end of fiscal 2020. As our most recent results along these lines, we hired 37 new college graduates, including 6 women, in fiscal 2020. Women accounted for 43% of the administrative positions filled and 10% of technical positions. Regarding the number of women in management positions, there were 111 female managers across the entire UACJ Group as of the end of fiscal 2020 (March 31, 2020). This reflects a decrease of 1* from the end of the previous fiscal year. In response to provisions, such as those of Japan’s Law for Measures to Support the Development of the Next Generation, we are striving to create workplaces that allow employees to fulfill both work and child-care responsibilities.
* Includes Group companies that are not consolidated subsidiaries.
Initiatives for Hiring People with Disabilities
UACJ works to achieve the legally mandated workforce percentage for employment of people with disabilities. We do this via UACJ Green-net Corporation, a company recognized as a special subsidiary under Japan’s Act for Promotion of Employment of Persons with Disabilities. As of March 31, 2021, people with disabilities comprised 2.43%* of the Company’s workforce, more than the legally mandated 2.2%.
* For fiscal 2017, calculation of this rate was based on combined employment data for UACJ Corporation; UACJ Foil Corporation; UACJ Extrusion Nagoya Corporation; UACJ Logistics Co., Ltd.; and UACJ Green-net Corporation. For fiscal 2018, data for UACJ Trading Corporation and UACJ Metal Components Corporation were added to the calculation. In fiscal 2021, UACJ Logistics Co., Ltd. was excluded from the calculation.
Employment Rate for People with Disabilities
Rehiring Employees Who Have Reached Mandatory Retirement Age
The UACJ Group actively rehires employees who have retired after reaching the mandatory retirement age. As of the end of April 2021, 161 senior employees were back at work at UACJ.
For employees who do not seek to be rehired, we conduct career seminars and create opportunities to receive advice from experts on planning and preparation for life after retirement.
LGBT Stance
The Group Code of Conduct requires respect for the human rights of all people and forbids discrimination and harassment based on race, beliefs, gender, language, religion, ideology, social status, and other characteristics. LGBT people are protected by these principles, and education to promote correct knowledge and understanding of LGBT people is conducted on a regular basis.
Personnel Development Initiatives
Approach to Personnel Development
The UACJ Group sees people who understand our management philosophy and company principles, and act accordingly, as the source of its competitiveness. To practice our management philosophy, we believe it is important to develop people who:
- Do not simply accept the status quo but instead continuously pursue improvement and change,
- Have the ability to understand other cultures and can act on a global stage,
- Have the ability to act in UACJ’s best interest, and
- Focus on quality and technology, and have the ability to act with a frontline-first orientation.
In terms of concrete action, we conduct job-level training and seminars, support self-development, and organize improvement activities, based on three basic ideas – employee development based on individual learning, developing subordinates’ abilities on the job, and developing through the organization.
The Human Resources Development Department oversees the development and nurturing of people by filling in gaps to enable personnel development activities to function effectively.
Human Resource Development Program
The UACJ Group’s Human Resources Development Department uses the Human Resources Development Center at the Nagoya Works and external training facilities to conduct job-level training and seminars.
In fiscal 2020, employee training was conducted 76 times on 133 days for a total of 1,103 participants. Since fiscal 2018, we have been conducting the Business Leader Development Program to offer middle managers an opportunity to acquire basic management knowledge that will give them a foundation for developing into future leaders of the UACJ Group.
Per-Employee Training Data (Fiscal 2020)
- Avg. time spent in training: About 0.9 hours
- Avg. cost of training: About 40,000 yen
* Figures for total training participants and total training time are actual.
Job-Level Training
The purpose of job-level training is to have employees sharpen their awareness of their job-level roles, acquire the professional capabilities and knowledge required to fulfill their job responsibilities, and deepen their understanding of the company’s aims and systems.
For staff employees, we conduct a series of training programs over the first three years of employment. For employees in their fourth year after joining the company, and employees up through section manager level, we conduct senior staff, management, new manager, organizational head and other types of training in a continuous fashion by job level. We also conduct the Business Leader Development Program to prepare people for top management positions in the future.
For employees in skilled labor departments, we conduct training programs at the time of hiring, and in the third and fifth years of employment. From their sixth year of service, employees participate in training as required for their job level.
Fiscal 2020 Job-Level Training Participation (Individuals)
UACJ | Affiliates | Total | |
---|---|---|---|
Management | 43 | 39 | 82 |
Staff | 155 | 76 | 231 |
Skilled Labor | 398 | 281 | 679 |
Total | 596 | 396 | 992 |
Skill Improvement and Expert Knowledge Seminars
The UACJ Group, separate from job-level training, also conducts seminars mainly for the purposes of helping individuals improve their skills or acquire expert knowledge, and imparting knowledge required for particular workplaces.
In fiscal 2020, principal business locations held instructor-development training for mid-level employees, on-the-job training for new employees, and quality control, naze naze analysis* self-maintenance, PowerPoint, and other seminars. They also conducted seminars on the duties and responsibilities of company officers and on accounting and finance to help employees improve their business skills. In all, 13 types of seminars were held a total of 40 times across the UACJ Group for a total of 300 participants.
* Naze naze (why why) analysis is a problem-solving approach that focuses on ascertaining fundamental causes.
Support for Self-Development
In an effort to meet the needs of individual employees and workplaces, we help employees undertake self-development through avenues such as distance learning, preparation to acquire various types of professional certifications, and language study. We also issue a newsletter that carries information on training activities and other information intended to promote employee interest in self-development. In principle, this newsletter is issued on a quarterly basis.
In addition to internal training and seminars, we also devote significant effort to external human resource development opportunities. In fiscal 2020, we again sent two employees to a technology management course conducted by a management academy specializing in the development of human resources with advanced management skills.
Education Support for Group
The Human Resources Development Department accepts Group company employees for participation in job-level training and seminars, and provides guidance and other forms of on-site support.
In fiscal 2020, 94 local capability enhancement and 5S seminars were conducted at 18 Group company locations by local instructors.
Developing Human Resources for Overseas Roles
In fiscal 2014, we introduced a two-and-a-half-year overseas training program in which participants spend the first year in language training and the remaining year and a half in practical training. Through fiscal 2020, a total of nine employees were sent to the U.S. and other countries. We plan to continue with this program as a human resources development tool with a medium- to long-term outlook.
For employees scheduled to be sent on overseas assignments, we identify specific training programs based on each individual’s work history and the demands of the assignment he or she is about to undertake, and then conduct training, which also includes intensive language instruction, on an individual basis.
For employees in general, we provide language training support based on TOEIC scores and conduct business skill seminars to help employees cultivate experience and knowledge. Outside of Japan, Group companies are developing and operating their own education systems.
Improving Frontline Capabilities (Handing down technical skills)
Efforts to pass on the monozukuri (manufacturing) spirit, experience, and skills veteran employees have developed and acquired over their long careers are critical for maintaining product quality and continuously improving productivity.
In preparation for the coming increase in veteran technicians reaching the mandatory retirement age, the UACJ Group’s Nagoya Works began a program in 2004 to transfer the skills, instinct, and “tricks of the trade” - the professional know-how – of veteran employees to their younger colleagues. In fiscal 2017, a similar initiative was launched at the Fukui Works, adding to others already underway in the maintenance department of the Nagoya Works, and the extrusion department of UACJ Extrusion Nagoya Corporation, where efforts are tailored to specific manufacturing circumstances.
We launched the Monozukuri Gakuen in 2019 to systematically manage the transfer of skills to younger generations. This program is presently underway in each of our businesses.
Meanwhile, we are actively rehiring retirees with technical backgrounds and making the most of their capabilities to enhance the skills of their younger colleagues.
Improving the Capabilities of Non-Manufacturing Staff (Ji-Kotei Kanketsu initiative)
The UACJ Group has bolstered its efforts to improve the work efficiency of its non-manufacturing staff by integrating UACJ Knowledge Intensive Staff Innovation (U-KI) with its existing “Ji-Kotei Kanketsu” (JKK) initiatives. Starting in fiscal 2020, the U-KI portion of this effort aims to bring innovation to communication, teamwork, and problem-solving. A promotion team launched within UACJ’s human resources department is working to support the rollout of new initiatives throughout the Group.
The results of support efforts as of the end of fiscal 2020 are reflected in the numbers below.
- Business locations: 12
- Departments: 46
- Teams: 83
- No. of times assistance was provided: 175
- Participants: 402
U-KI (UACJ Knowledge Intensive Staff Innovation) aims to create energetic teams that continuously and simultaneously produce better results and promote the growth of people and organizations. Starting with honest communication, U-KI is an approach for bringing together knowledge and capabilities to foster a team culture with significant contributions by all members. U-KI incorporates impact method approaches.
One-on-One Employee-Manager Dialogues
Once a year, we have every one of our employees engage in a personal dialogue with their manager to discuss topics such as their performance review and career development. Each employee rates their own performance and skills, and describes what they would like to do in the future. They also describe where they think they are in terms of performance and personal development, and their manager provides feedback. Each employee and their manager engage in a straightforward discussion of issues to address and objectives to meet, so the employee can achieve the desired growth and performance goals.
Work-Life Balance
Basic Approach
The UACJ Group has several systems intended to promote a healthy work-life balance by enabling all employees to properly meet work responsibilities and have quality time off to be with their families, study topics of personal interest, enjoy hobbies, or do whatever else they would like.
As a new initiative in the same vein, the Workstyle Reform Project was launched as a Group-wide endeavor in November 2017.
UACJ Systems for Balancing Work and Family Responsibilities
Category | System | Description | No. of Employees Using (Fiscal 2020) |
---|---|---|---|
Child Care Support | Child-care leave | The employee may take leave for the desired period up through the end of the first April after the child becomes 2 years old. | Men: 32 Women: 16 |
Reduced working hours | Working hours may be reduced until the child becomes a fourth grade elementary school student. (Legal requirement: Until the child reaches the age of 3 years) |
Women: 18 | |
Overtime exemption | Same as legal requirement. |
0 | |
Sick-child leave | Same as legal requirement.Leave may be taken to care for a sick child who is not yet in junior high school. (Legal requirement: Leave for a child not yet in elementary school) |
Men: 1 Women: 0 |
|
Limitation on late-night work | Same as legal requirement. | 0 | |
Limitation on overtime work | Same as legal requirement. | 0 | |
Accumulated leave | Leave may be taken for child care or to care for a sick child. | Men: 30 Women: 15 |
|
Baby sitter assistance service | Babysitter services by providers arranged by the Company are available at reduced rates. | 0 | |
Telework (work from home) | Ability to work from home up to four times a month. | In fiscal 2020, eligibility for telework was expanded to employees in all indirect departments in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. | |
Coreless flextime system (coretimeless) | Flextime without core working hours. | Men: 1 Women: 5 |
|
Online services for employees on child-care leave | Communication tools (information messaging, notices), online courses, 24-hour telephone consultation, etc. (introduced in April 2018) | Women: 27 Men: 2 |
|
Rehiring of former employees | Rehiring of employees who left to give birth or care for children. | 0 | |
Nursing Care Support | Nursing care | Up to 365 calendar days may be taken to provide nursing care (Legal requirement: 93 days) |
Men: 2 Women: 0 |
Reduced working hours | Ability to reduce working hours for the amount of time needed on each occasion | 1 | |
Elimination of overtime work | Same as legal requirement | 0 | |
Nursing care leave | Same as legal requirement | Men: 3 Women: 1 |
|
Limitation on overtime work | Same as legal requirement | 0 | |
Limitation on late-night work | Same as legal requirement | 0 | |
Accumulated leave | Leave may be taken to provide nursing care for family members | Men: 15 Women: 5 |
|
Telework (work from home) | Ability to work from home up to four times a month. | In fiscal 2020, eligibility for telework was expanded to employees in all indirect departments in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. | |
Coreless flextime system | Flextime without core working hours. | 0 | |
Rehiring of former employees | Rehiring of employees who left to provide nursing care. | 0 | |
Other | Flex-time system | Implemented at UACJ headquarters; branch offices; offices; and the Nagoya, Fukui, Fukaya, and Nikko works; and Research & Development Division | 629 |
Time off for volunteer activities | Leave may be taken for social welfare, disaster recovery, community and environmental, and other volunteer activities recognized by the Company. | 1 | |
Transfer to accompany a domestically transferred spouse | A transfer requested to accompany a domestically transferred cohabiting spouse will be granted if certain requirements are met. (introduced in May 2018) |
0 | |
Leave of absence to accompany a spouse transferred overseas | A leave of absence requested to accompany a cohabiting spouse transferred overseas (for a continuous period of at least one year) will be granted if certain requirements are met. (introduced in May 2018) |
0 | |
Rehiring of former employees | Rehiring of employees who left because a spouse was transferred. | 0 |
* The Nikko Works was closed as of March 31,2021.
Child-Care Leave System and Systems for Diverse Workstyles
At UACJ, employees who are eligible to take child-care leave are encouraged to do so, and in fiscal 2020, 100% of women who had taken maternity leave also took child-care leave. During the fiscal year, five women and 98 men were eligible to take child-care leave, and all of the women and 22 of the men actually did so.
All employees who took child-care leave during fiscal 2020 returned to work, and 92% of employees who have returned to work following child-care leave have stayed with UACJ for at least three continuous years.
UACJ has taken various steps to encourage employees to return to work after a period of leave. In April 2015, the Company established a system for rehiring former employees who left because of reasons such as the birth of a child, the need to provide child or nursing care, or the transfer of their spouse. And in March 2017, we introduced systems for providing child-care subsidies and enabling employees with child- or nursing-care responsibilities to work at home, and adopted a coreless flextime system. In April 2018, we launched online services to help employees on child-care leave balance careers and child-care.
For employees who need to relocate their residence because their spouse has been transferred, a new system introduced in May 2018 enables domestic transfers for employees to accompany domestically transferred spouses and leaves to accompany spouses transferred overseas.
Encouraging Male Employees to Take Child-Care Leave
UACJ has established the medium-to-long-term goal of having 100% of eligible male employees take child-care leave. Toward that end, we have our Human Resources Development Department contact eligible male employees and their supervisors to both encourage the employees to submit leave-taking plans and confirm actual circumstances concerning leave status.
UACJ’s child-care leave system encourages men to take child-care leave. It allows expired paid holidays to be used and, following a revision in rules covering leave for weddings and funerals, allows men to take a total of five days of leave in increments during the first month after a child is born. As a result of these and other initiatives, approximately 22% of eligible male employees took child-care leave during fiscal 2020.
Child-Care Leave Taken
Fiscal Year | Men | Women | Total |
---|---|---|---|
2018 | 45 | 8 | 53 |
2019 | 32 | 10 | 42 |
2020 | 22 | 5 | 27 |
Employees Returning to Work Following Child-Care Leave and Remaining on the Job Three Years Later
Fiscal Year | Percents of UACJ Employees Returning to Work Following Child-Care Leave | Percents of UACJ Employees Still on the Job Three Years After Returning from Child-Care Leave |
---|---|---|
2018 | 100 | 100 |
2019 | 100 | 82.6 |
2020 | 100 | 92.9 |
Appropriate Management of Work Hours
To properly manage work hours and prevent the working of excessive hours, the UACJ Group has implemented a work-time management system to accurately record and verify the times when employees begin and end each day at work. Employees who exceed overtime standards are asked to see an industrial physician.
UACJ has made every Wednesday a no overtime day to reduce overall work hours and promote work productivity and efficiency. And, through steps such as having each employee specify at the beginning of the fiscal year when they will take three consecutive paid days off (5 days every fifth year), we are systematically creating conditions that make it easier to take time off. Our aim in doing this is to achieve greater improvements in work efficiency by encouraging employees to refresh themselves mentally and physically.
Along the same lines, we also decided to participate in the Japanese government’s Premium Friday campaign, which began in February 2017. On the last Friday of every month, therefore, we have employees finish their work by the official end of the workday. Separately, we are also encouraging employees to use paid leave (even in hour increments) and flextime to finish their work days by 3 PM.
In addition to the above, we distribute a message by our President to enhance employee awareness of work-life balance during the month we have designated for that purpose, appropriately hire and assign people to prevent overwork, have lights turned off automatically at our head office, and automatically issue email alerts to employees and their supervisors when the employees are working excessive hours.
Preventing Unpaid Overtime
The UACJ Group strives to maintain a corporate culture that does not allow for unpaid overtime. Overtime work that employees cannot refuse to perform and the performance of overtime work without payment are viewed as forced labor.
As a measure for properly managing hours worked, we began in fiscal 2018 to ask all employees in Japan, including those working for subsidiaries, about their performance of overtime work. In collecting this information, we interview employees and managers. We make clear the definition of work hours, and, when unpaid work hours are identified, we process payments and take steps specifically to prevent a recurrence.
UACJ Overtime Hours
Fiscal Year | Average Overtime Hours |
---|---|
2018 | 29.9 |
2019 | 27.2 |
2020 | 25.1 |
Paid Days Off Taken
Fiscal Year | Yearly Average Paid Days Off Taken |
---|---|
2009 | 9.5 |
2010 | 10.4 |
2011 | 10.9 |
2012 | 12.1 |
2013 | 11.7 |
2014 | 10.9 |
2015 | 12.1 |
2016 | 12.3 |
2017 | 13.1 |
2018 | 12.4 |
2019 | 15.9 |
2020 | 13.4 |
* Figures for fiscal 2012 and earlier are sums for Furukawa-Sky and Sumitomo Light Metal Industries, which later merged to form UACJ. Figures for fiscal 2013 are totals of the sums for the two UACJ predecessors for the first half (April 1 to September 30, 2013) and UACJ for the second half (October 1, 2013 to March 31, 2014).
Promoting Work Reforms
To help bring about innovation in work productivity and create environments where employees can pursue their work with even greater positivity, UACJ embarked on a work reform project in fiscal 2017.
In fiscal 2018, we developed an activity plan emphasizing time management to help employees have a greater sense of the worthwhileness of their work. We then held kickoff briefings and work-efficiency skill seminars at all of our business locations.
In fiscal 2019, we undertook department-level self-reform activities targeting productivity and better engagement as work reform objectives. Productivity initiatives focused on setting KPIs in individual departments and achieving greater efficiency in meetings and the preparation of supporting information. Engagement initiatives targeted improvements based on the results of the very first engagement surveys conducted for UACJ’s indirect departments.
In fiscal 2020, improvements in employee engagement were used as an indicator in expanding our engagement surveys to cover UACJ affiliates in Japan and include direct departments as well. This effort was undertaken to take our engagement-related activities even further. To improve engagement, we conducted management seminars and one-on-one seminars for each managerial class, and career and other types of seminars for employees. In addition, while advancing telework to cope with the COVID-19 pandemic, we also conducted seminars on topics such as telework job skills, the use of ICT for telework, and health maintenance in a telework environment.
While we concluded our work reform project in fiscal 2020, as originally planned, we will continue, in fiscal 2021 and beyond, with initiatives aimed at self-improvement to achieve greater productivity and engagement in UACJ Group workplaces and will advance work reforms for moving forward under “with-“ or “post-” COVID circumstances.
Volunteer Leave System
In 2013, the UACJ Group implemented a system under which employees can take up to 60 days a year of expired paid leave to participate in social welfare, disaster recovery, local community, environmental conservation, or other company-approved volunteer activities under the auspices of the national or local governments, or quasi-governmental non-profit organizations.
In fiscal 2020, one employee used this system.
Occupational Safety and Health
Basic Stance on Occupational Safety and Health
We advance safety and hygiene activities that are joined in by all employees and start from the view that employee safety, hygiene, and health are all top priorities.
More specifically, we comply with laws and ordinances, and our own internal rules, concerning employee safety and hygiene, and have constructed occupational safety and health management systems. Through proper management, we strive to create work environments that are safe, hygienic, and healthy.
Basic Policies on Safety and Health
Philosophy
The UACJ Group, recognizing that the existence of a business enterprise rests on a foundation of employee safety and health and that ensuring employee safety and health is a social responsibility of business enterprises, will respect the following principles as a matter of course.
Principles
- We will place employee safety and health before all else in all business activities.
- To eliminate all workplace hazards as a step toward achieving zero workplace accidents, we will take the required organizational measures, allocate the necessary management resources, and, with the participation of all employees, strive to implement safety and health activities on an ongoing basis.
- We will comply with the Industrial Safety and Health Law and other related laws and ordinances, and ensure employee safety and health in accordance with the safety and health provisions established by the Group companies.
- Gaining the cooperation of employees, we will conduct education and training that is necessary and adequate for ensuring safety and health for all employees, and continuously implement safety and health activities, to constantly elevate safety and hygiene standards.
- Sharing information on safety and health activities within the Group, and pursuing mutual enlightenment, we will work to improve understanding of safety and health principles, and raise safety and health awareness, among all employees.
- We will advance the development of comfortable work environments to reduce worker fatigue and stress.
- We will work to develop and implement new safety and health methods and technologies.
Safety and Health Management System
Safety and Hygiene Committee
The UACJ Group has built a safety and health management system in which leadership is exercised by the general safety and health managers at individual business locations. The purpose of the system is to create work environments where workers can be confident that their safety and health are being adequately protected.
Overseeing safety and health is the Safety and Health Committee. Chaired by the Exective Officer in Charge of Safety and Health, the committee, which meets once a year, is composed of members including full-time directors, works managers, and presidents of principal Group companies.
In the January 2021 meeting of the Safety and Hygiene Committee, a report on fiscal 2020 activities was presented by the Safety & Environment Department and then the committee deliberated and approved the directions to be taken for fiscal 2021 safety and hygiene activities. Business locations that achieved accident-free operations in fiscal 2020were presented with President’s Safety Awards.
[Presentations of President’s Safety Awards (12business locations)]
UACJ (Thailand Co., Ltd., Rayong Works; UACJ Foundry & Forging (Vietnam) Co., Ltd.; UACJ Extrusion Oyama Corporation; UACJ Extrusion Czech s.r.o.; UACJ Foil Corporation, Isesaki Works; UACJ Metal Components Corporation, Narita Works; UACJ Metal Components North America, Inc.; Penn TecQ Plant; UACJ Metal Components (Thailand) Co., Ltd.; UACJ Fukaya Service Corporation; UACJ Foil Sangyo Corporation; UACJ Metal Components Corporation, Osaka Works; UACJ (Wuxi) Aluminum Products Corporationn
Safety and Hygiene Managers’ Committee
The Safety and Hygiene Managers’ Committee, with members including representatives of the Safety & Environment Department, and Safety Managers of the works and principal affiliates, meets once every month to discuss safety and work environment inspections and maintenance at each business location. The committee also refines the unified rules and promotes their inculcation across the breadth of the Group.
Going forward, we will continue to act vigorously to ensure that our safety and health management systems are equal to our needs.
Safety Management Initiatives (Occupational Safety and Health Management System)
The Nagoya, Fukui, Fukaya, and Nikko works have adopted and are operating worker safety and health management systems, and are pursuing activities with the goal of achieving zero accidents in the workplace.
Safety and health activity plans are prepared at each works in accordance with the UACJ Group’s safety and health activity aims. Plans are finalized once they are approved by the head of each works, and then discussed and approved by the worker/management joint Safety and Health Committee at each works.
To help ensure that safety and health management is practiced at the highest standards, we have established internal audit and other schemes based on the management system. Through internal audits, we conduct self-assessments of system operations, assuring in the process, that PDCA (Plan-Do-Check-Action) cycles are being used. In addition, to enhance the safety management standards of the entire Group, we hold annual liaison meetings of people in charge of safety and hygiene at Group companies.
To achieve further enhancement going forward, we intend to improve the accuracy of internal audits.
* The Nikko Works was closed as of March 31,2021.
Conditions with Regard to Workplace Accidents
The UACJ Group aims to eliminate workplace accidents, regardless of scale, and the Group is working together to strengthen safety management systems.
Regarding workplace accidents at the Group over the most recent three years, we experienced 25 accidents in 2018, 32 accidents in 2019, and 21 accidents in 2020. The rate of accidents requiring time off from work in 2020 was 0.51, and the overall frequency rate was 4.65.
* Numbers of accidents are totals composed of accidents resulting in death, accidents requiring time off from work, and accidents not requiring time off from work.
Measurement scope: All UACJ Group workplaces, including overseas locations and employees of other companies working at these sites.
UACJ Group Overall Frequency Rate*
UACJ Group Accidents Requiring Time Off from Work*
- * The overall frequency rate is a measure of the rate at which workplace accidents occurred during the fiscal year. It is calculated by dividing the total number of worker fatalities and injuries (including “minor accidents,” which UACJ defines as accidents resulting in only minor injuries) resulting from a workplace accident during the fiscal year, by one million hours.
- * The rate of accidents requiring time off from work is a measure of the frequency of workplace accidents that occurred during the fiscal year and required workers to take time off from work. It is calculated by dividing the total number of workplace accidents that occurred during the measurement period and required time off from work, by one million hours.
Toward Intrinsic Safety
The UACJ Group is striving to achieve intrinsic safety in its equipment and facilities. To do this, we are conducting risk assessments by examining work processes from various angles to thoroughly eliminate hazards and harmful factors. Safety measures are taken beginning with the facilities, equipment, and work approaches evaluated as having high risk levels. Residual risks, too, are all addressed with provisional measures.
Based on uniform equipment safety standards the group introduced in March 2015, zones are being delineated within facilities and thorough safety measures are being implemented for each. Furthermore, when facilities are to be newly introduced or modified, intrinsic safety is achieved by conducting checklist-based safety examinations at the design, operation startup, and other stages.
Safety-First Corporate Culture and Personnel Development
At the UACJ Group, job-level training includes safety and health education, and content aimed at raising safety awareness. Furthermore, experiential training aimed at enhancing awareness of dangerous situations, and competitions to encourage workers to hone crane and forklift skills, are held regularly.
For managers, safety and health education and training sessions are held to promote acquisition of the position, knowledge, and attitudes necessary for implementing safety management. In addition, to elevate safety and health management standards at individual Group companies, safety and health education, safety inspections, and other support initiatives are actively undertaken to foster a safety-first corporate culture and advance personnel development along the same lines throughout the Group.
Principal Safety and Health Awards
Award | Recipient |
---|---|
Fiscal 2020 Japan Aluminium Association Award for Excellence in Maintaining a Safe Workplace | Nikko Works UACJ Color Aluminum Corporation UACJ Extrusion Gunma Corporation UACJ Foundry & Forging Corporation UACJ Foil Corporation, Shiga Works |
Outstanding Crane Operator and Unit Manager Award Chairman’s Prize | Nagoya Works |
72nd Saitama Firefighters Association Awards | Fukaya Works |
* The Nikko Works was closed as of March 31,2021.
Workplace Environment Improvement Activities
To make better workplace environments, we are systematically taking steps to improve conditions with regard to summer heat, winter cold, dust, and noise; eliminate work that requires excessive physical exertion or taxing body positions; and add break areas and other features (e.g. adding or renovating break areas and on-site restrooms) that make environments more livable. Concerning summer heat in particular, we are moving forward with installation of air conditioning and ventilation equipment in places where it is needed and introducing clothing with integrated fans.
Health Maintenance Initiatives
Health First Management Declaration
The UACJ Group has consistently emphasized health and safety activities based on the idea that the safety, health, and hygiene of employees comes before all else. Believing also that the health of employees is indispensable for the ongoing development of the UACJ Group, we issued our Health First Management Declaration and proactively work for the benefit of worker health.
The UACJ Group Health Management Policy
The UACJ Group recognizes that the sound health of its employees is a foundation for sustainable business activities. Accordingly, it aims to contribute to a better world as a group of companies in which all employees can perform their jobs actively and productively. Toward this end, the UACJ Group shall make efforts to raise awareness of health among its employees and their family members, and help employees maintain and improve their physical and mental health so that they can proactively prevent illness and lead healthy lives.
September 2021
Miyuki Ishihara
Representative Director & President
UACJ Corporation
System for Promoting Health First Management
Based on its Health First Management Declaration, the UACJ Group is using the system shown below to maintain and improve employee health.
Health Maintenance and Improvement Initiatives
The UACJ Group is improving the health literacy of employees through the following five activities.
Health Checks
Based on the results of health checks (statutory requirements, plus fecal occult blood, A B C examinations (for gastric cancer), etc.) conducted once or twice a year, an industrial physician or other health professional provides the employee with the necessary advice.
Depending on the employee’s condition, a secondary examination or a recommendation to get an examination alerts the employee to matters regarding their health or the need for medical care.
Encouragement to Stop Smoking
Smoking is the cause of many diseases, so with cooperation from the health insurance society, we have been helping employees to stop smoking by reimbursing them for their out-of-pocket cost for out-patient medical treatment for smoking cessation. Since October 2020, we have been reimbursing at the rate of 100% of these costs.
In addition, given that the revised Health Promotion Act has taken effect, we are preparing segregated areas for employees to smoke and arranging only outdoor spaces for some workplaces, where we have eliminated indoor smoking areas. Also, we have designated World No Tobacco Day and the 22nd of every month as no-smoking days.
Mental Health
Based on the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare’s guidelines for maintaining and improving the mental health of workers, UACJ has formulated a plan for supporting the mental health of employees and created provisions for helping them return to work on a test basis and otherwise.
We believe it is important to recognize when employees require mental health care soon after the need arises and are conducting systematic, ongoing training to provide managers with guidance in areas such as how to interact with employees in need of support. On another front, we are also conducting training aimed at helping employees in their 20s and 30s maintain good physical and mental health. With the implementation of the national stress check system, we are now conducting stress checks and group analyses to enhance our ability to recognize excessive stress among employees. Drawing on interview and health guidance input from industrial physicians and cooperation from outside expert institutions, we are devoting significant resources to providing employees with even better mental health care.
Lifestyle Disease Risk Reduction
Based on health check results, the health insurance society and health managers work together to identify employees in need of specialized health advice and provide them with diet, exercise, and other necessary recommendations for reducing lifestyle disease risks. The percentage of employees for whom we provide this advice has been rising year by year.
Infection Prevention Measures
Every year, we conduct workplace flu vaccination drives offering shots to all of the employees at certain workplaces, with vaccination costs covered in part by the health insurance society. In 2020, we also took action against the COVID-19 pandemic by providing disinfecting solution, installing droplet-blocking partitions, and taking other steps as necessary.
Beginning in fiscal 2021, we are having a special subsidiary produce nonwoven masks and distributing these to Group companies and others. In response to the pandemic, we have also conducted workplace vaccination drives at our Nagoya and Fukaya business locations.
Employee-Management Relationship
Relations with labor unions are harmonious and information on the condition of the Company is regularly shared in central and business-site labor-management conferences. In April 2016, labor-management committees were formed at UACJ and at individual business sites to engage in ongoing discussions of measures for improving work-life balance by shortening working hours.
For transfers and other cases in which human resources management actions will significantly impact employees, the Company initiates communication with the affected employees as early as possible.