Activity Reports from Each Site

At the Egi Plant / Takasaki Global Center, employees plant flowers in planters along the pathway on the premises and transplant them so that seasonal flowers can be enjoyed throughout the year. Employees and their families also participate in annual forest conservation activities in the Taiyo no Mori. This year, they helped to cut grass in the forest and thinned trees, working up a healthy sweat under the autumn sky. At the company, earthquake preparation measures to protect lives are being promoted, and in FY2010 handrails were installed on all stairways in the Center. Furthermore, measures were taken to ensure that vending machines will not topple. During the earthquake in northeastern Japan, everyone was safely evacuated without a single injury. Going forward, we will systematically carry out additional earthquake preparations.

As a result of implementing health and safety activities, as well as environmental activities, by the end of FY2010 we had achieved zero work-related accidents and zero environmental accidents at the plant. Repeated safety training has raised the sustained awareness of all employees toward safety issues, and ensured preventive measures are thoroughly implemented. However, in environmental targets, due to significant changes in business circumstances, we were unable to meet energy reduction and waste reduction targets. In FY2011 we will continue to strive for zero accidents and work to achieve the new targets.

As part of FY2010 health and safety activities, we held a course that introduced examples of past accidents and potential hazards in equipment, components and tasks, primarily in the manufacturing division, in order to help workers anticipate those hazards.
Unfortunately we were unable to prevent the occurrence of minor accidents and accidents causing lost workdays. In environmental activities we put effort into energy reduction and achieved an 11% reduction in FY2010 from FY2008 levels. We will aim even higher in FY2011.

As part of FY2010 environmental activities a boiler previously run on kerosene was converted to run on LPG, light bulbs were replaced with energy-efficient types, and other infrastructure-related energy saving efforts were carried out that contributed to a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. As part of health and safety activities, to promote employee health we began offering a lunchtime salad buffet to provide employees with the daily requirement of vegetables. In FY2011 we will implement new activities to save energy and promote health.

As part of activities to eliminate work-related accidents from the workplace, we conducted workplace patrol inspections. Patrollers selected from each workplace determined a theme and conducted inspections twice a month. Examples of good practices at other sections were shared with the patrollers' own sections (horizontal deployment), resulting in achieving zero accidents causing lost workdays and zero environmental accidents following the patrol activities. These activities will be continued and the potential for accidents further reduced. Employees also joined clean-up activities around Lake Haruna to contribute to the community.

In research and development, workers face unknown risks with new chemical substances and experiments. Risk assessment and hazard prediction training are carried out to prevent accidents through a simulated experience of risk. In the earthquake in northeastern Japan, shelving and other objects were prevented from toppling, and other measures taken ensured clear evacuation routes, so all employees were able to evacuate their buildings safely. Problems that did not come up in training were discovered, and this valuable experience will be used to take additional preventive measures.

At Akagi Electronics, an environment is being created to allow employees to voluntarily participate in safety and environmental activities. In training employees to recognize and prevent hazards on their own, workers on the floor have the chance to exchange information during workplace patrols and initiate improvements. We train equipment maintenance specialists and have reevaluated maintenance to prevent equipment trouble before it occurs. As a result of these actions, we were able to achieve zero environmental accidents and zero accidents causing lost workdays in FY2010.

Tsukiyono Denshi regards safety and environmental activities as the foundation of its business, and is working to completely eliminate work-related and environmental accidents. Company-wide health and safety activities focus on the 3S's, which involve organizing tools and other equipment to ensure orderliness and tidiness (Seiri), establishing fixed positions for each item (Seiton) and maintaining cleanliness (Seisou). Improvements in these areas have led to safer processes. The control of goods purchased has also led to a reduction in waste. We also focused on reducing energy consumption and recycling waste. In FY2011 we will step up our safety and environmental activities based on the 4S's (the 3S's + hygiene (Seiketsu)), and work to achieve continuous improvement.

In FY2010 we focused on reducing the number of work-related accidents.
Because recurrent accidents are common, past work-related accidents were reanalyzed to find the root causes.
Measures were taken in physical terms and by adding cautions to work standards, for example. The result was a reduction from five work-related accidents annually to just one. We will continue these activities going forward.

That's Fukushima is a plant that manufactures recording media. The economic situation was difficult in FY2010 and in March we were hit by the largest earthquake in Japan's recent history. Still, on the whole, we were spared in human terms. We hope to restore the plant quickly and achieve stable operations (ensuring regulatory compliance and preventing serious accidents).

In FY2010 we reached 1,000 consecutive days of operation without an accident, with zero accidents either work-related or environmental. Earthquake measures taken resulted in very little damage from the recent earthquake that hit northeastern Japan. At the site, we installed low-flow valves on most taps. This had a positive impact on the use of water, which had been rising every year, resulting in a more than 10% year-on-year decrease in water use. Starting in FY2011 we will aim to maintain our zero accident record and apply additional energy-saving measures to reduce environmental impact.

Chuki Seiki works hard throughout the year to reduce environmental impact.
In FY2010 we introduced a new air conditioning system that led to energy savings, and promoted further sorting of waste for a higher rate of recycling. Every year, at the local "Inami Kaeru no Festival" held in the town of Inami in Hidaka, Wakayama, we set up a booth to show local schoolchildren how to build robotic line tracking cars. We also participate in local events to actively improve communication with the surrounding community.

As part of health and safety activities, in light of the importance of becoming aware of changes in one's mental condition as early as possible, we carried out self-care mental health management examinations. We also gave a course on how to operate a forklift to remove snow.
In environmental activities, we called for volunteers among employees who helped to manage the artificial biotope set up by the city of Joetsu. Such participation deepened understanding of environmental conservation and the various ecosystems in the local area.
Going forward, we will continue to promote health and safety, along with environmental activities.

TAIYO YUDEN Mobile Technology is not a manufacturing center, so little energy is used or waste produced, and therefore our environmental impact is low. However, we are implementing environmental activities little by little, such as regularly turning off lights during lunchtime and setting regular no-overtime days. In activities to benefit society we are supporting campaigns such as collecting PET bottle caps to raise money for vaccines for children in other parts of the world and collecting stamps and cards to support tree-planting activities.

TAIYO YUDEN Mobile Technology Products has set targets for environmental improvements in business practices within all divisions, including the administrative division, with participation by all employees. In the power supply management division and manufacturing divisions, we are making efforts to reduce CO₂ emissions and chemical substance use, and this fiscal year again achieved our targets. As a way to contribute to society, we continue to participate in local clean-up activities.

In FY2010, as business expanded, we updated facilities with energy-saving equipment. We also received an inspection from the Energy Saving Patrol organized by Nagano Prefecture, which discovered problems that we had not previously recognized, and which we were then able to remedy. We reduced the amount of burnable trash generated company-wide by 10% from FY2009. In FY2011 we will continue to carry out environmental conservation activities, and other efforts will include working on preparations for emergency situations.

Korea TAIYO YUDEN is putting effort into social action. As part of our support for mutual information exchanges with the Vietnamese Occupational Safety and Health Association, we conducted a Korea TAIYO YUDEN plant tour and explained our health-related activities and products. We signed an agreement with Sanho-dong Primary School in Changwon to provide scholarships and support mutual collaboration.
We also generated local goodwill by hosting a soccer tournament together with other companies in our free trade zone. At events to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Masan Free Trade Zone we received an award from the Ministry of Knowledge Economy.

In environmental activities, FY2010 saw a tightening of regulations on chemical substances both inside and outside South Korea. To meet customers' requirements we are further strengthening our environmental management system. In terms of health and safety, we have been carrying out weekly safety training to raise each employee's awareness of health and safety and prevent the occurrence of work-related accidents. As of March 31, 2010, we achieved 3,000 consecutive days of operation without an accident.

The number of work-related accidents increased in FY2010 from the previous year. This was not only due to issues with regulations and facilities, but also resulted from lapses in attention and care on the part of employees. In FY2011 we aim to achieve zero work-related accidents and will carry out ongoing activities to raise employee awareness of safety.

Environmental activities went well in FY2010.
We reduced our energy consumption rate by over 25%, began extracting useful substances from waste sludge for recycling, and digitized our environmental safety documents. We also underwent an assessment and became certified as an Environment Friendly Company of Dongguan.
In the area of safety we began conducting new activities such as providing training to respond to an emergency situation, such as a boiler explosion, LPG leak, or electric shock, and posted maps of safe evacuation routes for each plant.

TAIYO YUDEN (Tianjin) Electronics carried out many kinds of actions in FY2010 to create a safe work environment. We started with firefighting training and also conducted a campaign to eliminate work-related accidents. These efforts earned us a Model Company for Safety award from the local government. This has given us motivation and in FY2011 we will continue to create a better environment and safer workplace.

In our health and safety activities for FY2010, we achieved our target of zero work-related accidents. In FY2011 we will aim to reduce near-miss incidents. In environmental activities we achieved all of our FY2010 targets, as well. In FY2011 the areas that will require attention are: reducing energy consumption, reducing water consumption, reducing waste, and managing hazardous materials and organic solvents. We will also continue our mangrove tree planting and forest conservation activities. TAIYO YUDEN (Philippines) has received an environmental excellence award three times (2003, 2006, and 2010), and for this achievement we have been accepted into a "hall of fame."

We achieved overall good performance in our FY2010 safety and environmental activities. For the first time we had zero work-related accidents. To maintain this record we plan to improve employees' awareness of safety and carry out other actions to prevent work-related accidents.
With regard to environmental activities, we are working to reduce environmental impact to meet the environmental targets of the TAIYO YUDEN Group.