Workplace Environment, Health & Safety

Health and Safety

Basic Policy

Having established an occupational health and safety policy, Alps Alpine endeavors to create workplaces where all employees can work in safety and in good physical and mental health.

Occupational Health and Safety Policy

Alps Alpine aims for a corporate culture that promotes health and safety, encouraging communication among colleagues in a workforce where everyone plays a role in occupational health and safety activities and ensuring compliance with related laws, ordinances, requests and requirements.

We strive to prevent work-related accidents through the realization of workplace environments where employees feel safe working because recurrence prevention measures are fully implemented and hazard sources are eliminated.
We aim to promote healthy body and healthy mind maintenance by pursuing companywide health and productivity management in partnership with the health insurance association.

Promotion Structure

Alps Alpine has in place a Central Health and Safety Conference with the vice president in charge of administration as the person in charge. The conference sets policy and advances activities relating to health and safety, health promotion, fire prevention and traffic safety. The conference also reports regularly to the Board of Directors and, whenever a serious accident occurs, brings the matter up with the Board of Directors and works to identify the causes and prevent a recurrence.
Overseas, each base carries out its own activities.

Work-Related Accidents – Targets and Results

	FY2024 target	FY2023 result	Scope^*1
No. of serious accidents^*2	0	0	Consolidated
No. of occupational accidents^*3	10% decrease from the previous year	44% increase from FY2022 (FY22: 16; FY23: 23)	Non-consolidated
No. of commuting accidents^*3	10% decrease from the previous year	25% decrease from FY2022 (FY22: 20; FY23: 15)	Non-consolidated

*1 Workers covered are workers under Alps Alpine supervision (incl. contract and temporary employees).
*2 Accidents resulting in death and work-related accidents resulting in a long-term disability
*3 Occupational/commuting accidents: Work-related accidents with or without absence from work

Education and Training

Health and Safety Education

To help prevent work-related accidents, health and safety education is provided to all employees, including temporary employees, once a year. In fiscal 2023, health and safety education was provided to around 8,900 employees (in Japan).

Road Safety Courses

Road safety courses were implemented to help prevent road accidents. Around 8,850 employees (in Japan) took part. Bicycle safety education was also provided, as was a walking assessment and seminar event to help prevent accidents involving falls.

Road safety course

Walking assessment and seminar

Drink-and-Drive Eradication Campaign

Efforts to eradicate drinking and driving in Japan include the provision of warnings to all employees in morning assemblies and via health and safety bulletins. We also work to raise awareness by having individual employees sign a declaration of support for the eradication of drinking and driving.
Additionally, alcohol testing is mandatory prior to driving on the job.

Health and Safety Assessments

All bases in Japan undergo a health and safety assessment once a year. If problems are found, corrective or preventive measures are implemented, and repeats are prevented through cross-company sharing of near-miss case examples and deployment of work-related accident countermeasures.

Work-Related Accidents – Status

Alps Alpine pursues activities with a goal of zero serious work-related accidents (e.g. accidents resulting in death and work-related accidents resulting in a long-term disability). No such accidents occurred in fiscal 2023. The number of falls and the number of occupational accidents to occur during responses to facility problems increased. We are making efforts to fully implement recurrence prevention measures and reduce hazard sources through the companywide sharing of accident causes and countermeasures.

	Unit	FY2021	FY2022	FY2023	Scope^*1
No. of work-related accidents	Cases	36	65	70	Consolidated
No. of work-related accidents	Cases	4	7	7	Non-consolidated
Frequency rate^*2	－	0.28	0.49	0.51	Non-consolidated
Manufacturing industry frequency rate average (electrical machinery and equipment manufacturing)	－	0.54	0.53	0.54	Japan
Severity rate	－	0.032	0.001	0.005	単体
Non-consolidated	Cases	0	0	0	Consolidated

*1 Under both consolidated and non-consolidated scopes, workers covered are workers under Alps Alpine supervision (incl. contract and temporary employees).
*2 Lost-time injury frequency rate (LTIFR): Number of casualties due to work-related accidents (one or more days absence from work) ÷ Total number of working hours × 1,000,000

Introduction of Occupational Health and Safety Management System

We have acquired ISO 45001 certification, an occupational health and safety management system standard, mainly at our production sites, and strive to reduce and manage health and safety risks through risk assessment and compliance with laws and regulations. The certification rate for all global production sites is 68% (as of May 2024).

ISO Certification

Health and Productivity Management

Basic Policy

Alps Alpine formulated its Declaration of Health and Productivity Management in April 2021, having recognized managing the health of our employees as an important management priority. We actively advance measures that include regular health checkups and stress checks, efforts to increase the ratio of employees provided with special health guidance, and a no smoking policy. In addition, we are currently addressing the urgent task of lowering the number of people taking mental health leave of absence.

Declaration of Health and Productivity Management

Alps Alpine regards the well-being of its employees and their families as a foundation for realizing its Corporate Philosophy, “Alps Alpine innovates value for humans and society on a brighter planet.” We are committed to creating safe and comfortable work environments while contributing to improving the mental and physical wellbeing of each individual.

Hideo Izumi
Representative Director, President

Targets and Results

	FY2024 target	FY2023 result	Scope
Smoking rate	2% decrease from the previous year (reduce to at least 20% by 2025)	2% decrease from FY2022 (FY23: 22%)	Non-consolidated
No. of high-stress workplaces according to stress checks	Zero workplaces with a total score above 120	27
% of employees taking mental health leave of absence	Less than 0.6% of all employees by FY2026	0.9%

Mental Health Initiatives

Stress Check Implementation and Use

Stress checks are regularly implemented at all bases in Japan to promote greater employee awareness about their own stress levels. At the time of stress check implementation, employees have an opportunity to learn about the purpose of stress checks and about self-care. After implementation, employees receive follow-up, or a referral to an employee assistance program (EAP) or health room consultation, depending on the results, encouraging them to build awareness and engage in self-care.
Correlations between engagement survey findings and findings of organizational analysis of stress checks are also identified and steps are taken to alleviate stress in the workplace, for example through the formulation of workplace environment improvement plans by workplaces with high stress levels.

Mental Health Measures

Training is provided to help enhance awareness about mental health. Line care training for managers has a more practical element, explaining how to interpret and utilize findings of organizational analyses and exploring case studies. New employees are asked to complete a pulse survey once a month during their first year. Routinely identifying employees’ levels of job satisfaction and mental health and providing quick follow-up in a way that reflects the individual’s issues helps to prevent mental health problems.
Effort also goes into making it easy for employees who have taken leave of absence to return to work. This includes reviewing return-to-work programs and preventing any recurrence of issues, for example by offering reminders about support service contacts.

Approaches to Health Issues

Reduction of Passive Smoking

To lower the risk of passive smoking by employees, smoking has been prohibited on company premises at all bases in Japan since 2022. Consultations about quitting smoking and monetary assistance for visits to smoking cessation clinics continue to be provided. From 2024, we also have employees who smoke work toward quitting by teaming up with a colleague, family member or other close supporter.
Alps Alpine seeks to prevent passive smoking from a variety of angles. This includes participation in the Yellow Green Campaign run by the Japan Society for Tobacco Control, involving the illumination of Headquarters and other business locations, and the display of posters for No Smoking Day (the 22nd of every month) as a member of the Tobacco Control Medical-Dental Research Network.

Illumination of Alps Alpine Headquarters

Specific Health Guidance

Alps Alpine collaborates with the health insurance association to provide special health guidance to employees to promote better lifestyle habits. Employees can opt to receive guidance either face-to-face or via one of two online methods. The implementation rate in fiscal 2023 was 68%, well exceeding the 45% nationwide target of Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare.

Protecting Employees from Cancer

In 2024, Alps Alpine registered as a partner in the Corporate Action to Promote Cancer Control program run by Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare. We will take proactive steps to lift the percentage of employees who undergo cancer screening.

Workplaces that Understand Women’s Health Issues

To support the health of female employees, Alps Alpine makes it possible for women to receive gynecological checkups at all bases in Japan. We also assist with checkup costs and cover the costs of tests taken through local authorities.
In addition, we have facilities such as nursing rooms and showers at each base. We create environments where even the child-raising generation finds it easy to work.

Raising Health Awareness

Prevention of Infectious Diseases

Vaccinations are provided as required, depending on the situation in each country or region, as part of day-to-day health management. We strive to prevent infectious diseases through measures including provision of influenza vaccinations, provision of opportunities for rubella antibody testing, routine reporting of infections by employees, and provision of rubbing alcohol as an antiseptic in appropriate locations on company premises.

Physical Exercise

As an initiative addressing lack of physical exercise as a health issue, the company teams up with the health insurance association to hold walk rallies twice a year, making use of an app, and to run an annual My Health Improvement Challenge, in which employees set a health target to attempt over a one-month period. Commemorative items are presented to employees with the best results and those who achieve their targets.

Health-Conscious Cafeteria Menus

Alps Alpine implements measures aimed at raising health awareness through food. These include provision of healthy meals, information displays, and recommendations to use health app Asken. We have acquired Smart Meal certification offered by the Consortium for Healthy Meal and Food Environment. We also belong to the Sanriku Joban Mono Network, supporting efforts to expand consumption of produce from Sanriku and Joban regions.

FY2023 Results of Health Maintenance and Promotion Efforts

	FY2021	FY2022	FY2023
Smoking rate	25%	24%	22%
No-smoking challenge success rate	84%	80%	20%
Stress check implementation rate	96%	95%	95%
Mental health leave of absence rate	－	－	0.9%
Regular health check rate	100%	99%	100%
Special health guidance implementation rate	21%	63%	68%
Metabolic syndrome observation rate	20%	19%	21%
Walk rally participation rate	－	11%	13%
Absenteeism^*	－	－	157 people

* Number of employees taking at least 30 days of sick leave, including paid leave and multi-purpose leave

Health & Productivity Management Outstanding Organization – Five Years in a Row

For the fifth consecutive year, starting in 2020, Alps Alpine has been recognized as a Health & Productivity Management Outstanding Organization within the large enterprise category of the certification program run by Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI).
The program recognizes large enterprises, small and medium-sized enterprises, and other organizations making outstanding efforts in health and productivity management in line with health-related challenges in communities or health-conscious activities led by the Nippon Kenko Kaigi.
Alps Alpine positions employee health maintenance and promotion as an important theme for management and will continue to act proactively in this area.