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OSH Japan

"Safety First" Is a Key to Improve Productivity

*Tachi Manufacturing Co.*
1. Introduction

Followings is a summary of our company:
Established: November, 1946
Capital: Y48 million
Number of employees: 88 ( 68 males and 20 females)
Averaged age: 36 years old
Address: Kiyosucho, Nishi-Kasugai-Gun, Aichi Prefecture
Business Context: automobile parts (engines, missions, vehicle parts, etc.),industrial machine parts (laser processing machines, wire cuts, discharge processing machines, injection molding machines food machines, robots, etc.), elevator & escalator parts, air conditioner parts, machinery processing/sheet metal processing/assembly processing of different equipment parts made on an experimental basis.

Given pieces of advice by our consultants, we vigorously have worked on (Total Quality Control (TQC), TPM, small group activities, 6S, VA activities, which are basis of health and safety activities, and other activities for radical reform since 1979. For these efforts, we have been commended by Director General of Labour Standards Bureau in Aichi prefecture, Chairman of Japan Industrial Safety & Health Association, Director General of Social Insurance Agency.

2. History of Health and Safety Activities

We started to attend a research group for health and safety at the request of our customer in 1978, when we were pointed out that our frequency rate of injury occurrence was the worst among its customers of machine manufacturers: out of the total 60 employees, five cases were injuries with lost days and 19 were ones without lost days, which was equivalent to 152.89 in frequency rate. In addition to a series of injuries, we were also troubled with delayed deliveries and a large amount of defective products. We always faced the crisis of bankruptcy.

To seek effective measures to overcome the management crisis and reform the company, we launched a study group for administrative executives, with technical experts as business consultants. "More than anything else, let us know how we could produce as many as possible," we asked the consultants, expecting that they would give us a proper answer for the question. Yet the answer is: "start with safety and health activities if you would like to improve the productivity.

The first step for this end, according to our consultants, was "regulation and proper arrangement." We organized a group to promote safety and health activities, involving all our staffs, from the executives to the employees. The activities have continued for 20 years. We carried out so-called "clean plan" under which all staffs stopped working for a half of day on every weekend for three months in order to practice intensive "regulation and proper arrangement." Besides, the following six activities were also carried out:

1) made the shift system under which each employee was in charge of safety and health promotion every month. The system, in which all employees participated, was useful to develop safety and health activities at the employees level.

2) involved the chairman of the commission for promotion of safety and health at work in organizational activities so that safety and health activities could promptly be done or improved as occasional demands. (At the beginning of the practice, the manufacturing manager played the role).

3) carried out patrols and followed patrols on the 1st and the 15th of each month.

4) introduced the shift system in Zero-accident Campaign Black Board. Promoted Tool Box Meeting (TBM) in every morning, and called a name of employees while pointing him out. Sang a monthly slogan in chores.

5) promoted to practice the radio gymnastic exercises before work and our original refreshment gymnastic exercises at three o'clock.

6) held the training program on safety and health for new employees and managerial and supervisory staffs. Practiced KYT and ( ).

We have promoted these activities, with our original manuals, which were complied based on materials we had obtained at out-company lessons and the guidance given by our customers. The effort successfully led us to accomplish Zero-accident (Zero injuries both with lost days and without lost days) in 1985. The record has been kept for the consecutive 13 years (from 1985 through 1998).

In 1984, we were awarded a prize for accomplishment of excellent results in safety and health by our customer which indicated us as a company with the worst frequency rate of injury occurrence in 1978. The award was an evidence that we could free from the reputation. And more: a prize for the promotion in safety and health activities, awarded by Director General of Labour Standards Bureau in Aichi in 1989; and one, given by chairman of Japan Industrial Safety & Health Association at its Annual Industrial Safety and Health Convention in 1994, which showed that we were chosen one of the best three companies in Japan.

3. Multiplicative Effect for Safety and Health ActivitiesEDifferent Activities In Company

*Small Group Activities in Company
Launched in 1979, the group held the first meeting to report its activities on safety and health in March 1980. The meeting has came to be held regularly twice a year, in June and December since 1982 when the fourth meeting was opened. The group activities hold the significance in the aspect that all employees participate in it and that they challenge without fearing of making failure. It attempts to create better communication among the employees. This year marks the 35th activity.

*VT1-6S Project Activities for Promotion
In contrast to the small group activities led by the employee, "V (Victory) T (Tachi) Strategy" was launched in 1982 to promote safety and health activities at the executive level. VT Strategy was reorganized as "6S Project Activities for Promotion" in 1987. The new activity was designed to promote regulation (seiton), proper arrangement (seiton), clearing (seisou), cleanliness (seiketsu) and to help the employees make these disciplined activities (shitsuke) their habit (syukan). After 15 years of practice, we recently have worked on to create comfortable working environment/comfortable working place.

*TQC Activities, TPM Activities, VA activities
For the radical reform of the company, we have promoted our original activities in Total Quality Control (TQC), TPM, and VA, by setting regulations for each . Also, as a part of safety and health activities, we plan monthly events to develop our employees' health, and link them to internal small group activities, and so forth. Such events include a walk rally, medical examinations, Osero festival, ( ), ( ).

4. Conclusion

We recently have enjoyed the 235% gain in productivity, compared with 20 years ago. The success resulted from our enthusiastic efforts in different activities, based on safety and health activities, for the radical reform of the company. The 20-year long activities also gave us an important principle: unless we could control safety at work, it would be far from sufficient control of quality and productivity. This is because safety control is the basis of all activities to "save our life", which is the most importance in the world. With the recognition that humanism is the fundamental of safety and health activities, we will continue promoting the corporate management .
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