Health and Safety

The purpose of the Panasonic Group's Occupational Safety and Health Management activities is to promote the achievement of a comfortable, safe workplace, which will contribute to the welfare of our employees and the development of our business. In addition, it is also required to give consideration to the safety and health of those working on premises.

In order to maintain and continuously improve our occupational safety and health, all manufacturing locations and major affiliates have implemented the Occupational Safety and Health Management System, which is based on the international OHSAS 18001 standard.

The OHSAS 180001 standard defines the roles and responsibilities of safe and healthy activities, while promoting them systematically through continuous improvement and regular inspections. We have implemented this system in all production sites of Panasonic Corporation and its major affiliates in Japan, and are implementing similar initiatives in places outside of Japan to raise safety and health standards globally.

We have also continued to support our Occupational Health and Safety Committee, consisting of members from both labor and management at each business location to investigate and discuss health and safety management issues that affect all employees. The Occupational Health and Safety Council was also established for contractors working on-site, and to ensure compliance with health and safety policies and disseminate information, among other activities.

In order to raise the standards of our overseas safety and health activities above or at least to the same level as those in Japan, we have introduced our "Overseas Safety and Health Assessment," which exists to identify specific trends in overseas countries, as well as areas for improvement in our safety and health management processes outside Japan.

In emerging markets such as China, Malaysia, Thailand,and others, our accident rate is increasing due to the increase in overseas production. In fiscal 2012, we suffered serious incidents in Thailand and China related to the use of machine presses. As a result, we took serious measures to prevent similar accidents from occurring in the future across the Panasonic Group. In addition to awareness raising, training, and information sharing, we revised the safety equipment and working procedures for pressing machines, and we took similar preventative measures with other injuries in the workplace caused by conveyers and processing machines.

Incident Rate of Work-related Accidents

Source:"All industry average" and "Electric, machinery and manufacturing industry average" figures were from the website of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, Japan.

Time Lost Due to Work-Related Accidents

Note: Total time-lost of victims due to labor accidents

Severity Rate of Accidents

Note: Proportion of time-lost per 1,000 hours of total working hours

Panasonic Occupational Safety and Health Charter

Occupational Safety and Health Declaration

Based on the basic management philosophy of respecting people, Panasonic Corporation is committed to creating safe and healthy Workplaces, both physically and mentally, through appropriate and careful attention and consistent effort.

Activity Guidelines for Occupational safety and Health Program

Legal and regulatory compliance
Each business unit should establish its own internal policies and procedures to fulfill the relevant legal and regulatory obligations relating to occupational safety and health and ensure compliance.
Management resources
Each business unit should devote staff, technology, and capital to creating workplaces that are safe and healthy.
Estymaintain, and improve an occupational safety and health management system
Each business unit should establish an occupational safety and health management program and regularly maintain and improve it.
Definitions of roles, authorities, and responsibilities, and organizational maintenance
To administer the occupational safety and health management program and promote continuous autonomous improvement, each business unit should define the roles, authorities, and responsibilities of the elected head, legal staff, managers, and supervisors of the program.
Removal and reduction of hazards and potential causes of damage
Each business unit should assess risks, identify hazards and potential causes of damage, and remove or reduce them.
Setting goals and formulating and implementing a plan for occupational safety and health management
The management and employees of each business unit should work together to assess the occupational safety and health of workplaces, identify disasters and potential threats to health, establish goals, and formulate and execute a management plan for the occupational safety and health program.
Auditing, and review by management
Each business unit should conduct regular audits to monitor the occupational safety and health program. Management should review the audit results and recommend improvements to the program.
Education and training
Each business unit should provide its employees and those of its business partners on its premises with education and training in accordance with the occupational safety and health management program, and ensure that all relevant people are kept informed of and familiarized with the program's charter and management system.

October 1, 2008
Panasonic Corporation President
Fumio Ohtsubo

Preventing HIV/AIDS, protecting the rights of HIV/AIDS victims, assistance for the families

Panasonic believes that, armed with the proper knowledge, HIV/AIDS can be prevented and unnecessary confusion and worry avoided in the work place. Thus, Panasonic has undertaken to educate all its employees about HIV/AIDS as the cornerstone of its initiatives in this area. We are also taking steps to protect the human rights of employees with HIV/AIDS with the following four rules:

Confidentiality of personal information
Prohibiting discrimination in employment
Prohibiting the testing for HIV antibodies without consent
Promoting awareness activities

Mental Health

Panasonic established the following consultants to address the topic of preventing or dealing with mental or physical stress.

Employee Consultant (or the personnel department associated with the employee's place of work)
The Employee Consultant system was introduced in 1957 to serve as the main channel for helping to resolve the concerns of employees with regards to work and the welfare system, as well as with trouble at home.
Company Clinic
The Company Clinic is staffed industrial insurance personnel to hear concerns about mental and physical health and help people live healthier lives.
Panasonic Group EAP Consultant
The EAP (Employee Assistance Program) is a program that provides specialist councilors to hear the concerns of individuals without the company or the health insurance organization finding out about it.

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