Employees
Striving to create an employee-friendly work environment that allows a diversity of personnel to achieve their full potential
NSG Group Values Its People
Recognizing that every employee is a key player in implementing its passion for manufacturing excellence (monozukuri), the NSG Group is providing support in variousforms in order to allow employees to fully realize their capabilities and expand their opportunities to achieve personal growth.
In the area of employee training, the NSG Group aims to foster a team of globally competitive professionals in the truest sense. To this end, the Group focuses on employee training by providing various training programs, including a management program that meets modern business needs.
The NSG Group also places significant emphasis on human rights in its corporate activities and is working to create a discrimination-free workplace. To achieve its goals, NSG Group is working to nurture human-rights awareness throughout the Group by educating its employees in such areas as discrimination, employment of people with disabilities and sexual harassment.
The number of NSG Group employees increased from 12,736 to 35,811 with the acquisition of Pilkington plc in June 2006. (This was reduced to around 34,000 in July 2007, with the sale of the Australasia business.) The cultural diversity of the NSG Group has also expanded with the Pilkington acquisition. Pursuant to its Code of Conduct, the Group annually publicizes key performance indicators (KPIs) in conjunction with the initiatives that it implements for the benefit of its employees. The new Corporate Human Resources Department, which was established in April 2007 for the purpose of building a new NSG Group-wide platform for human resource management, is currently advancing the integration processes.
The NSG Group Considers Health and Safety of Employees a Top Priority
People are the most important assets of our company. This means that we will take good care of people because they are the major resource of our business. Management, along with all employees, will strive to create a working environment that is healthy and safe, operating with an obsession with safety, in the belief that all accidents are preventable.
Ensuring the Health and Safety of Employees
The health, safety and well-being of all employees, contractors, visitors, neighbors and customers remain at the forefront of all business activity in the NSG Group.
Safety programs emphasize the importance of improving behavior and of individuals taking personal responsibility, building on the safety management systems already in place, giving everyone a greater degree of safety.
All injuries at work are regarded as avoidable and no matter how minor, each one must be reported and investigated. Only by investigating and learning from such incidents will the desired levels of safety performance be achieved.
Safety performance in the Group is measured using two key performance indicators, the lost time injury rate (LTIR) and the significant injury rate (SIR). A lost time injury is a work-related accident or illness of sufficient severity to prevent the individual involved from being able to report for work on the following day or shift. A significant injury is defined as an injury sufficiently severe to require medical treatment or the reallocation of duties.
A proactive safety evaluation system, PRISM, exists in all facilities, ensuring that all activities are subjected to risk assessment, with proper procedures in place to protect individuals.
Number of lost time injuries per 200,000 hours worked by NSG Group Flat Glass employees and long-term contractors.
Promoting the Well-being of Employees
In addition to safe working, the NSG Group seeks to promote the general health and well-being of all employees. Provisions are made at the local level and integrated as appropriate into the infrastructure that exists in the locality to assist this aim.
Programs are in place to assist any employee who may be suffering from physical or mental ailments, and mental illness is specifically recognized as a potential factor in the cause of occupational ill health.
In suitable cases, services such as counseling are available. Systems encourage the open expression of concerns, and our development of behavioural safety training seeks to assist people to identify the signs that might indicate persons at risk.
Comment from Sachiyo Nishie
I joined NSG Group in 1991 through mid-career recruitment. I had worked at the Corporate Planning and Accounting Department for NSG Group’s Glass Fiber Business for about 10 years and was transferred to the Foreign Legal Affairs Department at NSG’s Tokyo Head Office in 2003. In 2005, I was given an opportunity to study in the United States for two years, in line with the Company’s aim of strengthening human resources in legal affairs in terms of their expertise and internationality. During my stay in the U.S., I obtained a Legum Magister (LL.M) after completing law school, took the New York State Bar Exam and worked for a law firm as an intern.
During my leave-of-absence from work, I could really dedicate myself to the study of law without worrying about anything else. At the same time, I feel very privileged to have been able to make friends with people from all over the world who were, like me, contemplating legal careers. I gained invaluable experience through the stay in the U.S., and I truly appreciate the Company for providing me with that opportunity. I plan to apply what I learned and experienced to my work and continue to contribute to the NSG Group’s globalization and diversification efforts.
With colleagues from the law school (Ms. Nishie: back row, second from right)
