April 8, 2008
President Miyahara(holding pen) undergoing a security check prior to boarding.
President Miyahara(right) receiveing an explanation from the vessel chief engineer.
Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha (NYK; head office: Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo; president: Koji Miyahara) recently completed an urgent review of safety aboard its vessels as part of a comprehensive, month-long inspection of company procedures and policies.
In order to effectively pursue its goals of growth, stability, and environmental sustainability - identified as the three pillars of its new medium-term management plan, New Horizon 2010 - the NYK Group firmly believes that it must ensure that workplace practices are conducted safely at all times.
The inspections were timed to coincide with the transition to New Horizon 2010 from New Horizon 2007, which ended at the conclusion of fiscal 2007, a juncture that afforded the NYK Group an excellent opportunity to remind staff about the importance of maintaining health and safety in their work environment.
During its review, the company reviewed case studies of recent accidents aboard NYK vessels and put together a compilation of proposals for ways to avoid reoccurrences. The company also provided staff with a self-diagnosis check sheet, which was distributed under the supervision of the president. Over the course of the review, as many as 130 company members, including managers and executives, inspected some 120 vessels.
On March 28, NYK president Koji Miyahara made a personal visit to an NYK containership docked at Tokyo Bay to inspect operations and impress on ship staff the importance of safe and responsible practices in their workplace. He also took part in discussions about Near Miss 3000 activities and ship-to-land communications.
NYK has a series of policies about operational site practices that are designed to enhance communication between staff and ensure that accidents and injuries are prevented.
Near Miss 3000 Activities: Devil Hunting
These activities are based on identifying and correcting the 3,000 unsafe circumstances that, according to Heinrich's Law, will lead to 300 near misses, followed by 29 accidents or problems, and then one serious accident. NYK vessels have already put in place measures to identify and neutralize factors that could lead to accidents or trouble on vessels.
