Nitto Group Report 2017

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31Nitto Group Report 2017Value Chain ManagementGreen ProcurementSo far, the Nitto Group has pursued green procurement by preferentially procuring materials with little environmental impact from environmentally conscious business partners.In early FY2017, Nitto Group companies in Japan updated their requirements concerning green procurement for business partners, which are included in the sixth edition of the Green Procurement Standards, and revised the checklist in order to monitor the progress of green procurement. Going forward, Nitto Group companies outside of Japan will also be urged to implement the Standards.Response to Conict MineralsThe Nitto Group properly manages information on chemical substances contained in raw materials and produced within the Group, and discloses such information to its customers both appropriately and promptly. The Nitto Group has made clear its policy on non-use of conict minerals* and provides all relevant information as appropriate with cooperation from its business partners.*Minerals that are produced in conict zones and used to nance armed groupsEnhancement of Customer SatisfactionThe Nitto Group is engaged in a variety of initiatives in order to deliver products and services that satisfy customers.To achieve the best possible product quality, the Nitto Group has introduced activities using Failure Mode and Effect Analysis (FMEA), which is an analysis technique for advance prediction of product failure and defects so that preventive measures may be taken, pursues SBSQ (Same Brand Same Quality) activities with the purpose of maintaining an identical level of quality for all products with the same serial number, irrespective of where they were made, and develops its human resources accordingly. In FY2016, past quality defect cases were utilized to take preventive measures by going back to the R&D stage with the aim of meeting customer requests to the greatest possible extent.Also, starting from the Onomichi and Toyohashi Plants, dashboard cameras have been attached to forklifts to prevent recurrence of accidents within internal logistics services, thereby achieving timely delivery without compromising on quality. Now that the logistics management system that began construction in FY2014 has been completed in South Korea, Taiwan, and China, even further improvement of logistics efciency is expected.In addition to the above, the Nitto Group promptly and appropriately provides information on the properties and handling of chemical substances and other materials needed by customers.Thanks to these endeavors, every product and service that Reinforcement of the Chemical Substance Management SystemThe Nitto Group is building a chemical substance management system led by those in the relevant regions in order to be able to promptly respond to changes in the laws and regulations of each country/region.In FY2016, surveys were conducted mainly at sites where regulated chemical substances are frequently used to check the progress of that initiative and comprehend any problems. The surveys found that, although information on each country/region’s laws and regulations and what raw materials are used is managed under the lead of the relevant regions, most information on intermediate products and finished products is still placed under centralized management in Japan.In FY2017, we will draw up an improvement plan based on the status of each site’s chemical substances management, so that every region can take the lead in managing such information in its territories.• From central management to region-led management