Safety Day: September 8, 2018
DENSO Associates,
Many of you may know the story of the ANJO tragedy which occurred on September 8, 1969. Every year we come together to remember those we lost at ANJO and to re-affirm our commitment to providing a safe place to work for our associates.
Briefly, I would like to share what happened at ANJO.
A die-casting operation at the ANJO facility exploded. In those days there was little understanding on the nature of combustible aluminum dust. Twelve associates were injured. Unfortunately, six DENSO associates would lose their lives in the days that followed. Each of these associates was very young and had their whole lives in front of them. Their deaths impacted many people.
As a result of this tragic incident, DENSO made a commitment that SAFETY would be the foundation for everything that we do.
As CEO and your leader for DENSO in North America, my personal commitment for safety is that I promote our safety first mind and reinforce safety first management in NA.
Why should DENSO promote safety first mind activity?
It’s because we are all members of the DENSO family.
I want to stress that the safety first mind promotion activity is not just for our company.
It is for YOU, and your family and your friends.
If you have an accident at work and hurt yourself, you feel pain and may become depressed.
Your family and your friends may feel sad and unhappy to see your face.
DENSO considers associates as members of the DENSO family, so all DENSO management has a responsibility to protect our DENSO family from injury, when we work in a DENSO factory or office.
As you know, DENSO has many procedures and rules to protect associates from safety accidents. Please have the right understanding of the reason why we have many rules and the necessity to follow the rules.
And, if you find a dangerous operation or an unsafe working environment, please feel free to communicate with your coworkers and managers.
With associates and management working together to make DENSO a safe place to work, we can develop a culture of SAFETY that we all can be proud of!
Today, we declare in remembrance of those we have lost, that September 2018, is both a period of reflection and of rededication to our central mission to be safe.
Please – Always be safe!!
Kenichiro (Ken) Ito
President & CEO, DENSO International America, Inc.
Chairman of DENSO’s North America Board of Directors