The 1st International Safety Symposium Report

The international safety symposium “How to establish safety in the era of the fourth industrial revolution” was held.

The Institute of Global Safety Promotion (IGSAP) and NIKKEI BP Intelligence Group held the international safety symposium “How to establish safety in the era of the fourth industrial revolution — A discussion with world safety experts through the eyes of management”, on June 8, 2017. The symposium took place at Belle Salle Kanda Event Hall (Kanda, Tokyo) and nearly 200 people participated, which was unprecedented for this type of symposium, and it showed the high interest in new ideas on safety.

The symposium started with an opening speech by Mr. Fumikazu Sato, Deputy Director-General, Manufacturing Industries Bureau, Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry  (METI). Mr. Toshiyuki Shiga, Director of Board Members, Nissan Motor Corporation, Chairman and CEO, Innovation Network Corporation of Japan (INCJ), gave a special lecture on the future of cars in society, and how the future of safety ought to be. Afterwards, Dr. Masao Mukaidono, chairman of IGSAP and Professor Emeritus at Meiji University, made the first public announcement of the “Future Safety Concept”, a roadmap to creating safety in the midst of significant social change.

In this symposium, the world’s prominent researchers who lead the field of safety, came from Germany and France to take the podium. Professor Dr. Dietmar Reinert from Germany lectured on the theme of “How can the challenges of Industry 4.0 be dealt with?” and Professor Dr. Didier Baptiste from France on “Technological innovations–organizational changes: consequences for prevention”. Both shared the latest safety information with the audience.

Following these lectures, the IGSAP directors took turns giving lectures. Dr. Toshihiro Fujita emphasized the importance of the roles of top management and strategic approaches. Mr. Norio Kodaira, Chief engineer, Industrial Products Division, Factory Automation System, Mitsubishi Electric Corporation talked about the safety of industrial robots from the position of the Chairman of Systems Engineering Group, Japan Robot Association. Mr. Isao Adachi described the new risks which have been emerging in Japanese society, accompanied by Mr. Takashi Kawata, a member of the IGSAP Safety Executive Committee, and an Executive officer, Civil Engineering Technology, Shimizu Corporation, and Mr. Kazuhiro Shirai, Chief maintenance auditor, Maintenance Auditing Department, JAL Engineering Co., Ltd.

In the last panel discussion moderated by Dr. Fujita and participated by Dr. Mukaidono, Professor Dr. Reinert, Professor Dr. Baptiste, Mr. Kodaira, Mr. Kawata and Mr. Adachi, opinions were exchanged in answer to the many questions asked by the audience on the future of safety, the return on investment in safety and so on. Dr. Fujita successfully developed a rapport between the audience and panelists, and the audience listened eagerly and attentively to the heated discussions held on stage.

Lastly, a closing speech was given by Mr. Nobuyuki Yamaki, President of Japan Industrial Safety & Health Association, to conclude the day-long international symposium.

https://www.nikkeibp.co.jp/seminar/atcl/ken/NA170608/

Photo by Kurage Kikuchi
Courtesy NIKKEI BP Intelligence Group