Exhibition Info - 27/06/2024Starlite participated in the 16th Global Warming Prevention Exhibition 2024 and raised issues of why it is difficult to see the effect of measures to prevent heatstroke in the workplace.
Current issues
The number of casualties caused by heatstroke in the workplace is on the rise again since 2021. The number of casualties (fatality and more than 4 days of absence from work) caused by heatstroke in the workplace in 2022 was 827 (an increase of 266, 47% increase year-on-year), which is about 40% of the total occurred in the construction and manufacturing industries. The number of casualties for the five years through 2022 was 4,354, and 125 of them were fatal. Compared to the five-year total through 2017*1, the number of casualties has increased 1.8 times and the number of fatalities has increased 1.3 times.
- 1: Total number of casualties in 2013: 530 (Number of fatalities: 30)
(According to the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare website)
One of the reasons behind this is said to be the aging of the working population. According to the 2022 survey by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, the number of workers aged 65 and above reached a record high of 9,120,000. There were 810,000 elderly workers in the construction industry, and 900,000 in the manufacturing industry, approximately 1.7 times and 1.4 times more, respectively, than 10 years ago. With that in mind, in March of 2023 the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare strongly urged approximately 500 organizations of construction and manufacturing companies to use the Wet Bulb Globe Temperature (WBGT) that shows the degree of risk for heatstroke, but the number of casualties (fatality and more than 4 days of absence from work) in the workplace caused by heatstroke in the workplace in 2023 was 1,106 (an increase of 279, 34% increase year-on-year), which is still increasing.
Starlite's beliefs
To eliminate the number of casualties caused by heatstroke in the workplace, we believe it is necessary to take individual measures to manage the physical condition of each person, rather than a "one-size-fits-all" approach for everyone, and to take measures according to whether a person is "heat-resistant" or "heat-sensitive". For example, we can further demonstrate the effectiveness of conventional methods such as "drinking water" and "taking a break" by individually visualizing the data trends on heatstroke risk, and taking appropriate measures based on the results of analyzing and detecting the signs of heatstroke.
Measures against heatstroke tailored to each individual
In the 16th Global Warming Prevention Exhibition 2024 (Held at the Tokyo Big Sight from May 22 to 24, 2024), many field managers and supervisors came to our booth and shared their expertise on the current situation where the number of heatstroke cases in the workplace has not been eliminated, the details of measures, and stories of heatstroke cases. One of the visitors agreed with our belief that "heat-resistant" and "heat-sensitive" people need different measures and would like to work together to solve this issue.
Starlite continues to share issues and challenges to achieve zero heatstroke in the workplace while each company and organization shares their knowledge and experience as they become a group working toward the same goal for continuous improvement.
Related pages
Related websites
- Status of 2023 casualties caused by heatstroke in the workplace (Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare) (available only in Japanese)
- eMET+ | Heatstroke monitoring system eMET | Starlite Co., Ltd. (emet-safety.com) (available only in Japanese)
Inquiry and Contact : https://starlite.co.jp/en/contact/
Recent Events
- 27/06/2024Starlite participated in the 16th Global Warming Prevention Exhibition 2024 and raised issues of why it is difficult to see the effect of measures to prevent heatstroke in the workplace.
- 14/06/2024At the Highly-functional Material Week [Osaka], Starlite presented its high-performance material technologies that support the next-generation energy society.
- 31/05/2024At the General Affairs, Human Resources and Accounting Week, Starlite introduced a new service called eMET+ as a measure to prevent heatstroke in cap-wearing workplaces.
- 12/01/2024Starlite presented the importance of emergency toilets at the SDGs Week EXPO 2023 - Toilet Exhibition for Disaster Management.