Business Continuity
At the Canon Marketing Japan Group (hereafter, the "Canon MJ Group"), we undertake business continuity measures to prepare for crises such as a major earthquake or outbreak of a new strain of influenza.
Business Continuity Plan (BCP)
Our Approach to BCP
Some businesses of the Canon MJ Group will cause significant repercussions if the level of their operation falls due to a disaster, and in such a case, the immediate resumption of such businesses is required from the perspective of social responsibility. We position such businesses as important operations and take measures, such as steps to ensure they continue to operate without suspending them or resuming them immediately after a suspension, based on a plan formulated in advance.
Major Initiatives
We assume the risks of an earthquake occurring directly beneath the Tokyo Metropolitan Area and a highly virulent new strain of influenza. Assuming that each of the risks has been actualized, we select in advance important operations to continue and formulate a BCP for each one of the operations.
BCP for an Earthquake Occurring Directly Beneath the Tokyo Metropolitan Area
Assuming the disruption of electricity and other social infrastructure resources, we have formulated a plan to resume operations of providing services to customers as quickly as possible, such as by transferring the headquarters functions to an alternative business location for recovery work.
BCP for a Highly Virulent Influenza
Assuming that human resources will be limited, we have developed a plan to continue operations of providing customers with services related to the maintenance of social functions, premised on protecting the lives and safety of employees and their families.
Initial Response
We have built a system for communication and information collection using social media, IT tools for use in disasters, and other tools that can be used outside business hours, so that related people will respond to a disaster appropriately by contacting each other.
We are working to ensure that related people will effectively share information, including damages from the disaster and their impact on operations, thereby promptly taking steps from decision-making to the implementation of business continuity measures.
Confirming the Safety of Employees
At the Canon MJ Group, we have introduced a safety confirmation system to confirm the safety of our employees promptly and surely. We use this system not only for safety confirmation but also emergency communications from the company, so that important information will be delivered even in the event of a disaster.
Confirming Damages to Business Locations
We have introduced IT tools for use in disasters to check damages to the Canon MJ Group's business locations across Japan. Information about damages to business locations collected with the tools is shared with employees, thus preventing secondary damages. We have also built a system under which various information, including important notices from the company, standards of behavior to be followed in the event of a disaster, and disaster information announced by the Japan Meteorological Agency, is consolidated, permitting employees to acquire the necessary information whenever they need it.
Business Continuity Management (BCM)
We strive to improve the effectiveness of formulated BCP by operating it based on a BCM action plan, including provision of training.
Our Approach to BCM
BCP is not simply about building a system or establishing steps to follow. We believe it important to ensure BCP to function effectively when an earthquake has actually occurred directly beneath the Tokyo Metropolitan Area or there has been an actual outbreak of a highly virulent new strain of influenza. For this purpose, we are implementing a PDCA cycle to achieve spiral improvement.
Major Initiatives
Training
To take appropriate actions in response to an actual disaster, it is important to picture specific actions on a daily basis by assuming a disaster.
We regularly provide communication training by assuming a disaster, such as having key people post messages about their safety or any damage they have suffered to social media, IT tools for use in disasters, and other media, so that they can use the necessary tools properly in the event of an actual emergency.
We continue to take actions until the registration of the safety information of all employees is completed. For example, we individually contact employees whose safety has yet to be confirmed and encourage them to register their safety information.
Each department which has formulated a BCP conducts drills by setting a theme that is appropriate for the maturity of each, such as desktop simulation training and a practical exercise based on a scenario. We consider measures to address the issues found in the drills.
We conduct drills on an ongoing basis in an effort to ensure the appropriate handling of emergencies.
Evaluation and Correction
To ensure the effectiveness of BCP even amid changes to the environment surrounding each company, an administrative office which drives BCM activities of the overall Group evaluates and reviews BCP of each department from a third party's perspective.
The administrative office evaluates the effectiveness and identifies issues from diverse perspectives, thus clarifying points needing improvement, which are reflected in activities in subsequent fiscal years.
Disaster Control Activities
Ensuring the safety of employees is essential for business continuity. At the Canon MJ Group, we are proactive in implementing daily disaster control activities to prepare for the occurrence of a disaster.
Aseismic Measures for Offices
At the Canon MJ Group, we have established standards on aseismic measures for offices and take aseismic measures based on these standards in an effort to prevent or mitigate damages.
Major Aseismic Measures
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Measures in layout
We have set detailed standards on the layout of office furniture, fixtures, and other equipment, including their positions and intervals between them, so as to prevent damages from their moving or falling.
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Fixing equipment
We have set standards on fixing office furniture and fixtures, MFP, and other equipment, so as to prevent damages from their moving or falling.
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Ensuring thorough 5S (Seiri for organizing, Seiton for keeping things in order, Seiso for cleaning up, Seiketsu for keeping things clean, and Shitsuke for self discipline) activities
We take comprehensive measures to ensure that no item will be placed on office furniture and fixtures, such as shelves and cabinets, so as to prevent damages from their scattering or falling.
Management of Emergency Stockpiles
In the event of a disaster such as a major earthquake, public transportation will be out of service, which is expected to force customers and employees to stay in offices. Emergency stockpiles, such as food and daily supplies, are indispensable for staying in offices with peace of mind.
At the Canon MJ Group, we have established guidelines specifying what and how many items to prepare as disaster stockpiles and how to manage them daily. We have built a system under which stockpiles are evenly distributed among branches, sales offices, and other business locations, ready to be used appropriately when needed, and strive to maintain the system.
Awareness-Raising Activities
To respond appropriately to a major disaster, each employee must have a spirit of self-help, with which they intend to protect their own safety. At the Canon MJ Group, we have continued awareness-raising activities, which are aimed at making employees more committed to protecting themselves.
Distribution of a Pocket Manual on How to Respond to a Major Earthquake
We have distributed a pocket manual to all Canon MJ Group employees. We encourage them to carry the manual at all times so that they can refer to it immediately in the case of an emergency.
Information contained in the manual includes behavioral standards, how to use various IT tools for use in disasters, what actions to take, and what prior knowledge they should have.
Distribution of Information about Disaster Control and BCM
We tell employees what could happen in the event of a disaster, what actions to take in such circumstances, and provide similar information in an easy-to-understand manner from various perspectives, in an effort to raise their awareness of how to protect themselves.
Key Content of Distributed Information
- What are the three types of help for disaster risk reduction? (July)
- My emergency stockpile based on real-world experience (August)
- How do we classify rainfall of 50 mm per hour? (September)
- When do tornados develop? (October)
- Are you familiar with hazard maps? (November)
- Fire prevention and evacuation simulation (December)
Contributing to Society through Disaster Control Activities
At the Canon MJ Group, we are proactive in taking initiatives through which our disaster control activities contribute to society.
Discouraging the Simultaneous Return Home of Employees during a Disaster
Ten companies of the Canon MJ Group were certified by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government as a 2018 Company Discouraging the Simultaneous Return Home of Employees during a Disaster. At the Canon MJ Group, we engage aggressively in group-wide activities for aseismic measures, stockpiling, and informing employees of the necessity of protecting themselves so that they can stay safely in office buildings for up to three days, so as to avoid hampering rescue work and protect their own safety from secondary disasters.
Donation of Emergency Stock of Food and Drinking Water to Food Banks
At the Canon MJ Group, when we replace emergency stocks of food and drinking water, we donate to food banks food and water at a certain point prior to them reaching their use-by date.