Sharing the status of environmental safety improvements and best practices

Samsung Electronics held a 'Partner Environmental Safety Workshop' to raise awareness of environmental safety at its Small and Medium Business Support Center in Gwanggyo, with the attendance of approximately 200 representatives from first and second-tier partner companies and 400 environmental safety managers.

This workshop was held to share the current status and best practices of Samsung Electronics' partner companies' environmental safety improvements and to discuss future directions for improvement with partners. The programs included ▲ sharing partner company environmental safety support policies and inspection results ▲ presentation of best practices for partner company environmental safety improvement ▲ lecture on 'Creating a workplace safe from chemicals' ▲ discussion with partners for future improvements.

Every year, Samsung Electronics conducts on-site inspections of its first-tier suppliers that use chemical substances, and conducts improvement activities through Samsung Electronics environmental safety experts.

In 2017, we plan to conduct on-site inspections of approximately 500 first-, second-, and third-tier subcontractors. To date, we have conducted inspections and implemented improvement activities for a total of 137 companies, including 31 first-tier companies, 84 second-tier companies, and 22 third-tier companies. At the workshop, we shared the results of these inspections and presented future plans.

Daedeok Electronics and Jahwa Electronics were introduced as best practices for improving the environmental safety of partner companies. Daedeok Electronics, a first-tier supplier of PCBs to Samsung Electronics, had difficulties managing odors, leaks, and noise in the workplace due to the use of chemical substances in manufacturing. However, the company worked with Samsung Electronics environmental safety experts for nine months to improve the issues.

In addition to improving the working environment by securing exhaust facilities, improving equipment, and attaching sound absorbing materials, we reduced odor and noise and improved productivity by attaching fluid flow indicators to pipes and reorganizing manufacturing equipment manuals.

Additionally, Jahwa Electronics, a first-tier supplier of camera module components to Samsung Electronics, formed an environmental safety improvement council with 10 second-tier suppliers to create a safe work environment.

With the help of external consultants dispatched by Samsung Electronics, improvement tasks in the areas of environment, hazardous substances, safety, and firefighting were identified, and the work environment was improved by installing chemical storage facilities, providing protective gear for workers, and installing ventilation facilities for each company.

Eun-ki Joo, Vice President of Samsung Electronics’ Mutual Growth and Cooperation Center, said, “Samsung Electronics is actively supporting our partners by providing on-site consulting and facility improvement investments to create a safe work environment,” and added, “I hope that through this workshop, our partners will also recognize the importance of environmental safety and establish a safety awareness that will enable them to thoroughly comply with the basics.”