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Risk Management
Business Continuity Management
Business Continuity Management (BCM)
Konica Minolta is working on measures for business continuity in the event of a major natural disaster
One of the most important responsibilities of an enterprise is to maintain or rapidly resume its essential business operations in the event of major disaster or accident. Konica Minolta is working toward this goal at Group companies worldwide, while also including its supply chains*.
To ensure that Group companies are able to maintain key operations in the event of a major disaster and minimize negative effects on suppliers and customers, each company has established a business continuity plan (BCP). This forms the basis for business continuity management (BCM) systems that organically incorporate the initial response systems activated immediately after a disaster. Each Group company identifies essential businesses that cannot be suspended, along with any obstacles to the ongoing operation of these businesses. Measures are then devised to ensure continued operations, together with alternative measures in case a business becomes nonfunctional.
For example, Konica Minolta is promoting a measure to handle a major earthquake in Japan and deal with a possible future influenza pandemic which has become a global concern. Various drills have also been carried out in order to improve BCM effectiveness.
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- Supply chain: The series of activities involved in delivering a product or service to a customer, ranging from procurement and production to distribution and sales.
Preparing for Major Earthquakes
Action Manual in the Event of an Earthquake
Earthquakes are the greatest natural disaster threat to any enterprise operating in Japan. In fact, it is possible for an entire industry to be paralyzed by the damage caused to a single company during a major earthquake.
The Konica Minolta Group believes that business continuity measures designed for major earthquakes are also effective in the event of other types of disasters. Konica Minolta places particular priority on improving preparedness for potential earthquakes, most notably large earthquakes in the higher risk Tokai and Tonankai regions, along with the Tokyo metropolitan area. For instance, disaster prevention exercises are carried out on an ongoing basis to confirm the effectiveness of procedures. This includes an emergency drill simulating a situation where metropolitan Tokyo has been hit by an earthquake and an emergency headquarters has to be set up in the Kansai region to take over the functions of the Tokyo head offices of Konica Minolta Holdings and various Group companies.
In 1995, it took nearly a week to confirm the safety of all employees after the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake. As a result, Konica Minolta developed an employee safety confirmation system. This system allows employees living or working in an area hit by a large earthquake (seismic intensity 5 or above) to report on their safety over the Internet using a PC or mobile phone. Periodic drills are held to check the effectiveness of the system.
One measure Konica Minolta has taken to ensure that employees remain calm and take safe and appropriate action in the event of a large earthquake is producing a handbook entitled “Action Manual in the Event of an Earthquake,” which is provided to Group companies in Japan.
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