[Rare Achievement by Only 2 Companies in Kagawa Prefecture] Revolutionizing Health Management in the Construction Industry. Ishii Co., Ltd., Supported by Novas Co., Ltd., Receives Double Award: "Next Bright 1000" & "Kagawa Prefecture Governor's Award"

Novas Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Takamatsu City, Kagawa Prefecture; Representative Director: Satoshi Wakisaka), which operates personal gyms and provides health management support, announces that its client, Ishii Co., Ltd., has achieved a double award: certification as a "Health and Productivity Management Outstanding Organization 2026 (SME Category) Next Bright 1000" and the "Kagawa Prefecture Governor's Award." This recognition is the result of approximately six months of comprehensive health management support provided by Novas, combining its three services: "Health Management Support," "Age-Friendly Subsidy Introduction Support," and "Health Solutions."

## Performance Report
Ishii Co., Ltd., which receives health management implementation support from Novas Co., Ltd., has been certified as a "Health and Productivity Management Outstanding Organization 2026 (SME Category) Next Bright 1000" selected by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry. Additionally, its excellent initiatives for health promotion were recognized with the "Kagawa Prefecture Governor's Award."
Achieving both the "Next Bright 1000" certification, which only 8 companies in Kagawa Prefecture received, and the "Kagawa Prefecture Governor's Award," which only 3 companies received, is an extremely high hurdle. Only two companies in the prefecture managed to achieve both simultaneously, and Ishii Co., Ltd. is one of them, marking a remarkable accomplishment.

## Support Details | "Building a Movable Body" to Support Construction Sites
The construction industry has the highest number of fatalities due to occupational accidents among all industries (preliminary figures for 2024, Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare). Looking at the number of injuries and deaths requiring four or more days of absence from work (final figures for 2023) by type of accident, the top three are: 1st "Falls/Tumbles" with 4,554 people (31.6% of the total), 2nd "Slips/Trips," and 3rd "Reactions to movements/Unreasonable movements (e.g., lower back pain)."
It is noteworthy that the root causes of the 1st and 2nd rankings are both related to the decline in physical function. A body with diminished balance ability, lower limb strength, and reaction speed cannot support a step at height or an instantaneous brace on a passageway. Furthermore, lower back pain, ranked 3rd, is a chronically accumulating occupational risk in demanding construction sites.
Therefore, investment in "fall prevention" and "lower back pain prevention" can be considered the most cost-effective health measures, directly addressing all top three causes of injuries and deaths in the construction industry.
Novas implemented a three-stage approach combining measurement, exercise, and seminars, utilizing the exercise course within the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare's Age-Friendly Subsidy program.

### Implementation of Physical Function Measurement (Compliant with Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare Recommended Standards)
The first step in health management is "knowing the current situation." Based on measurement sheets recommended by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, Novas quantified and visualized five items of physical function directly linked to fall risk.

Measurement Items | Ability Evaluated | Relation to Accidents
-----------------|-------------------|--------------------
Two-step test | Walking ability, lower limb strength | Risk of misstep, stumble
Seated stepping test | Agility, neuromuscular coordination | Instantaneous avoidance ability
Functional reach | Dynamic balance, fall risk | Core stability during high-altitude work
Closed-eye single-leg stance | Static balance (proprioception) | Maintaining balance on scaffolding
Open-eye single-leg stance | Static balance (visual integration) | Stability on uneven ground

Through half a year of exercise, numerical values improved in all five measurement items. The experience of seeing numbers change, rather than just a subjective feeling of "my body seems to have changed," transformed employees' health awareness from within.

### Implementation of Fall Prevention Exercise Program
Novas's trainers directly visited Ishii Co., Ltd. and conducted an exercise program specifically for fall prevention, targeting all employees, 8 times over approximately 6 months.
The program was designed to improve the numerical values of all five physical function measurement items. It gradually enhanced the "ability to brace" and "ability to quickly regain posture" actually required on site. As a result, numerical values in all measurement items improved over approximately 6 months.
Furthermore, Novas provided its proprietary on-demand service "Novas On-Demand." An environment was created where employees could engage in exercise at their own pace and preferred timing from over 1,000 pieces of content. This two-layered structure, "habitualizing the will to continue through on-demand," supported the continuous establishment of exercise habits.

### Awareness Reform through Fall Prevention Seminars
Essential for the establishment of exercise habits is a sense of conviction: "Why am I doing this?" Novas conducted two health seminars on the theme of fall prevention, with a total of 24 employees participating.
The seminars presented, with statistical data, the fact that the 1st ranked cause of injuries and deaths in the construction industry, falls/tumbles (31.6% of the total), and the 2nd ranked cause, slips/trips, both stem from the common root of decreased balance ability and lower limb strength. Furthermore, by comparing these with their own measurement values, employees experienced understanding fall risk not as "an industry issue" but as "an issue for my own body."
As a result, at Ishii Co., Ltd., which originally boasted a high safety standard of zero occupational accidents, the initiatives further reinforced their commitment to employee safety.