Pola Medical Strengthens Supply Chain for 'Kaokara' AI Heatstroke Prevention Camera as Adoption Triples Following New Regulations

POLA MEDICAL INC. (Headquarters: Yokohama, Kanagawa; President: Tsuyoshi Matsumoto), a member of the Pola Orbis Group, has announced a significant strengthening of its supply chain for the 'Kaokara' heatstroke prevention AI camera. This move comes as the industry enters the second year of mandatory heatstroke measures (enforced June 2025), which include penalties for non-compliance. Adoption is currently growing at three times the rate of the previous year as the first full summer season under these regulations approaches.

### Year 2 of Mandatory Measures: Challenges in the Field Since the amendment of the Industrial Safety and Health Regulations in June 2025, implementing heatstroke measures has become a legal obligation. Employers operating in environments with a WBGT of 28°C or higher, or temperatures of 31°C or higher, are required to establish systems to detect, judge, and act on changes in worker health. The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism has also supported this by allowing additional budget allocations (50-100%) for heatstroke measures in public works. For construction and manufacturing, establishing these systems is a critical management issue to avoid legal risks and maintain business continuity. However, many sites still rely on subjective 'visual checks' and verbal inquiries, leading to inconsistent safety quality and excessive workloads for managers.

### Rapid Expansion of 'Kaokara' Adoption Kaokara serves as a vital tool to supplement these manual management systems. Approximately 90% of its users are from the construction and manufacturing industries. This year, the pace of adoption has tripled, and the company expects to reach over 5,000 operational sites nationwide by the end of March 2026. Given the estimated 30,000 work sites in Japan, Pola Medical has optimized its parts procurement and production lines to ensure a steady supply, even during the peak demand of mid-summer.

### Key Features of Kaokara - **3-Second, 4-Level Assessment:** By simply facing the camera, AI analyzes skin color, facial expressions, and sweating patterns. Combined with environmental data such as temperature and humidity, it provides a risk assessment in four levels within three seconds, without interrupting operations. - **Objective Support for Health Awareness:** The system visualizes early signs of physical distress, providing managers with objective data for decision-making. Managers remain responsible for final health confirmations and instructions. - **Centralized Site Management:** Results from all terminals can be monitored through a centralized dashboard, reducing discrepancies caused by different managers or patrol timings and ensuring consistent safety standards.

Pola Medical remains committed to supporting businesses in complying with these regulations, protecting worker health, and improving productivity in challenging environments through DX solutions like Kaokara.