An Amazonian’s Perspective on Safety

Earlier this week multiple Senators sent a letter to Jeff Bezos, CEO of Amazon, regarding safety at the company fulfillment centers. The letter was based on an article in the Atlantic titled “Ruthless Quotas at Amazon Are Maiming Employees.” I remember the article well and it caused quite a concern for me personally. The week that the article came out, I just accepted a job at one of the largest Amazon fulfillment centers. I am not your typical Amazonian. I am consultant but with being self employed there are some great highs, but also some lows in terms of business. The biggest challenge is the cost of health care, which over the past several years has amounted to about $36,000 a year and continually rising for my family of 4. It also seemed that the quality of the health coverage seemed to get worse each year. I love the variety of work consulting can bring but I had to do something to help reduce these costs. I heard a commercial for shifts at Amazon warehouses and decided to give it a shot. They had a variety of hours, and many would make it possible to continue my work.

The process of getting hired was way different than anything I have ever seen. There was no interview, just an application, a short game on sorting and then background checks. Once completed you were fully hired and signed up for an orientation. In my orientation I would imagine there were at least 200 people for a Friday through Monday night shift (6:30 PM to 5:00 AM). I was also in awe of the size of the warehouse. I work at what is referred to as EWR4, which is Robbinsville, NJ. I lived right around the corner for years, so I knew the outside of the building very well, but walking 1.2 million square feet, it is crazy big. The diversity of the workforce is incredibly cool. There are people just getting out of homelessness to people like myself who are choosing the job for a variety of other reasons. I know people from various parts of the globe who are now working to support their family in the same manner I am. 

My head was spinning that first day. We were shown all kinds of aspects of the building as well as the job we were going to take on. Many of us, including myself, had no idea what task we would be doing. Some would be stowing items for future purchase, while other would be picking them or even gift wrapping them. For me, I was being sent to the Ship Dock. This is the area that gets those sealed packages to you, often the same day as you order. More on that in a moment! On that day we were shown a variety TV screens that show all kinds of data. Some are suggestions or complaints from people that work there. Some are dedicated specifically to safety recommendations. This is not the Amazon written about in the article or referenced in the letter from the Senators, but it is the one I know and I want to provide you an inside look.

Prior to joining Amazon I was well aware of the reputation that the company had for metrics. I have heard this from friends at the warehouses and inside the corporate office. I have read reviews and articles featuring former Amazonian’s that mentioned the same. I am also aware of prior accidents that happened at other Amazon warehouses over the years. I remember researching this as I watched EWR4 being built. As with any company, Amazon most likely has changed over the years, but I can only provide the inside perspective at my particular warehouse over the past few months. It may not be the same experiences others have had.

I believe the Robbinsville warehouse is the second or third largest Amazon warehouse in the world. We process a lot of the items being delivered in the Northeastern United States, but also many packages to other parts of the globe. As many as 1 million packages in a day! On your first day tour you are shown the medical facilities as well as the various areas to obtain pain medicine. I remember thinking why are they showing me this! It is because we work hard and it may be necessary. I have ended more than one shift with a few muscle aches! Over the 2 months I have worked at the company I have worked in 2 areas: the ship dock and inventory control. The interesting thing is inventory control (counting the inventory on hand) caused me to need more pain medicine than the ship dock ever did but neither are that difficult of a task. It is more my aging body moving in different ways that it is not used to.

A typical day (or night in my case) at Amazon warehouses starts the same way. There is a huddle where they discuss what will be happening that day, recognize strong performers, and offer various work and safety tips. During this huddle the employees perform a variety of stretches that coincide with the task they are doing. It reminded me of the movie Gung Ho, where the US workers had to be outside doing exercises each day. At first I found them to be ridiculous, but as time has gone on, I have found I have stopped to do them during the course of my shift. They are done to prevent injury. After the morning huddle I receive my assignment, obtain my scanner and get to work! When you log into the scanner there are survey questions, almost always about safety. We then get to work sorting everything to get it to our Customers as quickly as possible.

Much of the discussion regarding Amazon, including the letter from the Senators, is about the metrics and the difficult nature in meeting them. To my surprise, I have never really had anyone discuss metrics with me. They are posted every 1/4 of the shift, but I could not tell you what metric is good or bad. I know I am typically toward the top of the list and I can tell you that it is without even trying. I just try to do the task I am asked to do. This was true on the ship dock and in inventory control. Over the 2 months I have been congratulated a few times but did not even understand why. I can also tell you that during that time, unlike some sentiment will have you believe, I have definitely taken restroom breaks! The company also encourages hydration and has water filtration systems located throughout the building. Of course this leads to more restroom breaks!

During my time there, I am aware of one major accident. The company talked about it quite extensively. Why? Because it was preventable and they want to make sure people did the right things to avoid such accidents. In the ship dock there are many moving parts, including packages coming in fast a furious through conveyor systems. There are pallets on the floor as well as other debris. It is not hard if you are moving too fast or not paying attention to get hurt. They want everyone to be careful. I have seen management members picking up trash or moving things to help avoid accidents. Each week the area manager meets with team members to discuss safety with a focus on failures and why. I have been to these meetings and seen changes immediately.

Is Amazon perfect? No, but no company is. We are kidding ourselves if we believe that. Over the past few months I have seen some of the best management (especially those in the ship dock in which I work - some in the building say it is the best area to be in and I agree with them), but I have also seen management that can use some coaching just like at every company. I also find certain management members prefer to manage with the stick instead of the carrot, but hopefully over time they will come to find out there are better ways to motivate people. This is certainly not behavior that is overall. In fact it is few and far between, but it is not unlike any call center I have ever worked in. Some of the metrics that are used to measure performance are weak or not creating the behaviors intended, but that too is a flaw seen in every aspect of business I have ever been in. Human nature is to do what is measured and skip things that are not.  I do know that over the years Amazon changed how they work to be more safe. One example is picking merchandise. It used to require runners but today the merchandise comes to them using robotics. Over time I expect these metrics and processes, even in the warehouse, will better align to delivering for our Customers in a safe and efficient manner. Basically saving Customers time and money!

I am not going to get into the politics of the individuals who wrote the letter or the other side of the political spectrum. This to me was not about politics. I could also call the article fake news, but I am not going to do that. It could have been very up to date at the time but in the 2 months since, it has not been my experience. What I will say is talk to people you know that work at Amazon or, if you do not know someone, try to take the tour (or even come work for the company and decide for yourself). Here is the link for tours: https://www.aboutamazon.com/amazon-fulfillment-center-tours/

It is interesting that the letter from these Senators came out this week. I have been debating my own personal interest in moving into the management ranks at Amazon. It is not the career path I planned on, but I am finding I love the diversity of the workforce. I am having as much fun as I did years ago working in call centers. These frontline employees are the keys to success for any organization. I love that Amazon is paying at least $15 a hour, but I also love the benefits they offer. I think there is great opportunity for them to continue to grow not just in sales but also in the way the company operates, but, as I mentioned earlier, that is true of any company. My experience, even if it is just over 2 months, has shown the company has grown and will continue to develop how they operate while still serving their Customers in a quick and efficient manner. So today I am finally willing to admit that I too am an Amazonian and proud of it!