Here we are, heading toward the end of 2019, and we’re happy to report that AMS has experienced ZERO lost time injuries this year. Comparing our safety record with others in the fulfillment business, AMS COO, Daniel Butera, said, “I guess having our priorities balanced is important!”
One company that has been making the news regarding injuries this year is Amazon. They reported 9.6 serious injuries per 100 full-time workers in 2018, compared with an industry average that year of 4. We recently noted that employees of the company in the UK did a Black Friday / Cyber Monday boycott with employee injuries as the reason. Amazon is facing its challenges, and we wish them success as they seek to improve conditions for their employees.
Looking into workplace injuries, it’s worth asking… what did Daniel mean by “having our priorities balanced”? AMS will tell you that employees ARE our priority. We balance the wellbeing of our employees with the service to our clients and the profits of the company, and this balance has worked very well for AMS.
Safety training at AMS is ongoing, and is taken very seriously. The AMS OSHA Safety Program began in the fourth quarter of 2016. In addition to an ongoing training schedule for our safety teams, we hold competitions among the warehouses to see who can spot staged safety issues. The winning warehouse gets to hold the trophy until the next competition.
Creating a safe environment, and having people assigned to watch over the environment on a continuous basis, is but one of the things AMS does. In addition, we watch over the employees for burnout issues, especially during Peak Season.
In a recent interview, Daniel said, “Fatigue and burnout are a very real part of our industry, and we take several steps to ensure we are taking care of each other properly.”
Daniel went on to talk about making sure tables and carts are the right height, limiting the time a person is standing, keeping the building temperature comfortable and the lighting good, giving employees staggered shifts and rotating days off so that no one is asked to work 12 hour days or 7 days in a row.
AMS has proven that having an excellent safety record goes right along with making employee wellbeing a priority.
Ken Wiseman, AMS’ Chief Workforce Officer, and one of our founding partners, has for years personally conducted the safety classes and overseen safety training. Regarding our record, Ken said, “Our AMS B Corp status and supporting mission statement indicate that we consider our employees’ wellbeing as part of our success criteria. For AMS, profit and growth are not goals unto themselves, but merely outcomes of uncompromised attention to our customer, our organization, our community, and ourselves. This said, our concern for our employees starts with their safety.”