Most Common Injuries
What are the most common injuries in the warehouse? Number one would be slips, trips and falls. We prevent these injuries with careful maintenance of the aisles – nothing to slip on, nothing to trip over, and careful prevention of falls. Maintaining safe aisles is common sense and for us it is a given.
Another area where accidents can happen is in the operation of forklifts. There could be a collision, or the forklift could strike a person. It could overturn as well and the driver or others could be seriously injured. That is why at AMS we very thoroughly train our forklift operators on how to operate the equipment safely, at all times. This training is thorough and our forklift operators know how to handle their tasks safely.
Another injury on the list, related to improper operation of forklifts, is falling objects. If objects are improperly stacked or secured, they can fall, striking an employee and causing injuries that could be severe. Once again, we return to the thorough training of our forklift operators. Operating a forklift is a skill, and we make sure our operators have the skill and training to properly stack items, and make sure they are secured.
A much more common injury can come from lifting or manually handling heavy objects. Improper or unsafe lifting or handling can lead to sprains, strains, hernias – musculoskeletal injuries. At AMS the most frequent injury would be strains. Our employees are carefully and thoroughly trained in how to properly handle heavy objects and avoid these types of injuries. We do our best and yet we do experience an occasional injury.
Now let’s look at the injuries falling into the category of ‘other’. Number one is called repetitive stress. This means injuries that can occur due to repetitive movements like lifting, bending or twisting. Injuries can happen from overextension and overexertion, cuts or lacerations from using tools, handling sharp objects or dealing with machinery. Conveyor belts have their dangers as well. Finally, we’ll mention accidents involving trucks backing up.
As readers can see, working in a fulfillment warehouse has its dangers built in. AMS is well aware of the importance of safety training and we strongly encourage employees to bring any safety concerns to the attention of their supervisor – don’t wait – see something, say something immediately.
We want to have the best safety record in the industry among fulfillment warehouses, and we are definitely doing our best to achieve it. AMS has few lost-time injuries and when we do experience an accident resulting in injury, we learn from it.
Why the Focus on Safety?
Let’s start answering this question with a quote from Mr. Jeff Bruce, VP of Human Resources at AMS Fulfillment.
“We are working on a Safety strategy to ensure all of our practices are in alignment in all of our facilities and we are in full compliance with all of the ever-changing rules and laws. Our main goal is to keep all of our associates safe and have a safe workplace to be at. It’s the right thing to do and we want to be industry leaders. Our desire is to make things safe for every associate through training, supervisor interactions, and promoting good safety habits.”
We could say that the focus on safety comes from actually caring about our employees… and we Do actually care. Our conversations about employees being stakeholders in our business isn’t ‘woke’ propaganda. We live what we believe, and what we believe is… do what’s right by the employees, the clients, the environment and ourselves.
We don’t talk about it often, but AMS has been a very dedicated B Corporation for several years. We do it for ourselves, and we also do it for our other stakeholders. Our clients are proud to do business with a B Corporation, and their customers appreciate it as well. Most customers would prefer to buy a product from a company that cares not only about the quality of the product, but also integrity in the manufacturing and handling of the product.
What Does Safety do for fulfillment Clients?
AMS is proof that a fulfillment company can care about employees and still be a successful business. We encourage all eCommerce businesses looking for the right fulfillment provider to ask about the fulfillment company’s record with regard to warehouse injuries. Respect for employee safety matters, and it leads to excellent service in fulfillment.
How does it lead to excellent service? Fulfillment clients looking for a good safety record, also can take a good look at what a safe warehouse actually means for their business.
#1. First of all, experienced and skilled workers want to work at the safe warehouse, and stay there. So, in the safe warehouse clients get an experienced workforce with skills.
#2. Secondly, a fulfillment service with a low injury rate will be a positive for the brand’s image.
#3. A safe warehouse for employees is also a safe warehouse for the client’s products. No accidents means nothing in the warehouse damaged.
#4. No supply chain disruptions due to equipment malfunctions or accidents, which means timely delivery of the client’s products. When a client partners with a fulfillment company that prioritizes safety, the client protects its investments and enhances its brand image.
Please feel free to contact us at amsfulfillment.com.
