Our Programs
Everyone working at Amazon is encouraged to embrace that safety starts with them and, as a business, we continually enhance and improve our processes, programs, and technology at scale.
We have got 40 beautiful, modern, safe, sustainable vehicles to keep our goal of delivering smiles. Our drivers are very happy driving comfortable vans with heated and cooled seats and steering wheels. It helped DSPs a lot with their fleet issues with some of the older vehicles. Electric Delivery Vehicles are definitely better performing and require lower maintenance. We are now safer, cleaner, and environmentally friendly!
Eugene Krel
Operations Manager, DYN5, USA
In Our Buildings
In our buildings, employees pick, pack, and ship customer orders for everything from books, toys, and housewares to gardening equipment, TVs, and groceries. With items of all shapes, weights, and sizes, we continue to find ways that improve our operations and process paths to create safer and more productive ways to work.
Autonomous Mobility
Powered Industrial Trucks
Repetitive Motion
Smart Job Rotation
Package Handling
Autonomous Mobility
In some of our fulfillment centers, we are deploying a robot equipped with advanced safety, perception, and navigation technology. This robot autonomously lifts and transports carts of packages, operating in a way that allows for safe interaction with employees. The robot emits a light beam and stops if someone steps in front of it. Our goal is to automate container handling and allow employees to focus on other tasks.
Powered Industrial Trucks
Partnering with manufacturers, we developed and deployed collision avoidance technology which uses light detection and ranging, and a real time locating system, to sense and avoid collisions. We’re continuing to implement this collision avoidance technology across select sites and exploring additional ways to reduce potential risk due to powered industrial vehicles.
Repetitive Motion
For some of our fulfillment centers, we also developed a robotic containerized storage system that reduces the need for employees to bend, climb, or reach for inventory items. When a customer orders an item, the system locates the container with the needed product and either grabs the item from the container autonomously or presents the container directly to the employee in an ergonomically friendly position.
Smart Job Rotation
Another ergonomic risk reduction initiative is our automated job rotation program. Rotation to different tasks and positions minimizes fatigue and ergonomic stress, helping reduce the potential for musculoskeletal disorders in the workplace. In select buildings where the program has been deemed feasible and deployed, the job rotation program matches employees with complementary jobs to reduce repetitive motion by using opposite muscle groups. We continue to evaluate process paths that can be added to the job rotation program.
Package Handling
Another way we are reducing the risk of injury is through a robotic arm that automates package handling. In locations where this is possible, the arm uses artificial intelligence and computer vision to sort packages by reading their labels and placing them in the correct cart, thus reducing the need for employees to lift heavy packages or maneuver heavy carts.
“As a member of the WHS team, I always want to do my part to ensure that our employees are working at a safe workplace. I appreciate Amazon’s commitment to implement various forms of technology when it comes to safety.
Berill Csanadi
WHS Program Manager, Safety, Cambridge, UK
On the Road
Our transportation operations blend Amazon’s advanced technology and safety initiatives to transport packages across our network of fulfillment centers, sortation centers, and delivery stations—and to our customers.
Relay
Safety Technology for Fleet
Advanced Safety Technology
Real-time Safety Alerts
Electric Delivery Vehicles
Ground Service Equipment
Relay
At the core of Amazon’s freight network is Relay, a transportation management system that connects carriers and drivers to Amazon’s services and technology. This technology is designed to help drivers perform their work safely, with features such as alerts for speeding and inclement weather.
Safety Technology for Fleet
Amazon’s freight network fleet includes advanced safety technology such as front-collision warning (including automatic emergency braking), stability control, side-object detection, adaptive cruise control, and speed limiters.
Advanced Safety Technology
In 2022, we grew our AFP program to service roughly half of our day trips—each equipped with video camera safety technology. This alerts drivers of potentially unsafe behaviors like following too closely or distracted driving, thereby encouraging safer operations over the road.
Real-time Safety Alerts
In the U.S. Amazon-branded fleet, we use a progressive set of alerts and notifications to reinforce safe driving behaviors. These vans are equipped with third-party technology that measures and monitors speeding, stop sign and light violations, distracted driving, following distance, and seatbelt compliance. Implementing these alerts and notifications has resulted in a 35% reduction in collision rates by our U.S. network drivers.
Electric Delivery Vehicles
In 2022, we launched our electric delivery vehicles (EDV) produced by Rivian. Our EDV is equipped with more than 12 advanced driver assistance systems, including blind spot warning, rear cross traffic alert, manual park assist, and other alert-based features.
Ground Service Equipment
We have implemented a vehicle access control system for all powered ground support equipment (GSE). This safeguard requires operators to swipe their employee badge to validate their training and qualifications prior to enabling the use of GSE. Our GSE is equipped with telematics software that tracks its location, speed, and other relevant vehicle inputs.
Our Transportation Network
Our transportation operations blend Amazon’s advanced technology and safety initiatives to transport packages across our network of fulfillment centers, sortation centers, and delivery stations and to our customers. For the most part, drivers operating within our freight and delivery networks are small business owners, traditional freight and delivery companies, and individuals delivering packages according to their flexibility and availability. Although most of our freight and delivery partners are not Amazon employees, we are committed to investing in technology, training, and communication mechanisms that continually enhance their safety performance.
Our partnership with the U.S. Department of Transportation
Amazon is partnering with the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) to improve roadway safety. Our commitments include developing new mapping and routing technology for delivery network vehicles that address common roadway issues, such as construction and accurate lane navigation, as well as potentially unsafe maneuvers like U-turns. We are implementing this technology in 2023 to enhance the on-road experience and eliminate navigational challenges. In addition, we are continuing to invest in other safety measures, such as driver training programs, to make deliveries safer and more seamless for customers.
