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Amazon’s warehouse workers have raised the alarm for years about unsafe working conditions and a corporate culture that prioritizes speed and profit over worker health and safety, according to a report released on Monday by the United States Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.In Rhode Island, Amazon opened a 3.8 million-square-foot facility in Johnston this year.According to the Senate report, “Many of these workers live with severe injuries and permanent disabilities because of the company’s insistence on enforcing grueling productivity quotas and its refusal to adequately care for injured workers.”GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE — SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTThis time of year, the Amazon infrastructure is running at an accelerated rate due to the demands of the holidays.As one warehouse worker said, “I don’t even use Amazon anymore, I’d rather wait…than have some poor employee in an Amazon warehouse get battered and bruised so I can get my book within six hours. People don’t see that, they think it just appears by magic. But it doesn’t; it appears by blood, sweat, and tears.”Recognizing the severity of Amazon’s injury crisis, Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT), chair of the Senate committee, launched an investigation into Amazon’s workplace safety practices on June 20, 2023.The Senate Committee claims, “Amazon’s refusal to protect workers is particularly egregious given its incredible financial resources. Amazon is the sixth-largest company in the world and the second-largest private employer in the United States.8 In 2023, the company had a total profit of $36.9 billion, and the company’s current market capitalization recently reached $2.39 trillion—an amount greater than the GDP of all but 7 countries. Amazon’s founder, Jeff Bezos, is the third wealthiest person in the world, with a net worth of approximately $242.2 billion.10 Bezos’s successor as CEO, Andy Jassy, received nearly $30 million in total compensation in 2023, and has received over $300 million in total compensation since 2021.”View Larger +Higher Rate of Injuries than CompetitorsAccording to the committee:This investigation aimed to uncover why Amazon’s injury rates far exceed those of its competitors and to understand what happens to Amazon workers when they are injured on the job. Over the past eighteen months, the Committee conducted an exhaustive inquiry into Amazon’s operations. The Committee solicited information from current and former Amazon workers about their experiences in Amazon’s warehouses. Nearly 500 workers shared their stories with the Committee, and Committee staff conducted 135 interviews, both virtual and in-person. Those workers provided the Committee with more than 1,400 documents, photographs, and videos to support their stories. Some of those documents and photographs are included in this report and its appendices.This evidence reveals a deeply troubling picture of how one of the largest corporations in the world treats its workforce. Although the Committee also sought information from Amazon itself, including through detailed requests in its initial letter to the company as well as through numerous follow-up requests to the company’s counsel, Amazon has provided extremely limited information to the Committee. In eighteen months, Amazon produced just 285 documents—less than a quarter of what the Committee received from current and former workers.The Committee reports, “Nearly half of these 285 documents are training materials given to on-site first aid staff—just a small portion of the Committee’s investigation and Chairman Sanders’s initial request letter. The Committee also asked Amazon for information on how it tracks workers, the quotas it imposes on workers and the disciplinary actions it takes when workers cannot meet those quotas, internal studies on the connection between speed and injury rates, and the company’s treatment of injured workers. Amazon provided very little that was responsive to these requests—and sometimes ignored them altogether. The only other information the company provided to the Committee was through a briefing from a Senior Manager for ergonomics at the company and tours of two of its facilities. As a result, the Committee has had to rely heavily on evidence from workers, many of whom are willing to risk their jobs to share their experiences at the company. Although the Committee expects Amazon will dispute the veracity of the evidence those workers provided, Amazon has had eighteen months to offer its own evidence and has refused to do so.”

The recent Covid pandemic and associated constraints in global and domestic supply chains, and the related cost of living crisis, have placed a spotlight on the need for Australia to enhance the productivity and cost efficiency of its freight and logistics networks, operations and facilities.In a boost to both the Victorian and national supply chains, the Intermodal Terminal Company (ITC), backed by Aware Super, is investing $400 million to deliver a state-of-the-art intermodal terminal and IMEX facility in the heart of Melbourne’s northern industrial zone. Aware Real Estate, in partnership with global asset management firm Barings, is also investing $600 million to develop a major integrated industrial and logistics precinct to surround ITC’s terminal. In doing so, for the first time in Victoria, it will give tenants the benefits of co-location.In total, this equates to a $1 billion privately-funded investment in the Victorian freight and logistics sector – one of the largest in recent history. nner Terminal features 15 hectares of hardstand and six rail sidings to provide ITC customers with the flexibility to transfer freight between Victorian and ARTC rail networks. Images: ITCKicking goalsITC Chair and industry leader John Fullerton said the intermodal terminal being constructed in Melbourne’s north is progressing well, with interstate intermodal and IMEX (port shuttle) operations due to commence in late 2025.Fullerton said intermodal terminals play a critical role in the efficient consolidation, storage and transfer of freight between rail, road and shipping, resulting in improved productivity and cost efficiency for customers in the supply chain.“Intermodal terminal capacity that’s located where the freight is can reduce traffic congestion and road damage and improve road safety, while offering customers cost efficiency and reduced emissions,” he said.The ITC intermodal terminal will be open to all third-party customers – including above-rail freight operators, freight forwarders, and regional shippers – in accordance with a best practice open access regime.Fullerton said this is a great example of the private sector directly responding to industry and government needs in a timely and efficient manner.“Better still, this major development for both the Victorian and national supply chains is being undertaken at no cost to either state or federal taxpayers,” he said.

While warehouses and distribution centers may look different than they did 20 years ago—thanks to the increased use of technology and robotics—the focus on worker safety remains as sharp as ever. Create A Safety CultureBrian C. Neuwirth, president of UNEX Manufacturing, Inc., in Lakewood, New Jersey, says safety is rooted in company culture. “And companies that embrace safety and the culture of safety will be successful,” he says. Creating that culture, he explains, requires: Consistency. Training must be consistent and continual. Safety has to be an everyday topic, not a once-a-year training program. Continuity. Everyone must be on the same page when it comes to safety procedures and training. And safety is for everyone, including full-time, part-time or temporary workers. Commitment. There should be at minimum a manager-level person responsible for safety. And that person’s job is to make sure safety issues are front and center, and all workers are aware of requirements and responsibilities.At NFI Industries, safety has always been a core value, and is being emphasized in 2019 as one of NFI’s corporate goals, explains Stephen Truono, senior vice president for enterprise risk management. The other goals, which span operating performance and attracting and retaining talent, are also closely tied to safety. “By leading with safety, our employees know we have their best interest at top of mind.” Behavior-Based trainingNFI, which operates approximately 50 million square feet of warehouse and distribution space, “continues to focus on enhancing its safety culture through behavior-based training in addition to regulatory and compliance-focused initiatives,” Truono says. Safety sponsorship begins with the executive committee and cascades down to operations managers, who are tasked with leading the safety initiatives at warehouses and distribution centers. “Additionally, as we implement the behavior-based safety process, it will also be a bottoms-up initiative,” he says. “Because in a true behavior-based safety system, the employees drive the process, and management provides the resources and structure.”The premise is to acknowledge good behavior, recognize those that are following safety procedures, encourage employees to coach one another, and build a relationship by following safety that is employee-to-employee based. Truono explains a warehouse manager recently took “a very simple” step toward that goal during a facility redesign.“He walked around and asked the associates what changes could improve their job and workplace safety,” he says. “He received lots of feedback, ranging from moving certain stations to a different side to lowering a belt a couple of inches. We were able to incorporate most of them, and employees were happy to share their ideas.” Focus on StandardizationNeuwirth notes that if a company finds continued safety issues in a certain job function or area, it should use a process improvement plan. This type of proactive approach to identify, analyze and then improve the situation can help a company address issues, many of which can be fixed with easy solutions such as improved lighting or lift assists. The commitment to process improvement at UNEX is reflected in the company’s ISO certification, Neuwirth says. “ISO is about standardization and work processes. Does that make our organization a safer environment? Yes, because everything is documented on exactly how to do things. It evolved our processes to the point where documentation and training go hand in hand, which ultimately makes our production a safer environment.” Following are some key safety topics centering on systems and training.Material handling. Many warehouse safety issues still revolve around lifting, twisting, reaching and bending. That’s why Truono says NFI is looking at ways to “engineer out the lift” for improved worker safety. Ways to do that include vacuum-type lifts; more and better conveyor systems, including articulated conveyors inside trailers; and safer forklifts. Also, RFID tags are used for employees who work around automated material handling equipment to avoid pedestrian-type accidents.Robotics. Robots are not new to warehousing, but improvements have made them more affordable, increasing their use. Robots create a safer environment because they are programmed and are more predictable than an employee around moving equipment, Neuwirth says. Truono adds that GPS-coordinated robots that assist with product location and picking helps reduce physical exertion of employees searching for items.Training. Training is key to any safety program, and Truono says technology is improving the way workers train today. Micro-training, a two-to-three-minute lesson on a specific topic, is available on a smartphone or tablet. The lessons are progressive, with additional information offered with each continuing session. “Companies are finding micro-training is more effective than sitting in a room for 40 minutes talking about material handling safety.”Although still very new, virtual reality training is also being used in safety training. Wearing VR glasses, workers walk through scenarios on how to safely perform their jobs. Truono says VR and micro-training also provide a documentation trail for employers.Temporary workers. Safety becomes more complicated with the influx of seasonal and temporary workers. Even if a worker is temporary, Neuwirth says the safety training should be the same. He says it starts the employee, who may become full time, off on the right foot. Often, temporary workers will receive basic safety training from the staffing agency that hires them. Truono says in that case, NFI also follows up with additional training about its specific warehouses. But both agree that a temporary or seasonal labor force is challenging for workplace safety.No matter what the safety challenges are, Truono says that professionals have to recognize that “warehouses are not just buildings that store inventory anymore. They are smart properties that are increasingly using technology and innovation to drive safety and operating performance.”