Why would the standard be that one environment should be “safer” than another? Why not each environment is as safe as it can be made to be? One environment might be easier to make safe than another, but every employee deserves the best efforts in maintaining a reasonable level of “safe.”

This is a serious problem. Distribution is critical to the supply of essentials, but clearly this puts warehouse workers in peril. If there is a major disruption in distribution then product shortages will be exacerbated; shortages and panic buying will ensue.

Now that it seems that the supply shortage of personal protection equipment is becoming less acute, Amazon and other major distributors need to provide all of their warehouse/distribution employees with face masks, rubber gloves and other equipment to ensure they remain safe. Checking temperatures before every shift could also help avoid having sick workers handling packages. Distribution is on the front lines and retailers need to keep their critical workers safe.

If it were up to me, I would assign a worker to every row (or a specific section) and put drop points at the end of each row for someone else to sweep and pick up, in order to deliver to sortation or consolidation. This requires a lot of rework in how waves are designed, and how orders get consolidated for pack and ship. But it’s the safest way to minimize contact inside the building. Amazon is famous for not using any traditional wave methods that minimize worker travel – there are reports of people walking 10 miles or more during an 8-hour shift, all across giant warehouses, which is ridiculous and makes for easy spread of the virus if someone is sick and doesn’t know it. Likewise, Amazon acquired Kiva Systems which would also minimize contact because it brings the items to sorters – provided the sorting stations are far enough apart. But that technology is no longer available to anyone else. One last thing – Amazon is also famous for creating choke points… Read more »

Inherently, warehouse and distribution center workers are not safe now. Perhaps they are a little safer than store associates because they aren’t interacting with random customers all day long, but they still aren’t safe. I’d suggest hazard pay for those who want to work, extra PTO for those who don’t, and fulfilling orders for essential products first, as Amazon is doing.

In a warehouse/distribution center environment it may be easier to maintain the same standard of “safe” as other facilities, such as a store where random customer engagement is a variable. However, this is still a difficult task and one that will require new processes, more time at the start of the day to sanitize the environment, added safety equipment for employees, and a change to existing operational processes to maintain social distancing conditions for employees. Employers should consider hazard pay, flexible hours for those who are concerned about coming to work, and added healthcare facilities where possible, and of course temperature checks to try and identify anyone at risk. Amazon seems to have received the lion’s share of attention in this regard, but they are by no means the only ones at risk. All online operations are at risk, and it is likely that we may see some pure plays unable to continue business operations due to the added costs and reduced revenues from lower demand. Particularly if the products they sell are not essential… Read more »

A warehouse environment is more controllable than a store, mainly because you don’t have customers coming in and out. That said, there are still dangers and some workers, even with protections, are concerned and afraid. Retailers need to address that, perhaps by making working voluntary and/or rewarding employees better. Ulta has just put up wages by $2 an hour to recognize the efforts of their distribution center workers.

Warehouse workers already are under heavy pressure, have twice as many industrial accidents as any other private industry and work with just over minimal pay to optimize a cost center for most retailers. Working conditions are already rife with instances of abuse. There are inherently fewer people to engage with as tasks are repetitive and workers engage with product more than other people. A recent study from October 2019 shows the trend towards further automation and this will be the continuing trend. Just handing out sanitizer is not enough to make the workplace safer – especially when temp employees are added regularly and there is substantial turnover. Corrective actions can include safer hiring practices, safety protocol e.g., in-facility distancing and easing of conditions, focusing on demands for essential items like PPE first.