As the weather gets warmer, preparedness and prevention are paramount to the health and safety of our operations teams and delivery partners. In advance of higher temperatures, we’re using best-in-class technology, amenities, and preventative measures to help keep employees and drivers safe.
Safety is our top priority, and in addition to implementing comprehensive policies and procedures related to heat and weather mitigation across our operations, we employ more than 9,000 safety professionals globally who work every day to apply these policies and help keep employees, partners, and communities safe. Our goal is to model our commitment to safety under our roofs, on the road, and on our flight ramps at every operations site, community, and geographic location where we have a presence so all Amazon employees and partners have the safest workplace in the world.
Keeping our buildings cool
A core focus for us is keeping temperatures in our buildings comfortable. We’ve installed a variety of cooling measures in our buildings, including climate control systems and our state-of-the-art Building Management Systems, which constantly measure the temperature and heat index (temperature plus humidity) in our facilities and proactively alert employees when climate conditions change.
We ensure our heat mitigation practices meet or exceed state requirements and federal guidance, and in many ways, go above and beyond to set more stringent standards for our sites. We’ve seen the positive impacts of an effective heat mitigation program and believe all employers should be held to the same standard. Nearly all of the employees in our North American fulfillment centers work in climate-controlled workplaces, and Amazon is one of only a few companies in the industry to install climate-control systems in our fulfillment centers. Our industrial fans provide cooling comfort for work areas, and we also have air-conditioned crew vans at all of our Amazon Air hubs.
We’ve also invested in prevention procedures and training to ensure employees stay safe while working in our facilities. We train all of our employees and partners on the signs and symptoms of heat-related illness, environmental and personal risk factors, hydration guidance, and other tips from public health and medical professionals. Most importantly, everyone is encouraged to take a preventive cool-down rest break anytime they need, and employees and safety teams are empowered to speak up to address any temperature-related issues.
Keeping cool outdoors and on the road
We’re continuously evaluating new ways to support drivers during fluctuating weather conditions such as heat waves. Every vehicle bearing the Amazon brand is air conditioned—a feature that is above industry standard—and if the air conditioning isn’t working in a vehicle, the vehicle is taken out of service immediately. To date, we've invested more than $59 million to insulate our vans, which helps reduce the internal temperature. We’re also introducing a rapid driver cooling system retrofit on step vans this year called Driver Comfort that ensures cold air is concentrated on the driver versus the entire cabin area to make the driver most comfortable.
We’ll roll this out across 143 stations with the highest heat risk by the end of this year, and the remaining stations in 2025. We’ve also invested in heat mitigation supplies to help drivers stay cool such as having ice machines available at every delivery station and ensuring drivers remain hydrated while on the road. We provide all delivery associates electrolyte powder, a cooler for each vehicle, a 64-ounce insulated tumbler, cooling bandanas, and sunscreen. We're also testing water-activated cooling sleeves that stay 30 degrees cooler than body temperature for up to two hours in Texas, Florida, and Arizona.
However, our best tool against heat-related illness is enabling drivers to take breaks. When the heat index reaches certain thresholds, we have procedures in place to reduce the minutes of drivers’ shift times to allow additional time for them to take breaks. Last year alone, we worked with Delivery Service Partners to adjust routes by more than 96.9 million minutes, or nearly 67,000 days, so drivers could take additional breaks to hydrate, rest, and cool down their core temperatures. We do this by closely monitoring the weather and heat index thresholds down to the zip code level and making route adjustments based on local information. We always strongly encourage any driver who is feeling impacted by the heat to immediately stop work and seek help.
Lastly, Amazon’s latest custom electric vehicles include industry-leading features like ventilated seats for fast cooling (or heating in the winter), and we’re trialing solar reflective paint on the roof to reflect solar radiation to keep the entire van cool.
Prioritizing safety during weather events
We keep a close pulse on our operations network across the country to ensure things are running smoothly and weather-related disruptions don’t impact our employees, partners, or customers. Amazon’s Contingency Response Center (CRC) operates 24 hours a day and uses a best-in-class, Amazon-developed forecasting tool to provide alerts when increasing levels of heat or severe weather events are expected. Once a severe weather alert is flagged, we prepare activities and a timeline to act. Through this system, the CRC is able to communicate directly with drivers when severe weather may impact their route and make sure they are able to seek shelter or take a break depending on conditions.
The Amazon Air Network Control Center (NCC) is another 24/7 operation near our Amazon Air Hub at the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport. The NCC is responsible for coordinating with Amazon Air's air carrier partners to ensure global operations run safely and on time. From Lakeland, Florida to Mumbai, India, the NCC monitors our flight and capacity plans by utilizing state-of-the-art Amazon technology, such as predictive disruption management tools and network planning models, to deliver for Amazon’s customers.
We’re proud of the investments we’re making to support employees and partners. Safety is woven into the fabric of our operations culture, and we will continue to innovate and obsess over it so that we are providing the safest possible experience for employees and partners across our operations network.
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