Two frontline Amazon employees in Calgary were recently recognized by the company for successfully proposing safety ideas using Dragonfly, a tool that Amazon has made available at on-site kiosks and on employees’ devices, enabling them to make real-time safety suggestions stemming from their everyday work experiences.
In 2024, over 130,000 Amazon employees globally used Dragonfly to provide suggestions, with recommendations including changes like repositioning a package scanner so it isn’t accidentally knocked over, while others involve more complex safety measures like adding laser motion sensors to alert forklift drivers when people are nearby.
Preventing Slips and Falls
Jennifer E., who works in the inbound department at Amazon’s YYC4 robotics fulfilment centre in Calgary, was recently presented with a certificate recognizing her contributions to preventing workplace slips and falls.
Jennifer’s Dragonfly submission stemmed from Calgary’s harsh winter climate. Her role at YYC4 involves handling the arrival and processing of products into the fulfilment centre. During the winter months, when products are transported hundreds of miles in tractor trailers in snowy subzero weather conditions, some shipments can arrive at the site frozen, or covered in snow. After thawing, these shipments had the potential to leave puddles of water causing slip hazards at the inbound dock, explained Amazon.
Jennifer recognized the potential slip hazard, and reported it via Dragonfly. After reviewing Jennifer’s submission, the site’s leadership team worked to implement a dedicated storage location for frozen or snow-covered products received through the inbound dock, located away from employee traffic. In addition to designated storage areas, specialized spillage pallets are now used to collect dripping water from thawing shipments, preventing puddles from forming on the floor, said the company.
“I am so happy to see the positive impact that my idea is having on the safety of my colleagues. It was motivating to see my Dragonfly submission actioned by my manager, and I am now encouraging my colleagues to submit their own ideas,” said Jennifer.
Enhancing Pedestrian Safety
Alyssa M., a frontline employee at Amazon’s YYC1 fulfilment centre in Balzac, made a Dragonfly submission related to pedestrian safety at the 600,000 square foot site, where a high volume of employees move carts from the area where customer orders are fulfilled to the shipping dock. During a routine inspection of the site, Alyssa identified blind spots where employees moving carts might not see inbound pedestrian traffic, creating a potential collision hazard, said Amazon.
Alyssa submitted her observation in Dragonfly, and within a few short weeks, the site’s leadership had installed a number of spherical mirrors in low-visibility locations identified by the Workplace Health and Safety and Reliability and Maintenance Engineering teams. Thanks to these new mirrors, employees pushing carts are better able to spot incoming traffic, avoiding potential collisions, noted the company.
Alyssa’s contributions were recognized by senior Amazon leadership and celebrated internally at YYC1, where a growing number of employees are now taking advantage of Dragonfly to improve workplace safety from the ground up.
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