When we started the full-time RVing more than nine and a half years ago we never imagined “work camping”. Volunteering – yes. Work camping – no! There is quite the difference. Many people (hard core work campers) blow off the difference with statements such as “If I’m going to work doing anything, I’m going to get paid”. “Volunteering is just taking advantage of cheap labor by old folks for the government.” And the best one I’ve heard is - “All they want you to do is clean the bathrooms.” Over the years we have heard these and many more comments which only tells me that these folks have never tried volunteering or are really bad at selecting their volunteer positions. I suspect that some of it may just be rationalization of having to work for some reason or other well past retirement time. Oh well, we all have our reasons. So we decided to broaden our experience base and try this work camping thing based on information passed on to us through good friends who used the extra pocket change to take various adventurous trips. Since there was talk of a “family” cruise up the inside passage to Alaska next year, we decided to take advantage of that and take a one-way cruise with the family and then spend a bit of an extended stay exploring the state. Our friends’ experiences spurred us to try this work camping thing to supply that bit of extra pocket change for our adventure and promptly sent our applications to the Amazon Fulfillment Center in Haslett, Texas.
As you can tell, or have heard, we were accepted (I don’t think many were turned down – if any). At the time we were excited and anxious to get there and start. We made a couple different reservations at the “Amazon approved campgrounds” and promptly found out that they were under construction and/or because of technicalities with the local government that the “good” ones that we had picked out would not be completed in time for this season of Amazon work camping. So we took a second look and picked what we thought were the better of the available campgrounds and made reservations for the season. It turns out that the campground we chose was more of a derelict trailer park than an RV park with a number of “party on Friday and Saturday night until the cops come” crowd (which they have – a couple of times). There is no level spot in the entire park, the “Stars and Bars” are flying in a couple locations and the dogs run free and are a bit on the mean side. We should feel rather un-nerved here but we don’t, most of the residents did come and greet us and I have a feeling they watch out for us and our rig as well as the other Amazon workers here. Nothing like a bunch of rednecks watching your back, and that is probably the best security we could ask for.
On our appointed day we went to our orientation and met many of our soon to be fellow workers. After seeing the size of this place and the number of people involved I couldn’t help but think of the “Minions” and what we must look like to anyone watching.
We were immediately overwhelmed by the scope of this place with its sheer size (1.7 million square feet with 250 truck docks, and 5,000+ workers).
Here is a view of the south docks and the processing lines where we work. This place set a world record of processing (receiving, identifying, and stowing) over 1.2 million individual items in one day while we were here. When it is manned, this place is like a beehive of activity with extremely loud noises and movement. All controlled by one monster of a computer system. The process of receiving one item on the dock and seeing it go through the entire process to where it is delivered to a person is amazing to say the least. This is logistics on steroids!
When you look down the length of the facility you cannot even see the other end. To think of the heating and cooling and maintenance costs of this structure is mind boggling. It has the foot print the size of 8 entire football fields and is four stories high, with literally hundreds of miles of conveyor systems within it. The noise level when all the systems are running is deafening! (And I’m used to being up and close to jet engines!) The most common response to any comment in this facility is “What?”.
Every morning and after lunch we are subjected to a “Stand Up” briefing of the activities of the facility and the current “numbers”, mandatory or voluntary overtime, various safety tips (mostly the same ones over and over) and rather comical stretching exercises preformed by some poor “chosen” volunteer. For some reason the supervisor doing the standup never does do the stretches he or she is recommending.
One of the most fascinating things about this place is the robotics involved. They have high lift forklifts that are all robotic, shuttle bots that move stands of shelves literally miles per day for the stowing and picking process. Automated pallet movers that are running up and down the facility loaded with who knows what and even beeps at you if you get too close when your walking in the vicinity.
Here is a view of the shuttle bots and the shelves they carry around. When you look down the rows and rows of shelving where these things work it seems that they go on forever. About 1/3 of the bottom floor of the facility is filled with these things and the second through the fourth floor are nothing but these things. I’ve seen the numbers or names of these things and there are over 3,000 of them running around. They are all computer controlled and follow bar codes on the floor. They tuck themselves underneath one of the shelving units, raise an electronic ram to raise the shelf, check for balance and then off they go to the person or robot that removes an item or inserts one (pickers and stowers). Quite the process!
This is what we look like at the end of each day – if you can see a total “What the @#$#!” on our faces you’re right. You should see us at the end of an 11 hour work day on day five! Although we took the advice of good friends to try the work camping at Amazon, I don’t believe we could ever recommend this particular venue for any of our friends – that is unless your into self abuse, then it’s ok. I will admit though, that the purpose of this adventure was to earn cash to off set the expenses of an Alaskan/Canadian trip – in that aspect it is doing quite well. That and it will give me some interesting stories to tell, embellished over time of course.
Oreo’s Wisdom
For those of you who don’t know Oreo passed away on October 28th. We miss him terribly!! If he would have anything to pass along I’m sure he would say “It’s a beautiful and amazing country – get out and see it, I did!”
“Oreo”
With all things you have to take them with a dash of humor and a positive perspective, a negative view does not help anything or any body. If you can do that you will have a happy life ahead of you. I have to keep telling myself that – it keeps me going. My loving spouse of 43 years (Dec 2) keeps reminding me how to do just that and has been my inspiration for many years. For now – goodbye from the land of the minions!
Home is where we park it!
Lee & Linda
(Minions Pictures are courtesy of Google Search)
