In the spotlight with Sam Jones

How did you get into the health and safety industry? 

I entered the health and safety industry after working as an aircraft electrical mechanical technician on helicopters. I found accident investigations particularly fascinating, along with the opportunity to create a safer workplace for my colleagues and friends.

What do you enjoy most about your job? 

I enjoy being able to influence positive change at scale and witness tangible improvements that enhance workplace safety for everyone.

What do you think are the biggest challenges facing the health and safety industry in UK? 

In my opinion, the biggest challenge facing the UK health and safety industry is the integration of AI. However, this needn't be viewed negatively. AI offers an excellent opportunity to leverage large data sets and delve deeply into underlying proactive and reactive performance indicators, providing tangible data that can accurately provide and predict risk indicators.

How do you think these challenges can be overcome? 

The key is to embrace AI whilst not becoming overly reliant upon it. When used as a supplemental tool, AI is extremely powerful. However, if used in isolation to replace professional insights and judgement, it can become more of a hindrance and expose knowledge gaps when unavailable.

You recently won Manager of the Year award at the Safety & Health Excellence Awards, can you tell us about that? 

A:Winning the Safety Manager of the Year award 2025 represents a personal lifetime achievement. It's a prestigious award that many professionals in our industry deserve, including many of my team members and colleagues. While it's an individual award, success ultimately requires a strong team, of which I'm fortunate to be part. I was also very honoured to have been awarded the International Institute of Safety & Risk Management exceptional young professional John Bennett award for my academic work in rethinking safety metrics and prevention of reoccurring risk.

What are your most memorable successes at Amazon? 

One of my most memorable achievements at Amazon is the launch of Project Noel, where my team and I visited local schools, nursing homes delivering winter safety poems and presents whilst dressed as Santa and Elves. The response was remarkable, making a significant impact on many families' lives by making their Christmas extra special and potentially safer.

Additionally, we've hosted numerous external visits and in-depth safety audits at our sites during my time at Amazon, all of which have been extremely positive and provided excellent opportunities to demonstrate best-in-class practices.

What's next in the product pipeline for Amazon? 

Later this year we are due to launch our first drone delivery service for customers in Darlington. That’s pretty exciting.

What's your vision for the future of Amazon? 

As an organisation Globally Our Recordable Incident Rate (RIR)—which includes any work-related injury that requires more than basic first-aid treatment—has improved 34% over the past five years and over 6% year over year (YoY). Our Lost Time Incident Rate (LTIR)—which includes any work-related injury that requires someone to take time away from work (the most serious injuries)—has improved 65% over the past five years and 13% YoY. Our goal is to be the global benchmark of safety excellence. 

What do you think the medium-term future holds for the safety industry globally? 

We're entering a period of change as companies adjust to the new normal of the AI revolution and understand how to utilise it effectively alongside health and safety practices. There are some fantastic speakers on this topic, such as Cam Stevens, whose work I highly recommend following.

What health and safety issues are you most passionate about? 

I’m most passionate about safety investigation standards and preventing reoccurrence of accidents or near misses, thoroughly analysing root causes and sharing learnings. It is vital to keep up to date with the latest best practices and to ensure we actively challenge ourselves. Ensuring everyone goes home safe each and every day.

How can we entice more young talent to work in the health and safety sector? 

We have an obligation to make the safety industry more appealing by showcasing both the engaging nature of our work and our best-in-class solutions. There are extensive opportunities in health and safety across the industry at all levels. By inspiring the next generation and attracting established professionals to change careers, we can ensure a continuous pipeline of emerging professionals.

Sam Jones is senior regional WHS manager at Amazon. For more information, visit www.amazon.co.uk