Any tips for preload newbie?
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Fnix
Well-Known Member
Man... first day of work. Nuts... start off sorting upper/lower for about a half hour, then got sent to unload feeders. Me and a parter did 4 trailers, then the second I was done I was told to go help on 2 others, and then I did 25 or so bags of smalls.
When we finally got out, I went straight to my truck and puked. Definately the hardest work Ive ever done in my life... talkin to guys there that have been there 30 years! I dont see how you do it!
I was for sure I wasn't coming back again this morning, but I think Im going to go again tomorrow. My back is killing me, and i know eveyrone is gonna say lifting, but its more of the constant bending up and down picking boxes up off the ground of the feeder. Sort was cool, hopefully Ill be able to stick it out there, or get a package car or 3
Question.... how are jobs assigned? For example, we had 3 feeders unloading at a time, each with their own PAL Scanner/ Sticker applier. Is that a bid job? They never changed, and I would assume this is their permanent job. I assume the newbies are just kind of shuffled around where help is needed, until more come in. Hopefully with peak being here soon, more will come!
you'll get used to it. the puking and back aches will go away with time once you get a hang of it. it'll be like a walk in the park and you wont think twice about doing something.
with peak on the way they like to move people around and train them in all areas. this also make you a more valuable employee knowing how to do every job.
thebrownbox
Well-Known Member
Well, I a new too. 2.5 months in. Training was a joke. Once I got to my trucks I was given about 5 minutes of 'how to load" and that was it. I trained on several trucks for 1 week before I was given the 3 that I do now. First week with the three trucks was a nightmare. No one to help, and loading 1000 Pkgs in 3-3.25 hours was a little overwhelming. keeping eye on the lower belt while trying to juggle packages and follow proper techniques......oi it was tough. To top it off, the one driver started out as a real jerk. "Why did you do this" ........ "don't you think?"....."why don't you stay at home and let me load" This was just the first 3 days. Funny too was that the one driver told me "if the 8000 shelf is full just put the extra boxes on 7000 as I do 7000 first and will see the 8000 boxes even before I get to them" The jerk driver said to me, when I had followed the other drivers advice "why did you put the 8000 on the 7000 shelf???? they are fing miles apart." On day four he started to open his mouth and I said, in a very stern voice while looking him eye to eye "look, if you have a problem take it to my sup or manager.....be glad I got theon your truck.......now if you want to treat me like a human being then we can discuss your preferences like men" He said "woooooo slow down..... I am trying to help" I cut him off with "Then act like it" to which I walked away. we have since gotten to be pretty friendly and things have worked out. don't let ANYONE walk over you. treat others with respect and demand it for yourself, and you will be far better off!! As far as marking the box’s…….I would do it in the beginning until you have the swing of things. I did it for a few weeks. Now I only do it when the SUPS tell us the ties will be coming around and so we need to write and follow everything by the book
I don't do preload so I don't see any of the drivers but just walking around today (boxes got jammed on one of the belts and went to the wrong belt) you can almost tell which driver(s) might be a hard ass.
Yeah, but the hard ass is the one that is going to train you the best. With the least effort- once you've learned the load.
The only comparison to your next month at UPS is Marine boot camp. But with these hardasses try to do one more thing correct today than you did yesterday. That will be something to hang your hat on when talking with your drivers every morning.
A dozen doughnuts help, also.
The only comparison to your next month at UPS is Marine boot camp. But with these hardasses try to do one more thing correct today than you did yesterday. That will be something to hang your hat on when talking with your drivers every morning.
A dozen doughnuts help, also.
Brownbox and any other persons just learning to load the package cars:Remember that the walls of the package car are not sacred.
Huh? By that I mean you can tape info on the walls! Start out with no more than 10 sheets taped to the walls of any truck at any time .Write large on a full sheet of paper the main street in that truck and the block breakdown. Also draw a symbol if that helps( a figure of a tree for an Elm Street, A 20 second drawing- in green crayon- of a one-dollar bill for Washington Ave.,etc). The human mind comprehends symbols 500 times faster than it does writing. This loading system sounds childish and the driver may look askance at what you have done to "his" car, but he will in 10 seconds figure out the benefit.(Another benefit of this "wallpapering" is to remind you of which car you are in. Don't deny that you get confused at which car you are supposed to be loading.)
So after a week you've got the splits for elm street down. Now pull yhose sheets of paper down. Put up NEW sheets with the 10 next most popular streets and/or splits. Again, use symbols if needed.
Now oldtimers will notice that this system was developed prior to the big, bad , mean ol' PAS. But the system still works because PAS and what the driver requires are not always the same thing.
And you can always get the driver to confirm your placement of the interior signs. He is going to bitch, but he is the person most rooting for your success as a preloader.
Huh? By that I mean you can tape info on the walls! Start out with no more than 10 sheets taped to the walls of any truck at any time .Write large on a full sheet of paper the main street in that truck and the block breakdown. Also draw a symbol if that helps( a figure of a tree for an Elm Street, A 20 second drawing- in green crayon- of a one-dollar bill for Washington Ave.,etc). The human mind comprehends symbols 500 times faster than it does writing. This loading system sounds childish and the driver may look askance at what you have done to "his" car, but he will in 10 seconds figure out the benefit.(Another benefit of this "wallpapering" is to remind you of which car you are in. Don't deny that you get confused at which car you are supposed to be loading.)
So after a week you've got the splits for elm street down. Now pull yhose sheets of paper down. Put up NEW sheets with the 10 next most popular streets and/or splits. Again, use symbols if needed.
Now oldtimers will notice that this system was developed prior to the big, bad , mean ol' PAS. But the system still works because PAS and what the driver requires are not always the same thing.
And you can always get the driver to confirm your placement of the interior signs. He is going to bitch, but he is the person most rooting for your success as a preloader.
kingOFchester
Well-Known Member
I feel and hear what you are saying. however, it isn't pratical for me. I have just enough time to keep up with pkgs, let alone time to draw pictures and the like. If UPS wants to slow the belts down, take some load off of my work and soforth, then perhaps. But for 8.50 and hr....9.50 an hour I will stick to what they require. I will also take direction from the drivers as to where they prefer irregs and such to be placed.
kingOFchester
Well-Known Member
My loader is always bringing in food for me. I guess am lucky!!
Overpaid Union Thug
Well-Known Member
My advice is this...
1) Drink water/Gatorade before, during, and after the shift
2) At least try and place the stops in order according to the sequence numbers
3) It's ok to put packages behind others as long as the ones in front are to be delivered before the ones going behind. Use the sequence numbers to figure that out.
4) If a stop has more than one package then load them together. If some need to go on the floor then try and put them under the ones on the shelf.
5) Put long packages such as tubes, carpets, golf clubs, etc, on the floor and NOT behind packages on the shelf. It's hard to grab those when they are behind others.
6) When loading different stops on top of each other on the floor try and load the ones with the lesser sequence number on top so we don't have to dig and unstack packages to find our next stop. Example: a box with a 7000 number should go on top of one with an 8000 number.
7) Please remove all of your trash from the truck before clocking out. Such as water/Gatorade bottles, candy wrappers, paper work, etc.. Your drivers will appreciate that.
8) Don't panic. Stay calm and go at a steady pace. If you are having to run around like a chicken with it's head cut off in order to keep up then that probably means you are loading too many cars.
1) Drink water/Gatorade before, during, and after the shift
2) At least try and place the stops in order according to the sequence numbers
3) It's ok to put packages behind others as long as the ones in front are to be delivered before the ones going behind. Use the sequence numbers to figure that out.
4) If a stop has more than one package then load them together. If some need to go on the floor then try and put them under the ones on the shelf.
5) Put long packages such as tubes, carpets, golf clubs, etc, on the floor and NOT behind packages on the shelf. It's hard to grab those when they are behind others.
6) When loading different stops on top of each other on the floor try and load the ones with the lesser sequence number on top so we don't have to dig and unstack packages to find our next stop. Example: a box with a 7000 number should go on top of one with an 8000 number.
7) Please remove all of your trash from the truck before clocking out. Such as water/Gatorade bottles, candy wrappers, paper work, etc.. Your drivers will appreciate that.
8) Don't panic. Stay calm and go at a steady pace. If you are having to run around like a chicken with it's head cut off in order to keep up then that probably means you are loading too many cars.
King and Big thanks for the advice, on Friday which is my 4th day they switch me to different trucks now I'm loading 4 different trucks . I'm fine with it but sometimes I get into the wrong truck and caused a misload which my trainer spot and told me to watch out for them. when I load I always worried getting my trainer or the driver mad so I try to make everything in order which takes up time and my boxes would pile up. Big #8 is right on thats me I panic and stop putting them in order to speed up. I notice other people around me only loading either 1 or 2 trucks why is that? Are they just putting me on a bunch of trucks to see what my speed is? because my body is not use to it yet, but I do go at a steady pace but sometimes not fast enough. I have a question how long does it take for my body to get use to loading trucks? Because I really want to get use to it I see people around me do it like its nothing
Overpaid Union Thug
Well-Known Member
The guys that apply the PAL labels are supposed to place the labels on one of the surfaces that could be facing outward. Ours do anyway. It helps the loaders because they can load most of the packages with the PAL label facing out. Example: if a package is 10 inches long and 4 inches wide then they'll usually place the lable on one of the smaller sides because they'll most likely end up facing outward. If this is done you will be able to see most of the labels on the packages as you enter each truck and it'll help you figure out where to place a new package. I was on a route Thursday where most of the packages where loaded this way. It helps loaders load and it helps drivers find them.
thebrownbox
Well-Known Member
I'm always getting on my guy about placing the PAL labels on all parts of the box.. it slows ME down as I have to sort the boxes.. So say for i.e. the UPS label is facing me he will sometimes put the PAL label on the other side of the box or ontop of the UPS label...
And when you have extra large boxes like TV's and things like that he always puts the labels in the most dumbest spots so I have to flip or turn the item.
And when you have extra large boxes like TV's and things like that he always puts the labels in the most dumbest spots so I have to flip or turn the item.
IDoLessWorkThanMost
Well-Known Member
IDoLessWorkThanMost
Well-Known Member
The best tips for preload:
- Don't break yourself. As my friend and Local President says "you set the bar". Play stupid, the less you do, the better off you'll be
- get friendly with the guys/gals around you. Make jokes, esp about supervisors
- if you're going to sit down, do it inside the car where management can't see you
- if you get backed up or completely destroyed aka "blown out", just start stacking the stuff in front of your trucks and remove any path you have into the vehicle/vehicles. if the supervisor has any brains and motive to make his bonus, he'll get you help. If you start moving quickly or even "running", you're definitly working too hard. Take a break for safteys sake!
The best tips for unload:
- Don't knock walls down if you have someone in the trailer with you. They'll be a bit upset and probably start a fight, or at least pull one down on you
- drink plenty of fluid, so you have something to puke after the shift
- go around 80-90% of capacity. When management tells you to "get going" "hurry up" "is that the best you can do", slow down a bit more. They'll regret ever saying anything and maybe (hopefully) send you somehwere else in the building. The unload sucks
- take your time when it comes to removing bulk from the trailers. Make it a 5-10 minute process and certainly ask for assistance from another bargaining unit member (where applicable).
- wear gloves if you can. Your hands will thank you
Tips for sort aisle/sorters
-use both of your arms. If you use the same arm to move/shift all the time, you may end up with severe pain.
-do what is asked, but nothing more (applies to all jobs)
-if there's a decent looking woman on the shift, try to get near one of those stations ( if you're a man) its a nice view for 3.5
- Don't break yourself. As my friend and Local President says "you set the bar". Play stupid, the less you do, the better off you'll be
- get friendly with the guys/gals around you. Make jokes, esp about supervisors
- if you're going to sit down, do it inside the car where management can't see you
- if you get backed up or completely destroyed aka "blown out", just start stacking the stuff in front of your trucks and remove any path you have into the vehicle/vehicles. if the supervisor has any brains and motive to make his bonus, he'll get you help. If you start moving quickly or even "running", you're definitly working too hard. Take a break for safteys sake!
The best tips for unload:
- Don't knock walls down if you have someone in the trailer with you. They'll be a bit upset and probably start a fight, or at least pull one down on you
- drink plenty of fluid, so you have something to puke after the shift
- go around 80-90% of capacity. When management tells you to "get going" "hurry up" "is that the best you can do", slow down a bit more. They'll regret ever saying anything and maybe (hopefully) send you somehwere else in the building. The unload sucks
- take your time when it comes to removing bulk from the trailers. Make it a 5-10 minute process and certainly ask for assistance from another bargaining unit member (where applicable).
- wear gloves if you can. Your hands will thank you
Tips for sort aisle/sorters
-use both of your arms. If you use the same arm to move/shift all the time, you may end up with severe pain.
-do what is asked, but nothing more (applies to all jobs)
-if there's a decent looking woman on the shift, try to get near one of those stations ( if you're a man) its a nice view for 3.5
thebrownbox
Well-Known Member
they have me as a sorter and trust me gloves are a must.. I had 3 fingers that had a good meeting with the belt.
Floridacargocat
Well-Known Member
Many valuable tips in the thread for a newbie preloader.
My favorite theory is the Swiss cheese theory, which is:
When everything lines up (i.e. not following the methods), misloads will happen. Nobody is happy with misloads.
Another observation is, every second lost in not working smart you will never recover and boxes will try to drown you because they keep coming. Work smart, not hard.
Feedback from your driver and communication with him/her is a very important tool in gauging your work and quality of work.
As peak is on us, try to work as per the methods, because if you don't, your own personal delivery (from your aunt for example) may not be delivered in time. Do you want that?
If preloader and driver are in a position of cooperation and communication, then key elements of proper service have been achieved.
Your supe (PT and FT) is there to help and guide you (in their own interests), as they have the means to do their part of the service requirement. They will teach you a few tricks, which will show you where you can work smarter. There will always be some hard spots, but if you get your own personal package in time, somebody has made this happen, and it may have been a preloader.
My favorite theory is the Swiss cheese theory, which is:
When everything lines up (i.e. not following the methods), misloads will happen. Nobody is happy with misloads.
Another observation is, every second lost in not working smart you will never recover and boxes will try to drown you because they keep coming. Work smart, not hard.
Feedback from your driver and communication with him/her is a very important tool in gauging your work and quality of work.
As peak is on us, try to work as per the methods, because if you don't, your own personal delivery (from your aunt for example) may not be delivered in time. Do you want that?
If preloader and driver are in a position of cooperation and communication, then key elements of proper service have been achieved.
Your supe (PT and FT) is there to help and guide you (in their own interests), as they have the means to do their part of the service requirement. They will teach you a few tricks, which will show you where you can work smarter. There will always be some hard spots, but if you get your own personal package in time, somebody has made this happen, and it may have been a preloader.
You should not be using the PAL to sort and use the zip code... In my building the packages are sorted to one of three belts and each belt has a SPA/clerk station. I think we were one of the first centers to use PAS four years ago...
1. comes off the feeder
2. sort aisle
3. spa
4. loaded on package car
Ask the supe where are the load stands... UPS CORPORATE POLICY directs that LOAD STANDS MUST BE USED... Supes CAN NOT ask OR direct you to work UNSAFE or VIOLATE corporate policy...
thebrownbox
Well-Known Member
I don't load trucks yet.. I just sort after the PAS label is put on but now they moved me to a new area as the stuff is coming up the belts on orange I need to Sort D10 and D11 and throw them down the slide so they can get put in trucks.
Christina Abrams
New Member
Preload Assist System (PAS), boxline is a series of color coded cages that run on a track that just keeps circling the center.Each cage has a top, middle, center and bottom.
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