pre load concerns

[HaveHeart]

so im a new hire at UPS, im on the preload shift and loading package cars
i just finished my "training" and i use the word training loosely because i havent really been shown much
also as a disclaimer im an extremely hard worker and by no means a slacker and i certainly will always accept a challenge at work or out of work im not sure if im being taken advantage of because im new or being tested or is this really just the bottom step on the ladder?

ive worked the box-line 3 times so far and each day has gotten considerably worse they had me on the boxline and loading 3 trucks today , im not familiar with all the lingo yet but i guess it was a considerably "heavy pull?" 80% of the boxes had to of been 60lbs and over and every shelf was filled on the cars including floor space at the end

so inevitably i fell extremely far behind loading the trucks and my part time super was just standing there watching and didnt bother getting me any help untill pretty much the end of my shift

can i expect to keep having these kinds of days? i feel like the easier trucks are probably reserved for people who have been doing this a little longer and have some seniority?
or are the easier trucks for people who slack and cant be trusted to do harder pulls? i dont want to be a slacker but im considering slowing my pace a little and letting them know that i cant keep up that speed especially being this new, even though that should of been obvious

im concerned because it took me so long to finish the trucks that the people working around me were becoming agitated because i had to stack so many boxes on the dock blocking alot of their room and one of the drivers actually refused to let me load his truck anymore because it was taking so long (60% of his packages were still on the dock when i left) i just dont want to look like im a poor worker because im being over worked and it would be nice to keep the drivers and loaders on my good side (as i intend to become a package car driver one day)

i know this was probably a little all over the place but i must be excused im extremely exhausted
any tips, or words of good faith would be awesome

 

[UPSmeoff]

I think you should slow down.

 

[barnyard]

can i expect to keep having these kinds of days?

Yes.

 

[klolx]

so im a new hire at UPS, im on the preload shift and loading package cars
i just finished my "training" and i use the word training loosely because i havent really been shown much
also as a disclaimer im an extremely hard worker and by no means a slacker and i certainly will always accept a challenge at work or out of work im not sure if im being taken advantage of because im new or being tested or is this really just the bottom step on the ladder?

ive worked the box-line 3 times so far and each day has gotten considerably worse they had me on the boxline and loading 3 trucks today , im not familiar with all the lingo yet but i guess it was a considerably "heavy pull?" 80% of the boxes had to of been 60lbs and over and every shelf was filled on the cars including floor space at the end

so inevitably i fell extremely far behind loading the trucks and my part time super was just standing there watching and didnt bother getting me any help untill pretty much the end of my shift

can i expect to keep having these kinds of days? i feel like the easier trucks are probably reserved for people who have been doing this a little longer and have some seniority?
or are the easier trucks for people who slack and cant be trusted to do harder pulls? i dont want to be a slacker but im considering slowing my pace a little and letting them know that i cant keep up that speed especially being this new, even though that should of been obvious

im concerned because it took me so long to finish the trucks that the people working around me were becoming agitated because i had to stack so many boxes on the dock blocking alot of their room and one of the drivers actually refused to let me load his truck anymore because it was taking so long (60% of his packages were still on the dock when i left) i just dont want to look like im a poor worker because im being over worked and it would be nice to keep the drivers and loaders on my good side (as i intend to become a package car driver one day)

i know this was probably a little all over the place but i must be excused im extremely exhausted
any tips, or words of good faith would be awesome

Yes, expect to keep having those kind of days but don't worry it'll get easier. You're still new and learning, just do your best and don't mind your co workers. What are they gonna do to you? NOTHING. If you think 3 trucks is hard, wait till you get 4 trucks and a bunch of bulk stops...Oh and PEAK SEASON.

 

[HaveHeart]

well pretty much what i expected....ill slow down a bit so i dont kill myself but it looks like im just going to have to suck it up and look forward to peak

 

[softshoe]

What you are doing now will seem like a piece of cake, compared to what your loads will be like in the future.

 

[nystripe96]

I'm sure you've seen or will see that no single day is ever the same at UPS. Some days on my twi shift every box is extremely heavy, and on other days they all seem light. You just never know. Last Monday I came to work expecting heavy flow, it turned out to be an easy night with low volume. Than outta nowwhere we got completely bombed on Thursday night.

 

[Indecisi0n]

Mama said there'd be days like this..

 

[dilligaf]

Look at it this way, at least you will have about 7 months to learn before peak hits. Be thankful for that. It will get insane during peak. Ignore your coworkers. They've all been there and forget what it's like starting out new. Shame on them. If they want to get pissy that's their problem. Better to be pissed off than pissed on.

As to your sup not helping, he's not supposed to. Take your time, be safe. Don't block your ingresses and egresses. You will get faster as you learn your trucks. The most important thing that your drivers and management will watch are misloads. If packages go by on the belt, let them go. Don't waste time trying to go after them. Trust me, they will come back to you.

 

[ORLY!?!]

The box line is a beast of a machine that consumes most people it encounters. Its out-dated, simplistic yet unforgiving. In todays terms, its cruel practice by a buisness that doesnt give a damn anyways. The ones who master it, fully, are known as " Master loaders ". I've seen full time drivers that get pulled in to do a few weeks/ months preloading on the boxline that straight up quit, and quickly.

Are you in a middle cage, bottom or top? At the start of the charge slide or on the other side of it? Not that it matters, what color are you and what colors do they have?... just curious. Can you and / or are you allowed to stack out? Such as trays or grates behind your cars? Do they have lights for signals? Are your three cars bulk or resis?

If you need help, call on your soup to get you help. They are they to get you help when its / or when its needed. Its part of their job, not to help you themselves, but to make sure everyone gets done around the same time.

The problem with this, is a slow/ burdened or overwhelmed worker often calls upon other workers ahead of their work. We ( peloaders on the boxline ) will walk a very far distance before all is said and done. Thus we hold down the fort on our given task, yet only to be wisked away at a moments notice to help someone who even might have 200-500 packages less then we do. Its a load of... well you know.

Tips: Go for the big stuff first. This is very important. Taking out large items is like loading 4-5 boxes at once. Notice, you are more attacking your cages then loading the package cars. Its almost like basketball, crash them boards. Hit your cages, at first, like you're mad as hell and you're not going to take it anymore. Channel your energy, tip two, dont get upset, panic or all of the above. Focus everything into what your doing at that moment in time and space. Tip three, keep moving and dont stop. Dont take too long within your cars, always keep placing / setting / packing and move on. Fourth, learn your cars / study the forecast sheet. Know whats getting the most, where its at and what you can turn into your favor.

Example; if im getting 5 RDRs and I'm getting 100+ RDC, im placing those RDRS on the right side back shelf and setting RDC, as much as I can, where RDR would be. Also, a tip on the side, talk to your drivers what they do (deliver) first. Plus, learn addresses, you work for a shipping company, its should be mandatory that you do this on you own. A lot of preload on the box line is learning things on your own, your bosses wont and will not give you anything of value towards your job.

I could write a full page on this subject, but I figure I've said too much as is. Time, practice and focus will be your friend, notice them. Dont forget, work your ***** off, it pays out in the future. Become an asset, doors will open up for you sooner or later. Count more on later then anything with this company.

Talk to us.

 

[brownedout]

ORLY, I love your posts. you seem to be quite good at your job, and are always willing to share. You are a true credit to the few really good workers always willing to lend of themselves, that used to be so prevalent on this job. Just wanted to let you know. All of that being said, how would you feel about a re-assignment to the NJ District?

 

[ORLY!?!]

ORLY, I love your posts. you seem to be quite good at your job, and are always willing to share. You are a true credit to the few really good workers always willing to lend of themselves, that used to be so prevalent on this job. Just wanted to let you know. All of that being said, how would you feel about a re-assignment to the NJ District?

Thanks Brown, I try to care as much as I can to do a good, great job and learn as much as I can. And I would love to get out of the heat down here. I'm thinking on moving to Washington state, I love the cold.

I want people to make here at UPS. Not just driving, but useful on the inside as well. Good workers here are far and few. Quality, these days, are almost nonexistent.

 

[HaveHeart]

Are you in a middle cage, bottom or top? At the start of the charge slide or on the other side of it? Not that it matters, what color are you and what colors do they have?... just curious. Can you and / or are you allowed to stack out? Such as trays or grates behind your cars? Do they have lights for signals? Are your three cars bulk or resis?

well, ive been moving around from spot to spot everyday....right now im "on call" for about another week so ive been covering other peoples spots who dont show up or whatever
mostly ive been on the middle shelf, and at the other end...although today i was at the start by the slide, we are allowed to stack outside the trucks but only RDC and RDL/RDR's that wont fit till the end and the air packages we stack outside too, there are lights for signals but they only signal break time and at the end when the boxline speeds up, all the trucks ive been doing since i started have been bulk, the bin colors are....lime...gray...black...and orange

The problem with this, is a slow/ burdened or overwhelmed worker often calls upon other workers ahead of their work. We ( peloaders on the boxline ) will walk a very far distance before all is said and done. Thus we hold down the fort on our given task, yet only to be wisked away at a moments notice to help someone who even might have 200-500 packages less then we do. Its a load of... well you know.

i have been noticing this... as soon as i get a little caught up and ahead of myself they pull me to load the bulks onto the boxline or do someother crap....it kinda pisses me off a little because when i get back to my bay im playing catchup all over again and thats when i make the most misload mistakes


also i took your tips into consideration and i didnt miss load one truck yesterday and was doing about 313PPH today, wich my sup said was a big improvement from my past days

two more quick questions though, whats the normal PPH and amount of boxes per a pull? my sup said ive been doing about 900 a day

Thanks again for the tips!

 

[ORLY!?!]

well, ive been moving around from spot to spot everyday....right now im "on call" for about another week so ive been covering other peoples spots who dont show up or whatever
mostly ive been on the middle shelf, and at the other end...although today i was at the start by the slide, we are allowed to stack outside the trucks but only RDC and RDL/RDR's that wont fit till the end and the air packages we stack outside too, there are lights for signals but they only signal break time and at the end when the boxline speeds up, all the trucks ive been doing since i started have been bulk, the bin colors are....lime...gray...black...and orange

i have been noticing this... as soon as i get a little caught up and ahead of myself they pull me to load the bulks onto the boxline or do someother crap....it kinda pisses me off a little because when i get back to my bay im playing catchup all over again and thats when i make the most misload mistakes

also i took your tips into consideration and i didnt miss load one truck yesterday and was doing about 313PPH today, wich my sup said was a big improvement from my past days

two more quick questions though, whats the normal PPH and amount of boxes per a pull? my sup said ive been doing about 900 a day

Thanks again for the tips!

Interesting colors, indeed. We have red, blue, green, brown (of course), yellow and orange and pink cages are for repo, which means return to sort.

Another question, have you reached seniority yet? Which means you've been there 30-90 days, or have they told you, now you have seniority, yet?

Normal PPH, as they request you be at by the "methods", are 270 for the first hour and 217 for the rest of the three and half hours. A lot of the slackers never get even close to 200 PPH, and are given sets with light amounts in our terms. 900 packages in a night is a good days work. Theres times when you will get 700 and other nights where you could get 1000+. I had a set last year where on one night I ended up getting 1400, this between 3 cars. Not a good night at all.

Yea that sucks! I hate when you do right by the company only to be punished for it. You get caught up and they want you to go help joe sh** the rage man down the way or other side that has peanuts volume. The worst thing you can do to a preloader on the boxline is pull them away from what they are doing. Volume is a funny thing. You can clean out a cage 100% of the way, and it passes the charge slide once, and get completely blasted with 20+ more packages, yea within one pass.

Hey, if you're tired of getting pulled, sort your cages, pull a good amount and make them have more then four packaes each cage. That will teach them, as I said one cage can get blasted within one pass. Make sure theres work within them with each pass. If you get pulled and your cages get blown out, take your time with them. Dont rush, dont try hard, nothing! If you have to dump them out at the end of the night, so be it. If management comes by with this concern, then say to them " hey, I got caught up, they pull me away, my cages blow out and I come back and I cant get anything out of them". Chances are they will side with you moreso then the soup or full time soup for pulling you. This means, pulling you will be not a good option. The only thing part time and full time soups like more then anything is pleasing those higher up then them. A lot of brown nosers here, no doubt about it.

To me, its all too funny. This company, with preload, have a hard time filling spots and keeping people around. I said in pervious post that my center had a 100% turn over rate last year. Now, saying this, to those they try hiring and scaring away. That these people cant keep people around, yet the ones they do keep around they treat like crap. Sounds like a winning situation to me. I guess its why this company has such a great profit every year, by treating humanity like crap.

Lastly, I like to say, this is only part time. From 3 and half, four and half to five hours a day. Really, your thoughts should be just that. That is " hey, its only part time, ill be going home soon anyways". Dont rush, dont panic and dont give a ish about anything. Your load, your skills and your cages are the only things that matter. You can even see you getting pulled away as only equally more money for you to make, more hours. Trust me, your load reflects to your drivers, those drivers give words to those in management. And their words are worth their weight in gold. You will be sided with always if you can please your drivers any day of the week.

 

[klolx]

ORLY, the master loader.

 

[mitchemracing4]

You will be fine . We all had to start somewhere . When I first came to preload (cage type boxline) I was not doing very well . Constantly kept getting fussed at for being behind and still do to some degree on some nights . But after 11 years with the company and 4 years on preload nothing tends to bother me much anymore . Learning your routes and your drivers prefrence takes time , and if you have a route thats giving you trouble , talk to the driver and ask him the best way to load his truck . Only He knows ! Not the center and not the Sups . The driver is your best friend and if they respect you as a loader and vise verse your end of day stack out will become much easier .

There will alwase be heavy days and light days . Comes with the territory . And as far as your coworkers go . If you are stacking behind your trucks and are not in there immediate area then they really cant say anything to you . Just make sure everyone has a walking path in case of emergencies . Once you get to know your coworkers a little better than more than likely they will help you without you even asking . One thing you can do is when you have time then ask your neighbor if he or she needs help . Ask them about there loads and if there is anything you can do . This will go a long way in getting there respect and will benefit you and them in the long run .

Hang in there and you will do just fine . Its not an easy job but someones got to do it !

 

[ORLY!?!]

You will be fine . We all had to start somewhere . When I first came to preload (cage type boxline) I was not doing very well . Constantly kept getting fussed at for being behind and still do to some degree on some nights . But after 11 years with the company and 4 years on preload nothing tends to bother me much anymore . Learning your routes and your drivers prefrence takes time , and if you have a route thats giving you trouble , talk to the driver and ask him the best way to load his truck . Only He knows ! Not the center and not the Sups . The driver is your best friend and if they respect you as a loader and vise verse your end of day stack out will become much easier .

There will alwase be heavy days and light days . Comes with the territory . And as far as your coworkers go . If you are stacking behind your trucks and are not in there immediate area then they really cant say anything to you . Just make sure everyone has a walking path in case of emergencies . Once you get to know your coworkers a little better than more than likely they will help you without you even asking . One thing you can do is when you have time then ask your neighbor if he or she needs help . Ask them about there loads and if there is anything you can do . This will go a long way in getting there respect and will benefit you and them in the long run .

Hang in there and you will do just fine . Its not an easy job but someones got to do it !

Nicely put.

We all did start somewhere. It took me about a month to fully get the big picture, in preload. Some take it on right away, a few. A lot never amount to anything special or trustworthy. For me, and I hope others in the future, will do their jobs with morals and ethics at hand.

Another great tip is, to watch other loaders work. One of the things that got me understand preload, was watching a fantastic loader.

 

[TearsInRain]

follow instructions and work as hard as you can

everything else is your supes problem

 

[NI3]

Anyone else having to "call in" to see if you're needed?

 

[mitchemracing4]

Happens from time to time but if you are not in your probationary period anymore its my understanding that they have to work you if you want the work . and to comment on you remark in another post of them telling you there is no such thing as a guaranteed 3 1/2 hour a day , if im right then there full of it and are just playing the normal lie to your face because you dont know better management method . You need to talk to your steward about 3 1/2 hours a day if that's what you are looking to get .