Questions for those that HAVE EXPERIENCE with orion

hellfire

no one considers UPS people."real" Teamsters.-BUG
I have no experience with it, but some of the stuff ive read on here on here is interesting, however, alot of it is opinion. Some factual answers from those on it please. 1 Does it tell you to back into driveways to turn around? 2 Are all misloads now sheeted as missed? 3 Are the days of going off area to get 10 stops or someones pickup pieces to get them in over?
 

cosmo1

Perhaps.
Staff member
I have no experience with it, but some of the stuff ive read on here on here is interesting, however, alot of it is opinion. Some factual answers from those on it please. 1 Does it tell you to back into driveways to turn around? 2 Are all misloads now sheeted as missed? 3 Are the days of going off area to get 10 stops or someones pickup pieces to get them in over?
1. No
2. Depends on center manager
3. See above

Disclaimer: Dave's only "experience" with ORION is what he has read on this forum.
 

hellfire

no one considers UPS people."real" Teamsters.-BUG
Disclaimer: Dave's only "experience" with ORION is what he has read on this forum.
See,, thats what im trying to avoid..please people, no opinions, just real experience. Thx for pointing that out cosmo1
 

UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)

Well-Known Member
hellfire, Orion simply lists the stops in what it thinks is the most logical order. It is not going to tell you whether or not to turn around in someone's driveway nor is it going to tell you sheet a misload as missed or to help out someone in your loop. It is up to you to follow the methods while on Orion.
 

OPTION3

Well-Known Member
hellfire, Orion simply lists the stops in what it thinks is the most logical order. It is not going to tell you whether or not to turn around in someone's driveway nor is it going to tell you sheet a misload as missed or to help out someone in your loop. It is up to you to follow the methods while on Orion.
and be whatever percent management sets as acceptable….if the two don’t match---it’s the drivers fault
 

Borderline 9.5

Well-Known Member
hellfire, Orion simply lists the stops in what it thinks is the most logical order. It is not going to tell you whether or not to turn around in someone's driveway nor is it going to tell you sheet a misload as missed or to help out someone in your loop. It is up to you to follow the methods while on Orion.

I hate to break the news to you but it does not list the most logical order. You would think it does but it does not. That's why it is so easy to have lower mileage than Orion. Many times during the day it would have me driving 5 miles to do two stops then back to where I just at. It also doesn't matter if your EDD is 100% in order, It will screw that up too.
 

9.5er

Well-Known Member
I hate to break the news to you but it does not list the most logical order. You would think it does but it does not. That's why it is so easy to have lower mileage than Orion. Many times during the day it would have me driving 5 miles to do two stops then back to where I just at. It also doesn't matter if your EDD is 100% in order, It will screw that up too.
What if EDD is not 100%? Most of our routes have been messed up by combining other routes and splits being cut out. Add/cuts added wherever the dispatcher feels like putting them.
Will orion help organize these screwed up routes?
I feel like I already know the answer but I'm being hopeful.
 

cosmo1

Perhaps.
Staff member
What if EDD is not 100%? Most of our routes have been messed up by combining other routes and splits being cut out. Add/cuts added wherever the dispatcher feels like putting them.
Will orion help organize these screwed up routes?
I feel like I already know the answer but I'm being hopeful.

Nope. And if you have multiple plans for different days (and I'm sure you do), every day will be screwed up differently.

It's fun.
 

Brownsfan

Well-Known Member
The thing i find the most frustrating about orion, is the fact that it cant be fixed. I have spent hours with the orion team trying to get time commits, missed business, and wasted miles fixed, it cant be fixed. Orion is the most programmable/un programmable software system i have ever seen. I feel orion has anxiety issues and is proned to just taking the day off.

As far as it telling you turn turn around in driveways, It doesn't say that, But after a while you start to speak orion and can see what its trying to get you to do. On friday it had me drive 3 miles in to town to deliver 3 stops, Then backtrack to a stop into the middle of the forest, Instead of sending me back the way i came in on an actual road. It tried to send me on a forest service road into the middle of nowhere. lol no thank you. That road got deleted promptly. Hopefully
 

9.5er

Well-Known Member
Nope. And if you have multiple plans for different days (and I'm sure you do), every day will be screwed up differently.

It's fun.
Yep, that's what I was afraid of. Didn't expect much more either.
The route I just started to learn has one small town. It had 15 stops in that town. The stops were listed in 3 different locations in the diad. Some in the beginning some in middle and rest of them at the end of the day. All within a 2 mile radius. Sure would be nice if orion would fix that problem.
 

DRamsey10

New Member
Orion does not consider business or residential. It does not consider customers who need early deliveries for turnaround shipments later in the day. It does not consider when they go to lunch. It does not consider how much bulk you would have to unload to get to that Amazon box in section 6 at 9:00 am. My center requires 85%. I run 70 to 75% and they are really starting to come down on me. We must make service on packages, period! In order to do that on a heavy day, I have to turn off Orion (switch to RDO). I will have to start running Orion and bring back missed businesses at 9:00 at night. Orion will be the undoing of this company and it will be actions like this that will (maybe) make them understand. Orion is a tool that needs to be applied with logic and some plain old common sense. We are not given that option because UPS management has non of either.
 

TooTechie

Geek in Brown
1 Does it tell you to back into driveways to turn around?
All you have is your diad so it won't "tell" you to do anything, however you'll have a stop driving in one direction then the next stop on the list will be in the exact opposite direction and if you continue driving around the block you'll often pass other stops it doesn't want you to do in that order so...short answer:The Orion "solution" assumes you'll instantly change directions after delivering which requires backing into a driveway in most cases. If you're riding with an Orion "engineer" they'll usually try to get you to back into driveways.

2 Are all misloads now sheeted as missed?
In my last center, yes. I actually got chewed out for leaving some misloads at another driver's UPS store for him and messaging it in. They actually PREFERRED to not have the packages serviced to save mileage.

3 Are the days of going off area to get 10 stops or someones pickup pieces to get them in over?
When my last center initially went Orion, going off area to help others was still the norm, then as our deployment test was going on it was no one is helping anyone--then towards the end it was back to going off area to take stops and air meets.
 

hellfire

no one considers UPS people."real" Teamsters.-BUG
All you have is your diad so it won't "tell" you to do anything, however you'll have a stop driving in one direction then the next stop on the list will be in the exact opposite direction and if you continue driving around the block you'll often pass other stops it doesn't want you to do in that order so...short answer:The Orion "solution" assumes you'll instantly change directions after delivering which requires backing into a driveway in most cases. If you're riding with an Orion "engineer" they'll usually try to get you to back into driveways.


In my last center, yes. I actually got chewed out for leaving some misloads at another driver's UPS store for him and messaging it in. They actually PREFERRED to not have the packages serviced to save mileage.


When my last center initially went Orion, going off area to help others was still the norm, then as our deployment test was going on it was no one is helping anyone--then towards the end it was back to going off area to take stops and air meets.
thank you for being the first to give me a true answer
 

porkwagon

Well-Known Member
I've been on ORION for about a year now. Upstate's answer to your specific questions were correct. My center's goal is 85% compliance and the manager asks that we try to make good business decisions using our experience when appropriate. If you run only airs there is no trace break. If you deliver multiple stops on a particular street even though ORION may not list it that way, there is no break in trace. If you skip stops to do later for whatever reason and drop down the list, there is no break in trace. However, if you drop down your list and work up the screen, each stop will be a break in trace. I typically have about 200 stops daily so if I break trace 30 times I will still hit 85%. I keep my screen RDO most of the day and most days am at 90% without doing much differently than I ever did. If I try to follow it and do the dumb things it lists, it takes longer and does not save any miles. My miles have been between 45-55 per day and this has not changed. My area is tight and I am close to the barn.
 
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