telematics and heat

[bl04a]

I drive in philadlphia, pa. We were told by our center manager that we are not allowed to idle our trucks when taking our lunch. The day we were told this it was 29 degrees. We asked what we were supposed to do about heat if you have nowhere to take your lunch but your truck. we were told it was tried in other areas of the country and it worked. i wonder if by other areas they mean California or Arizona or somewhere warm all year. Anyone who delivers in the northeast in Janurary knows how quickly your truck gets cold. What comes next with telematics, will the heat in the truck shut off automatically when it gets above 32 degrees. By the way, the union does nothing about it but collect dues.

 

[over9five]

The answer is easy. If you're cold at lunch, you run your car.


It really is that simple. Human beings need heat. What are they gonna do, fire you? I'd like to see that at panel!

 

[scratch]

They shouldn't count idle time if you are clocked out for lunch. I don't have a restaurant on my area either. When we first went on telematics, I averaged about 50 minutes idle time, all of a sudden it went down to 25-30 minutes for some unknown reason. I haven't changed anything that I do.

 

[dilligaf]

They shouldn't count idle time if you are clocked out for lunch. I don't have a restaurant on my area either. When we first went on telematics, I averaged about 50 minutes idle time, all of a sudden it went down to 25-30 minutes for some unknown reason. I haven't changed anything that I do.

Gee, ya think they might be changing the numbers???

 

[Covemastah]

Tell your manager the money you ''USED TO GIVE '' to the United Way,, will now be spent on fuel to heat the PC on your own time !!!

 

[bl04a]

Trust me, i do run the truck when i need heat. i ran it for 45 minutes friday while i took lunch. If they say anything monday I will ask my center manager what the tempature was in his office or wherever he took his lunch. Just wanted to show another example of how ridiculous this company has become.

 

[UPSGUY72]

I run my truck at lunch but not the whole lunch. I grab my lunch from the back shut the bulk head door and run the truck until the cab is hot then I'll turn it off and repeat as necessary.

 

[Cementups]

Always park truck facing directly towards the sun during your lunch period. That way the cab acts as a greenhouse and keeps itself warm. No wasted fuel and your still warm.

 

[Bubblehead]

Trust me, i do run the truck when i need heat. i ran it for 45 minutes friday while i took lunch. If they say anything monday I will ask my center manager what the tempature was in his office or wherever he took his lunch. Just wanted to show another example of how ridiculous this company has become.

"They" say many things that aren't necessarily true.
Why???...,because it works.
Too many are too weak to question it, let alone defy it.
Net gain in my center, 70% compliance.

 

[brownelf]

we get the same idle issues this time of year ever since telematics was implemented. I just run mine till it gets warm, then shut it off and restart whenever it gets cold again. Depending on the temp outside/time of day or wind the time it takes to get cold can vary from 2-20 minutes.

 

[soberups]

Idle as needed to maintain adequate heat during your lunch and break.

If they whine about it the next day, just nod your head and say "I'll work on that". Repeat as necessary. Eventually they will find something else to whine about.

You can also play the safety card if they get really obnoxious about it. Sitting in an unheated cab for any length of time on a cold day with the doors shut will cause your windshield and windows to fog up or even freeze over from the condensation of your breath. At that point you will be unable to drive safely until you run the defroster...which requires idling. So they will have the choice of (a) letting you drive as far as necessary on the clock to a heated location for lunch and break (b) letting you idle and run the heater as needed during your lunch and break or (c) letting the windows fog up during your break and then having you sit there and idle on the clock until your windows are clear enough to drive safely. Eventually they will shut the friend&%k up and settle for option (b).

 

[JonFrum]

When you are On Lunch you are not On Duty. The legal definition of "lunch period" is that you are allowed to leave the area and are not responsible for minding the Company's equiptment. (If Management orders you to stay with the vehicle, they must pay you for your lunch period.)

You are free to leave the area and not look back for the duration of an unpaid lunch. So one approach is to assert your right to drive to the nearest facility that has heat, bathrooms, sinks, and food, no matter how far away that is. (You must park legally, and secure the vehicle if leaving it unattended, however.)

The other apporach is to voluntarily remain in your vehicle and idle your engine as often as necessary to stay warm.

UPS is free to discipline the original software guy who programed lunchtime Telematics incorrectly, or to re-program the software now, or to simply interpret any Telematics lunchtime data like someone with common sense would.

 

[just_a_number]

I drive in philadlphia, pa. We were told by our center manager that we are not allowed to idle our trucks when taking our lunch. The day we were told this it was 29 degrees. We asked what we were supposed to do about heat if you have nowhere to take your lunch but your truck. we were told it was tried in other areas of the country and it worked. i wonder if by other areas they mean California or Arizona or somewhere warm all year. Anyone who delivers in the northeast in Janurary knows how quickly your truck gets cold. What comes next with telematics, will the heat in the truck shut off automatically when it gets above 32 degrees. By the way, the union does nothing about it but collect dues.

CALL OSHA!!!!

 

[UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)]

29 degrees is chilly.

 

[Bubblehead]

29 degrees is chilly.

It's freezing.

 

[UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)]

It's freezing.

It's vest weather.

Monday morning it was -26F in Saranac Lake, NY, which is an hour from and delivered out of our center.

 

[UPSGUY72]

It's vest weather.

Monday morning it was -26F in Saranac Lake, NY, which is an hour from and delivered out of our center.

I haven't worn a coat so far this winter only a vest. When I left my house last Monday it was -6F. On a better note tomorrow it is going to be almost 50F in the area I where I work.

 

[soberups]

Here's the deal.

I dont mind the 12 hour days. I dont mind the snow, or the cold, or the heat,or the rain, or the dust, or the heavy packages, or the stress of peak season. Those conditions are all part of the deal that I signed on for when I made a decision to pursue a UPS career, and I feel that I am fairly compensated for putting up with those conditions.

What I do mind...a lot...is when some brain-dead corporate idiot sitting in a heated cubicle some place with too much authority and too little intelligence has himself a "bright idea" about reducing Telematics idle time and decides to write a memo denying me the right to operate the heater during the middle of the fu&%ing winter. Really? Is he actually serious? Does this guy even have a fu%&ing clue?

If I were that stupid and utterly incompetent in my day-to-day management of the business of my route....I would have been terminated a long time ago. Yet those of us who actually do the work and generate the revenue that keeps this company going are stuck with having to carry such unaccountable dead weight on the payroll. This is the sort of stupidity that we need to keep in mind next year when our contract is up for renewal and the company "cries poor" and whines about "the competition" and its "cost advantage". I for one am unwilling to even discuss any sort of concessions until I see an honest effort by the company to rid itself of the sort of idiotic corporate leeches that would actually say that we cant use the heater in the middle of winter.

Rant over.

 

[hellfire]

The answer is easy. If you're cold at lunch, you run your car.


It really is that simple. Human beings need heat. What are they gonna do, fire you? I'd like to see that at panel!

yes big talker, in theory it would work, but, your not the driver group getting the pcm, ,, we all know, especially me, Drivers at ups can be targeted by operations and knit picked into methods failure , any one of us can be targeted and fired,, my goal is to find the method that makes it easy,, ------manipulating bonus cost cuts dont discriminate

 

[over9five]

yes big talker, in theory it would work, but, your not the driver group getting the pcm, ,, we all know, especially me, Drivers at ups can be targeted by operations and knit picked into methods failure , any one of us can be targeted and fired,, my goal is to find the method that makes it easy,, ------manipulating bonus cost cuts dont discriminate

Your driver group has to man up.

Or be cold.....