telematics?

[Omega man]

Management has lost all credibility. Their whole approach to manage employees in an abusive manner has backfired on them. The bottom line is that many employees do not care what anyone in management says anymore. We will idle ours cars if cold and we will drive on the clock to a suitable location for lunch no matter how far. Let them try to discipline us for not following their unlawful directives.

 

[FracusBrown]

There you go using that "reasonable" word again.

"Resonable" does not appear in the UPS corporate dictionary.

Here's how the process works. Telematics reports on our idle time, and some idiot with too much authority and too few brains sittiong in a cubicle someplace reads that report and sends an e-mail to the manager that his center's "idle time" is excessive. Said idiot then pulls a random metric out of his fat ass and mandates that the center in question will not exceed that amount of idle time for any reason.

The center manager has no choice in the matter. He will either generate the metric that the idiot in the cubicle is demanding, or he will be fired and replaced by someone else who can.

The idiot in the cubicle has heat and air conditioning and a bathroom 30 feet down the hall. This idiot has probably never even been to the center in question, but he knows all about what goes on there because he reads a bunch of Telematics reports and has lots of maps, and 24 years ago he even drove a package car for a few weeks before he got promoted into management. This of course makes him fully qualified to micromanage the center from a distance, and to make important decisions about idle time that will save the company lots of money.

Minor details such as drivers who need to use bathrooms or have heat during the winter mean nothing to this idiot. The only thing that matters is the metric.

Actually, I think profit is what matters.

The metrics are simply measures of elements involved in remaining profitable. I don't agree with everything we do, but if it weren't for these idiots keeping an eye on the elements that reduce cost and increase productivity we would not have remained profitable for so many years.

What would happen if there were no metrics?

Would everyone make decisions on their own that equate to profitability?

 

[soberups]

The metrics are simply measures of elements involved in remaining profitable. I don't agree with everything we do, but if it weren't for these idiots keeping an eye on the elements that reduce cost and increase productivity we would not have remained profitable for so many years.

Its one thing to be aware of and keep an eye on the metrics that reduce cost and increase productivity.

Its another thing to blindly and irrationally pursue an obviously flawed metric simply for its own sake.

In the UPS of today, it is perfectly acceptable to spend $10 to save a nickel....as long as the nickel shows up on your report and the $10 shows up on someone elses.

As our esteemed Pretzel Man once said...."when the metric itself becomes more important than the business element it was intended to measure, we have a problem."

 

[Catatonic]

"when the metric itself becomes more important than the business element it was intended to measure, we have a problem."

I think that would be a good addition to your signature.
And it is so, so true.

 

[soberups]

What would happen if there were no metrics? Would everyone make decisions on their own that equate to profitability?

YES.

I have far more faith in the integrity and the competence of front-line management than the brain trust in Atlanta does.

The metrics should be a guide, not a goal unto themselves.

The front-line management of this company is smart enough to know when a metric matters and when it doesnt. Its too bad Atlanta wont give them the same credit and just trust them to do the right thing. Most if not all of them would, if they were only given the chance.

 

[soberups]

I think that would be a good addition to your signature.
And it is so, so true.

I think it would be a better addition to P-Mans signature, since he is the one who came up with it.

 

[UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)]

I think it would be a better addition to P-Mans signature, since he is the one who came up with it.

You could add it to yours and then cite P-man as the source.

 

[The Blackadder]

We got a truck with telemetics on it, the wire to the seatbelt was not connected. UPS at its best.

 

[pretzel_man]

Its one thing to be aware of and keep an eye on the metrics that reduce cost and increase productivity.

Its another thing to blindly and irrationally pursue an obviously flawed metric simply for its own sake.

In the UPS of today, it is perfectly acceptable to spend $10 to save a nickel....as long as the nickel shows up on your report and the $10 shows up on someone elses.

As our esteemed Pretzel Man once said...."when the metric itself becomes more important than the business element it was intended to measure, we have a problem."

I stand by that statement..... I disagree with the "flawed metric" concept however.....

This may be long, but I will explain where my thoughts came from....

A long time ago, I was an I.E. assigned to a region. I was given that assignment because I was successful as both a manager in operations and I.E. in a couple of districts. I told the region manager that one of the reasons for the success was that I did a lot of training, auditing, and measuring using some of the new information that was becoming available.

I suggested that I go around the region and do the same for every division manager. If you think about it, I started creating metrics....

I noticed something in the training classes. Some of the division managers were hands on. They wanted to understand the reports. Understand the systems that created them, and what the metrics really meant. Others seemed less interested. One division manager said something to me that I will never forget.

As I was explaining how to read and understand a report, he said, "I don't need to know that. Just tell me if you want the number to get bigger or smaller".

He moved the numbers faster than the others. The others however moved the numbers in the long term and also improved many other numbers at the same time. Their operations got better in every measure.

So, my point is that while its true that "when the metric itself becomes more important than the business element it was intended to measure, we have a problem.". Yes, I beleive that.

The solution is NOT to disregard the metric. Its to train managemnt on what it means.

You say we have a flawed metric. I say we have a misunderstood metric that need to be put in context. I guess is that like anything else, all metrics are flawed.

My statement was meant to say that metrics need to be understood by management, not diregarded. Take for latest discussion on the metric of SPC. Its a good and important metric. The answer is to teach how to properly use it.

P-Man

 

[UnconTROLLed]

The problem is, many (or at least a fair portion) in management do not have the background to apply the metrics, and more importantly distinguish a realistic interpetation of the them. It's misapplication is where things go wrong and unfortunately I don't think *some* of management , even with the basic principles and understanding, have the background to apply it the right way.

And of course some flat-out don't care whether they're interpeting and utilizing the data properly to begin with...

Management are not mathemeticians. Their job is to manage PEOPLE not NUMBERS. When those two facets are mixed, bad things will happen.

 

[UnconTROLLed]

...can't say it enough...

 

[soberups]

I. ...........One division manager said something to me that I will never forget.........As I was explaining how to read and understand a report, he said, "I don't need to know that. Just tell me if you want the number to get bigger or smaller". ........He moved the numbers faster than the others. The others however moved the numbers in the long term and also improved many other numbers at the same time. Their operations got better in every measure.
P-Man

The one who moves the numbers faster is the one who gets promoted.

The ones who dont move the numbers fast enough get whacked.

Just sayin'..................

 

[soberups]

The solution is NOT to disregard the metric. Its to train managemnt on what it means.

You say we have a flawed metric. I say we have a misunderstood metric that need to be put in context. I guess is that like anything else, all metrics are flawed.

My statement was meant to say that metrics need to be understood by management, not diregarded. Take for latest discussion on the metric of SPC. Its a good and important metric. The answer is to teach how to properly use it.


P-Man

The first step to properly using a tool...is knowing when you need to use a different one.

If you want someone to properly use a hammer, they need to know that it was meant for nails and not screws.

In todays UPS, the center manager has nothing but a hammer, so he keeps swinging it and swinging it in order to force the screws into the wood and meet the SPC metric that is being demanded by Corporate.

The screws are going into the wood all right....but they are getting bent and the wood is getting splintered and chewed up and the whole thing is falling apart. And the center manager has no choice but to keep swinging that hammer.

The center manager isnt stupid. He knows he needs a screwdriver....but if he puts the hammer down he will just get fired and replaced by someone who will swing the hammer faster.

So the hammer keep swinging, and everybody scratches their heads and wonders why the screws are so messed up.

 

[pretzel_man]

The first step to properly using a tool...is knowing when you need to use a different one.

If you want someone to properly use a hammer, they need to know that it was meant for nails and not screws.

In todays UPS, the center manager has nothing but a hammer, so he keeps swinging it and swinging it in order to force the screws into the wood and meet the SPC metric that is being demanded by Corporate.

The screws are going into the wood all right....but they are getting bent and the wood is getting splintered and chewed up and the whole thing is falling apart. And the center manager has no choice but to keep swinging that hammer.

The center manager isnt stupid. He knows he needs a screwdriver....but if he puts the hammer down he will just get fired and replaced by someone who will swing the hammer faster.

So the hammer keep swinging, and everybody scratches their heads and wonders why the screws are so messed up.

I guess I just don't understand the methodology. There are lots and lots of tools in the toolbox. They all have a purpose.

Because the center management uses some of them improperly, you seem to imply that they all should be done away with.

By the way, SPC is not driven by corporate. The planned SPC is created in the district. The local management decide the dispatch.

Go ask your local division manager. Its an old metric and part of the planning process.

No tool is perfect. No metric is perfect. They all have their place. That is why there are many.

The one who moves the numbers faster is the one who gets promoted.

The ones who dont move the numbers fast enough get whacked.

Just sayin'..................

In the example I gave, that didn't happen.

 

[theoneone]

this is funny stuff. i was threatened with a write up and talked to numerous occasions because i was taking a minute or two longer to get to my stops. yes, a minute or two. they also questioned why i backed up to commercial docks. apparently, they would prefer it if i parked at their side door (which some dont even have) and use my handcart instead. they also questioned why i stopped at the gates of gated communities and apartment complexes that i didn't have codes for. maybe it was because i had to call the customers?

thanks telematics