Time study elements

[dannyboy]

Well now. LEmme see. Every thing that I do has a time allowance built into it. And this time allowance shouldnt change, as it still takes the same ammount of time now to walk the 65 steps up to the porch, climb the 6 stairs, knock on the door, climb back down and take the 65 steps back to the car as it did 5 years ago. Right?

Well then explain to me why on my run, for the last 10 years since my last time study, an 8 hour day would be from 62-75 stops with the package volume that I carry and the miles that I run. As of the middle of last year, it takes close to 100 stops now with the same area just to plan. So who changed what and why? And while management is not that much focused on over under, they are very focused on under 8 hour planned days. Of course that is a thing of the past!

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[toonertoo]

I heard it was 5.8 seconds per scanned package. Then why did my stop count go from 65 to 90 with 250 pkgs scanned average per day> I can understand the 20-30 min loss based on these pkgs, but more changed than we know to make me 2.00 late, and under 8 and over 9.5 with what would have been in the "good ole days" a ten hr plan, which is what it still takes me to do it EVERY DAY!!! We are used to no allowance for bad weather, of course here in North Ohio we never have any so its a mute point anyway. Its all a mute point, no one has any answers but the morale has never been as low as it is, of course I am only stating what I see, and I could be wrong.

 

[ups_vette]

I certainly understand everyone's confusion and frustration with work measurement. I also know this leads to not having confidence in the work measurement. It would take more than a brief explanation on a message board for everyone to know and understand exactly how it works. For those of you who are truly interested, I recommend asking your Divisional IE, or District IE Guru to take the time and give a full explanation of how it's developed and applied on a daily basis. In the meantime, I'll do my best to give a brief explanation.

First of all, all Centers are divided into specific geographic areas called Loops. A trace completed in the Loop to determine the best way to deliver that Loop, starting at the baseline, going to the Apex (top), crossing the center line, and returning back to the baseline.

Within the Loop, and following the trace,stops are seperated into Defined Areas, usually consisting of between 50 and 100 stops.

Once the Defined Areas have been established, the Areas are time studied to determine the average time it should take an average driver to deliver and pickup the stops within. There could be 3 types of stops in a Defined Area, signature required, driver release, and pickup. An allowance is developed for each type of stop within the Defined Area.

The time study is analyzed by adding all the determined times for SELECT, WALKS, RING BELL/WAIT, CONTACT, and LOAD/PREPARE by Defined Area, and dividing the total time by the number of stops, by type, to get the average time per stop. This is the stop allowance for that Defined Area for signature required, driver release, and pickup stop. For example if the total allowed time for signature required stops was 120 minutes and there were 75 signature required stops studied, the average time per stop would be 1.6 minutes per stop or .02667. If the following day there were 80 signature required stops, the allowed time for those 80 stops would be 2.13 hours. The planned allowed time in this example is ONLY for the signature required stops. Driver Release and pickup stop allowances are developed the same way.

In addition to the planned time for stops, planned time for the number of packages (pickup and delivery), call tags, and COD.

The planned time for travel is seperated by travel to and from the area and on area travel.
The allowed time and miles for to/from travel is which ever area the driver delivers or picks up in that is closest to the Center. All remaining miles the driver goes would be on area miles.

The on area miles planned time is more complicated. This is calulated with the use of a chart. After all planned times, excluding travel, are determined, the chart is used to determine the on road planned time. The more non travel planned time the driver has, the higher the allowed time for the on area miles driven. Conversely, the less non travel panned time the less on road planned time.

All the planned times for the delivery and pickup portion of a driver's day is added to the planned time for Inside AM and PM to obtain the driver's total planned time for the day.

It is possible for a driver to have the same number of stops from one day to the next and the planned time would change.
This could be caused by although the total number of stops are the same, one day the driver release stops are much higher or lower, the CODs are higher or lower, or a numer of other differences. Remember, the allowed time for on area travel varies as the amount of non travel work varies.

I know there are some of you on this board who will never agree with work measurement, and in most cases I understand why. Too many management people have used work measurment as a club to beat and intimendate.instead of what it's designed for.

I really hope I have answered a few of your questions, but you should stll seek answers from the "experts" in your District.

 

[reydluap]

ups_vette, That was a pretty good explanation. I agree that management abuses this equation though.

In my particular case. My first delivery stop in my area (in the farthest city away from the center) is 67 miles (1 1/2 hour drive one way). My management team gives me a bulk stop on the opposite side of my local city to give me a "planned travel" mileage of 6 miles. I'm in the hole for time allowance before I even leave town. We don't have 'loop dispatch' here in my center, it's stuff it in on somebody and forget it.

 

[dammor]

vette,

Are you working for the IRS?

 

[toonertoo]

Vette, I appreciate your input. I always found time study interesting til I worked at UPS. It was a fair gauge, it isnt now. I used to know where I lost time, when I gained it, and could pretty much tell what type of day would show up on the reports. Now its a roll of the dice. I am assuming you are retired, so you dont know how they changed it, so you cant tell us that. And getting our IE GURU to explain anything in my case would be impossible as we dont have one, I dont think Ive seen one in years.

 

[oakland]

I have learned alot about time studies in the last 2 years. It really opened my eyes to alot of things about how this company is run. I realize to manage a large package delivery company you need standards to run operations effectively. The company uses a national average for all the time study categories. People think that if someone rides with you on your route and measures you all day that is how your time study will come out. That is not what happens. It is called a "Time Study". They study how you work and compare how you do against a national average. Your gains or losses are decided at a round table meeting with many outside factors involved. I know that before this recent wave of time studies started, I.E. was told what kind of production they need to get out of the package centers. You don't spend the kind of money they are spending on PAS and relooping to come out with flat or less than improved results. We have had many routes done here and some routes gained enormous amounts of time. We have a little sit down and go over "The Study", and our numbers for the past week. They compare stops per hour for the week and during the time study and basically tell everyone they need to do more. My reply was "ok daddy I'll bend over now". I think the days of the 20, 25 or 30 year UPS driver careers are over. I think the results from the time studies were less favorable than anticipated and more cars should be on road running routes, but they would rather have less cars on the books and have one or two per center driving around shuttling misloads, bulk stops and left in buildings all day. Don't need time studies for those cars because they don't exist!

 

[proups]

UPS did manual time studies when UPS Vette was in management. Doing them on every route, throwing out the top and bottom 25%, and going with the average was necessary to take into account every situation.

Now we have DIAD boards that calculate miles, stops, # packages delivered, etc....

We also have the same averages from that middle 50 that UPS time studies provided us years ago.

Computers calculate what your planned day should be based on the input into the DIAD board, not management.

They still build houses and businesses the way they did when UPS Vette was walking around behind drivers every step of the day. Well, maybe some driveways are shorter now considering the density of neighborhoods.

Considering this, how could your time study be screwed up?

 

[speeddemon]

Time studies will never be fair and honest. Dont sweat it. Just make sure that you go by the methods, be honest, and the hours on your check are right.

 

[wolverine]

some things in this company never change, remember you will never be accused of doing a good job, you can never do enough work, and don't even think of calling in sick. even if there our no production standards, u will never do everything right. safety first!!!

 

[omegaman]

ups vette, unfortunately you cant appreciate how much things have changed at UPS if you have been retired for a while. The bottom line is that there is very little respect for current allowances by hourly and management alike. The current pace that is required by such allowances is causing dispatching problems, hurting many good employees, and destroying moral. This cant be good for UPS. You state that each element includes all the time a driver spends in each but it really doesnt. I fully understand allowances are based on averages but we all can think of many daily occurrences that are not part of such allowances. Its shameful to run a corporation as UPS does.

http://www.homestead.com/PUPSInc/files/osha_s_high_rate_for_ups.xls

 

[sp3662]

In our center they cut our allowance 11/01/2004.They said the allowance was never adjusted 12 yrs ago when we went to the diad, now everyone runs 1Hr or more over every day. Has anyone had this happen?

 

[stayingout]

We lost avg of an hour last November also, with lots of graphs by the division manager showing how they weren't really taking anything since they had actually been over paying us for the last decade. This on top of the avg 35 mins we lost over the summer when we were the only building physically time studied in our district.

The loss on my wages added up to 10k over a year if I continued to work at my old pace and did the same number of stops (I have been a bomus baby for the first 20 years of my career with UPS). Guess what? I'm no longer a bonus driver and now do the job by the book and am normally 140 over. Wonder if this is what they were hoping for when they decided to lower bonus drivers pay? Guess that's what happens when you have an IE person as CEO.

I did have a question about standards though, I have had time studies about every 3 years throughout my career with UPS, and never once did our building gain time even with the addition of NDA's, over 70's, OCA's, Pottery Barn OS's.. Is every new IE sup so much better the the last that they can always find additional time savings when studying the same route?

 

[jason]

I follow the methods the best I can. I could care less about being an hour late or what my sporh is. (It's never good enough anyway.) I just go a nice safe pace all day. UPS don't intimidate me and they have tried. I go to work do my job and go home. Wipe UPS out of my mind until the next day. 7 year driver.

 

[sendagain6160]

Anybody else out there have to call in before 4:30 each day and let the supt know if you are gonna have a 8 hour day or if you are gonna run over 9.5.Just wondered if it is everywhere or just here in the mid south.....??????

 

[ssdriver]

if they don't have an 8 hour day on you before you leave in the morning...Thats a dispatch problem, not yours. For myself, I'll only call in if I have too much work and I need help to deliver their pkgs. Do your best and do it safely!!!

 

[feederrat1]

We gotta send a message by 4 every day. Stops off/Stops left/Paid send agains and ETA. If you say anything earlier then 645 the ONS keeps hounding you about helping someone or bringing in the loops airs. Or a "nearby" loops' airs. Gotta "exaggerate" or you're out till 8.

 

[toonertoo]

Every day we have to call or text our ETA and if its before 645, we are considered underdispatched and go help someone or make a pick up or drop boxes.
I was 1/2 hr late one day and my manager asked why I wasnt in at my given ETA. I said I thought eta meant estimated time of arrival not exact. He said no it means exact. Thats a fun one to try and do. Not to mention impossible

 

[teddyr]

You guys are lucky, we have to call by 2:00, and can't have more than 3 send agains. As long as you work at a decent pace, use proper work methods and obey all traffic laws there is not a damn thing they can do about it. Never compromise safety to meet a fictitious time study.

 

[8up]

time studies have not kept pace with the changes in some areas. on a route that has seen major changes in the way once single family residences were the norm to now where there are multi-family dwellings. the walk to the front door is shorter, but the walk to the ft. door which use to be in the back yard of the former property is 6 times the measured distance. it only takes a couple of those deliveries to wipe out any gain you get from the curb to the closest front door. not to mention when we could carry 4 packages in your arms, now it a challenge to get 4 of these computer deliveries on your two-wheeler for one trip, to that furtherest front door. allowances go down, distances and loads increase, driver's ages and over allowed increases. who would expect anything else, except some young pencil pusher who never did the job to standards in the first place.