What are AD cuts for?

anonymouse

Member
About 40% of the days I've worked for UPS(2½ months) I get what they tell me is "AD cuts". If that's just the name they use at my center "AD cuts" are when they move boxes from one truck to another. The only reason I ask is because they never tell me what the reason is for doing it. It's not a secret or anything I'm just busy when I'm curious, then on my free time(after work) I always forget to ask.
 

over9five

Moderator
Staff member
MOSTLY, they do an "add/cut" because some corporate idiot a thousand miles away has decided that there are too many routes in that day in your center.

Some may say it's to even out the dispatch.
 

Brownslave688

You want a toe? I can get you a toe.
They are to make supervisors feel more powerful and pretty much just to annoy drivers and preloaders. If all drivers would make them give them their 8 hours there would be a whole lots less of them.



Ps I have one today 6 stops on 3 street in one subdivision lol someone probably has the other 5 streets!!!
 

curiousbrain

Well-Known Member
About 40% of the days I've worked for UPS(2½ months) I get what they tell me is "AD cuts". If that's just the name they use at my center "AD cuts" are when they move boxes from one truck to another. The only reason I ask is because they never tell me what the reason is for doing it. It's not a secret or anything I'm just busy when I'm curious, then on my free time(after work) I always forget to ask.

Depending on the size of the add/cut (or "level" as they are sometimes called), the reason may vary; for example, when the dispatch is being planned for the day by the preload manager, they move address ranges around from route to route, depending on the inbound volume on that specific day, and the number of routes being run. Typically, routes run close together - 1A is theoretically close to 1B, for example. So, if volume is really light, the dispatch plan will typically cut one of those routes, and mash what is left into one route. Because the dispatch operates (to my knowledge) on basic pattern matching (via consignee, address, etc), sometimes certain address ranges are put where they do not belong - "unplanned" add/cuts are meant to fix this, and get the packages in the right route/car.

Another practical scenario where add/cuts are used is when "overload" (basically, extra) routes are in, and they act as kind of a catch-all for certain routes that are slammed; for example, let's say that volume is really high, and route 1A has 600 pieces and 300 stops in it; in theory, some stops from this route will be diverted to an overload route (9A or whatever it might be called - it varies from center to center). If the preload shift starts, and a stop of say, 10 UOW comes down, but they are massive Pottery Barn boxes, it might be left out. A snap decision might be made to cut those into an overload.

Tangentially, it is worth considering a further scenario - why do the add/cut at all? That is to say, why not just take the boxes that won't fit into 1A and throw them into 9A, as long as the driver knows? My understanding is that if a stop has not been PAL'd out, it will not show up in the drivers EDD; which makes stop completing difficult (so they don't get credit for the stop)? That is the boundary of my own personal knowledge; what I do know is that drivers dislike taking packages that are not in their EDD.

A final note is that very large add/cuts are allegedly frowned upon, as they will have an impact on the PAS system (which coordinates the various functions that produce a PAL label) and degrade its performance considerably. The limit specified in the PAS documentation is 200+ pieces.
 

GolfCart

Well-Known Member
If they do a cut OFF me I ALWAYS pull the boxes , they never EVER pull all the " cut boxes " off . If they are hidden in the floor , they never look . Then you have boxes on your truck not in your ed .

The AD/Cut in our center are funny !!! ?? route is in the RED ( heavy ) , so they CUT 2 stops off to get ?? route in the gray ( distpatch range )
 

brownmonster

Man of Great Wisdom
Depending on the size of the add/cut (or "level" as they are sometimes called), the reason may vary; for example, when the dispatch is being planned for the day by the preload manager, they move address ranges around from route to route, depending on the inbound volume on that specific day, and the number of routes being run. Typically, routes run close together - 1A is theoretically close to 1B, for example. So, if volume is really light, the dispatch plan will typically cut one of those routes, and mash what is left into one route. Because the dispatch operates (to my knowledge) on basic pattern matching (via consignee, address, etc), sometimes certain address ranges are put where they do not belong - "unplanned" add/cuts are meant to fix this, and get the packages in the right route/car.

Another practical scenario where add/cuts are used is when "overload" (basically, extra) routes are in, and they act as kind of a catch-all for certain routes that are slammed; for example, let's say that volume is really high, and route 1A has 600 pieces and 300 stops in it; in theory, some stops from this route will be diverted to an overload route (9A or whatever it might be called - it varies from center to center). If the preload shift starts, and a stop of say, 10 UOW comes down, but they are massive Pottery Barn boxes, it might be left out. A snap decision might be made to cut those into an overload.

Tangentially, it is worth considering a further scenario - why do the add/cut at all? That is to say, why not just take the boxes that won't fit into 1A and throw them into 9A, as long as the driver knows? My understanding is that if a stop has not been PAL'd out, it will not show up in the drivers EDD; which makes stop completing difficult (so they don't get credit for the stop)? That is the boundary of my own personal knowledge; what I do know is that drivers dislike taking packages that are not in their EDD.

A final note is that very large add/cuts are allegedly frowned upon, as they will have an impact on the PAS system (which coordinates the various functions that produce a PAL label) and degrade its performance considerably. The limit specified in the PAS documentation is 200+ pieces.
 

dilligaf

IN VINO VERITAS
They are to make supervisors feel more powerful and pretty much just to annoy drivers and preloaders. If all drivers would make them give them their 8 hours there would be a whole lots less of them.



Ps I have one today 6 stops on 3 street in one subdivision lol someone probably has the other 5 streets!!!
​That, you can take to the bank!!
 

GolfCart

Well-Known Member
Drivers can still complete the stop and credit for it.

but who wants to go to a area , that they cut off you , then you find the box , NOT in edd . SO YES you get credit for box , but your day is shot , becasue you are driving on a area that not even on your route that day . I just want to do my job , and go home , becasue I hate my job .
 

Ghost in the Darkness

Well-Known Member
Actually add/cuts are for showing that the dispatch sups actually don't know the area very well. You get to drive by 1 or 2 (or more) of your fellow drivers during the day and wave (or not wave). It's done that way so that the "we love logistics" slogan can be a paradox and give us all a deeper meaning to think about. We can then explain to the customer that we in fact did not drive by 3 or 4 times before delivering their package(s).
 

UPSGUY72

Well-Known Member
Actually add/cuts are for showing that the dispatch sups actually don't know the area very well. You get to drive by 1 or 2 (or more) of your fellow drivers during the day and wave (or not wave). It's done that way so that the "we love logistics" slogan can be a paradox and give us all a deeper meaning to think about. We can then explain to the customer that we in fact did not drive by 3 or 4 times before delivering their package(s).


It better when your parked across the street from an other driver as they deliver to one house while your delivering to and another.
 

over9five

Moderator
Staff member
.... becasue I hate my job .

Might be a good signature line for you.
Oh wait....

It better when your parked across the street from an other driver as they deliver to one house while your delivering to and another.

Been there, done that!

I have to give our PDS credit. His add/cuts, while no less frustrating, do make sense as we rarely if ever have drivers overlapping.
Bubble of Goodness?
 

toonertoo

Most Awesome Dog
Staff member
Add cuts are when I need a haircut. Or some salon time. they add to my route so I can go get a cut. When they do that, look in the mirror. it may be that time again.
 

satellitedriver

Moderator
This morning,15 minutes before start time, they CUT an entire car and ADD'ed (sp) all the stops to three other cars.
Great, the DM's dispatch numbers were met.
I opened my trailer, looked at the load and did a quick scan of my DIAD.
Before even loading one pkg on my car, I sent a message to the center and told them I needed help with the in town business split/ADD to be able to finish by 10PM.
Message came back, "Leave the first 16 stops in your EDD in the trailer."
OK by me.
The center sent down a driver to run those stops, then the same driver had to take stops off the other two drivers so they could make the air pull.
Brilliant use of Logistics.
The brilliant plan brought me down to a 10.40hr day and had the other drivers scrabbling for an air meet point.
My main bitch is that the numbers are already known before the first package is sent to any center.
It should be called PULL/DUMP instead of ADD/CUT.
This is one of the reasons I will make $90k this year.
Efficiency, is costing our company a helluva lot of profit.
 
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