Pas system

It seems strange that from what is written on this board by employees, that all union or hourly people are the salt of the earth types. All of the management is low life dishonest no goods. I don't know ,but I have heard that most all management is promoted from the union or houly ranks. Do the salt of the earth hourly people who get promoted become low lifes, or...

Playin
There are alot of management here in NY that were drivers but the majority of them were not. There are 4 managers in this district that were driver for only 30 days.Now, you could say they were drivers, but lets be real. The high honchos here in NY went to college, got the degrees, and knew someone important.I am not saying its like this all over, but here in this state, its who you know.

Playinthru, you are making one very large and wrong assumption. Someone who goes into management at UPS was not promoted. UPS asks just about everyone to do so with very few takers. Many in UPS management were some of the worst hourly workers to ever step through the door and are in these positions simply by default because most others have refused. It is a very undesirable position to take because of the abusive way the company treats its people. Most stay hourly so they have some protection from the abuse. UPS' corporate culture borders on sadism. Under staff and overwork every part of the operation and harass and intimidate your people, both management and hourly, into getting an impossible job done. The problem at UPS starts at the very top. It is a conscience effort made by those who run this company to not just be very profitable, but excessively profitable no matter whom it hurts.

Local you’re right, it’s not like that all over. With the exception of functions in HR, or technical positions, accounting, or sales/marketing I’m not sure I know a single person that wasn’t hourly before going into management. Nobody in operations anyway. That’s over a 38 year period and I still can’t think of a single one.

And for Dr Colossus – we all know you. And why you are the way you are, too. I think you may be confusing things in your mind again. Like the fact that they do not “ask” everyone to go into management. They inform everyone that the possibility exists that they could be promoted into management, and even tell them what the procedure is for consideration.

There’s a reason they do it that way, but I’m sure you don’t know that either.

DrColossus wrote: "Many in UPS management were some of the worst hourly workers to ever step through the door and are in these positions simply by default because most others have refused".

This is a very strong statement to make. Of course there are bad management people at UPS. But, there are also bad drivers, loaders, clerks, techs, etc. Every position at UPS that has multiple people in that position is going to have a variety of workers and workers attitudes, good and bad. There are many good, hard working UPSers in every position in the company. In defense of the management, there are many good managers and supervisors out there. They are working hard and doing their very best for the drivers, clerks, techs, etc. that work for them.

Let's take a positive look at things sometimes, instead of always looking at and for the negative.

DrColossus-You may be right, I make certain assumptions. How many management people are at UPS? What is very few? They ask everyone to go into mgmt? So some of the worst people at UPS were hourly? I find it difficult to believe that it is an impossible job, yet it gets done everyday, and the company is one of the most admired and successful in history. I don't know you or your story, so I can't and won't critize your statements or you. But, I will discuss the logic of your statements. An angry rebuttle from you I do not desire, but discussion is appreciated...Thanks PlayInThru...

was wondering how the pas system was working this Christmas?

The one piece of advice I will give everyone involved with PAS is...You can't hurry PAS.

PAS has a very hard limit on the number of packages it can process per hour. If you don't control the flow properly you die like a rat. Most PAS installations (at least from what I have heard) do not have much slop built into them. Therefore, if you get behind or don't keep your process rate within a very narrow window, you swamp Data Capture or run into the drivers.

The 'old guard' preload management folks seem to have the hardest time coming to grips with this. They are used to being able to double up on trailers in the input to 'catch up' if their process rate lags.

It sounds bad, but it seems like the less someone knows about 'old school' preloads, the more successful they are with PAS preloads.

I've been a driver for 9 years. It has been peaks and valleys the entire time. I've heard many a bad thing about PAS. I'm doing 150 stops a day now which equates to about a nine hour day. What I'm picturing is my stop count going to 200 and my plan time dropping to eight hours. I'm working like a monkey slave as it is now and I'm not willing to have to work harder for less money. We are scheduled for PAS by spring of 2005. I hope to have bidded out of driving and into an Article 22 hub position by then. Im tired of alot of things with the job. I'm willing to take the paycut. Management should kiss the ground I walk on for how hard I work-instead they spin it around and make it seem like I owe them something. GIVE ME A BREAK!!! I have other ambitions anyway, working in the hub at night will let me fulfill them.

Jeff,
You are correct about the flow rates for PAS. It has a set in stone max process rate and that's it. The unload process must be literally singulated with labels up or the whole process slows down and thus the total sort span lenghtens because of the backup you spoke of.

However there is light at the end of the tunnel so to speak. A lot of work is going into the whole process of data capture and making the package locally smart so to speak. Some other things to remember is this is an evolving technology and we have just begun the journey. Also a number of drivers have complained about various problems and some of that (not all however) stem in some cases from a poor job of setting up the initial loops and other details of the system. All PAS does at the end of the day is automate the mental aspect of the sortation process through simplification and have the driver's day setup on the frontend to it's most efficent means. No more remembering mass amounts of streets, etc. but now only a small amount of data must be retained to do the job for the preloader and I know this isn't the case but the intent was for the driver to step on the car and the only time he/she had to touch a package was when it came time to deliver that one. I've seen multiple cars parked in parking lots on my way to work literally unloading and reloading their cars so the system either needs some more work or we have drivers who correctly or incorrectly believe they know the best loop possible. Again, we've only begun using this whole process and it's an evolving one.

One last thing to keep in the radar sights. RFID! Walmart drove the move of business to barcode and now they are the driving force towards RFID. Once Walmart had the bugs worked out with barcode they demanded all their vendors convert to this new format at the time and if they overcome some of the current problems with RFID they will do the same again and you can bet UPS will follow suit. In fact they may be deeper than you might think already. If RFID works out it will take everything to a whole other level not even dreamed possible before. Pickup packages that instead of scanning talk directly to the diad and populate the board when the driver gets so close. Also if a customer has no pickups RF messages an automated message to the driver when he/she gets so close that there are no pickups and the driver continues onward. Driver walks in for delivery and the package info automaticlly uploads to the customer computer database an instant verification is confirmed before the driver even walks through the business door. And yes RFID could at some point be introduced into not only the preload process but all sortation processes. Think about ditching those hand scanners during the loading process and each load has a transponder for uplinking the package PLD as it enters the trailer. Missorts? Mistoggles? Origin Scan errors? Gone! There are many, many more applications possible so just keep that in the back of your minds going forward. Watch this technology. JMO.

RIGHT ON Dr Colossus! It always gives me hope when I see one less robotic mentality working for my company.

Colossus wrote: "I'm doing my part to fix this horribly broken company. If many of you cowards in management did the same, that is stand up for what is right, just and honest we could transform UPS into a company that we could be proud of instead of one many of us have repugnance for."

The problem here is that many managers KNOW things suck but they would get canned should they suggest change is needed. Thank GOODNESS I never put myself in a position where my opinion was muted by fear... or anything else.

It is certainly easy to tell who the company lackeys are.

lackey-(also lacquey)
n. (pl. -eys)
derog.
a) a servile political follower.
b) an obsequious parasitical person.
a) a (usu. liveried) footman or manservant

A.

I would respond to such an asinine comment but my boss has not given his permission yet.

We are going to start pas this spring and I have been a clerk for 28 years and was wondering how it affects the clerk operation? Thanks

ups Clerk...

from what I can tell...it's going to make your job easier.

Please don't quote me if I'm wrong.

roboto

My center is going to PAS this year and I've got a couple of questions regarding how info is loaded into the DIAD. Are air pkgs for a stop you also have ground for separated in the diad? I have a country club where there are 3 different delivery points but all pkgs are addressed to the club with maybe somebodies name on it. How does PAS separate the stops? How hard is it if you don't run it exactly the way the DOL is setup? And last, has PAS helped with more accurate stop counts?
Thanks in advance.

Mr Roboto, Sounds good! the more advanced the technology goes the easier the clerk job goes for the most part.

I heard there will be people who have to scan problem packages that when scanned do not give a label and then have to be special handled. Are these Clerk jobs or they a preferred preload job? Where I work we have 3 full time clerks in the am sort and then we do other clerical work after the sort. Thanks

Wily,

With EDD (enhanced diad delivery) air packages can be viewed by themselves in sequence order or depending on your individual loading plan, in the load up to a certain point. For instance, air can be loaded into your load up to a certain point in your route where you arrive prior to your air commit time consistently each day. The rest of your air will be in one designated area. Your dispatch supervisor (each center will have one) will set a plan to determine this.

Right now PAS cannot really breakout same address stops. So all the Country Club packages would be loaded in one location.

Ideally you want to run your route in the confirmed DOL order. However, the real world suggests that isn't always the case and there are exceptions. Say you finish your NDA deliveries in a residential area where you only have a few more ground stops. You might want to finish them while you're in there so you don't have to come back. The EDD system allows you to mark where you have left off on your deliveries so you can come back to the same place without having to scroll all over looking for where you left off. Also, bulk stops should be done early and aren't always in DOL order.

Stop counts are accurate. There are a couple of issues though. PAS is not able to count vertical or multiple stops at one address yet. In the future there will probably be an upgrade to help with this. Until that time the dispatch sup is suppose to build those extra stops into your dispatch. Say you have a high-rise building that gets 20 stops a day, or a mall with only one address. PAS will only count these scenarios as one stop. The Plan can be altered to say that you, on the average have 20 stops there and that will keep your count accurate.

Hope this helps as I was formerly on the PAS team in our area.

5star-thanks for the info. Acouple of more questions if you don't mind, I like to know about things as far in advance as I can. Since we are supposed to deliver all nda's before any other pkgs why wouldn't all the airs be seperated? If all the pkgs for the country club are lumped together in the diad how do you resheet them to go to their particular delivery points? I appreciate the answers you're giving me so that I can be prepared when the time comes.

Wily,

Next day air packages are separated and in most cases will all be together on shelf one in sequence order. NDA packages can be put into the first part of your A.M. deliveries with your ground so you can do them together if so desired.

With EDD all packages will be recorded into your diad before leaving the building. With the Country Club you will just scan the packages that you want to deliver to each location. I really haven't had a lot of hands on experience with EDD so you may have to ask your center team more about it as they and yourself will be trained prior to implementation.

Several months before your building goes on PAS the PAS team will be there and can probably give you a better idea by showing you some of these things.

Good luck.

Tie,

Let's assume for arguments sake that your boss gives you permission to respond to antimatter.

What pray tell will you have to say? Will you give us more drivel about proper attitude or will you finally engage in some intelligent rhetoric supporting your viewpoint.

There is, as we have discussed ad nauseam on this board, an attitude problem in UPS. That attitude pervades every orifice of every area that encompasses the parcel service.

It's the attitude that Ups has towards its employees. You do what you are told or else! If you disagree with something or someone you are a troublemaker with a bad attitude. "Nobody likes a troublemaker"- so instead of trying to resolve the issues at hand we just label someone a problem and walk away.

Case in point, Tieguy's post #942 "I can't see myself trying to fix too many of colossus' problems when he has such a terrific attitude" So what happens? The problem festers. We don't meet it head on because that is hard to do. It is difficult to support one of your people whom you know have valid points and march into a division managers office and voice your concerns with the status quo.

It is far easier to go with the program, prove that you have the "right attitude" and point your finger at the other guy who has an issue because he/she will not quietly accept "it is what it is".

Where does almost 100 years of "it is what it is" take us? Right here. On the line earning huge profits, admiration, awards, etc. Using all of those accolades and money to convince ourselves that we are strong enough to go on this way forever.

But those of us inside..we know, the frustration, the disrespect- the pain that comes from stepping in and out of a package car for 30 years. We aren't ungrateful or trying to get over because someone sold us a bill of goods. We knew what the job entailed. We just want a fair chance to be heard and a fair shake when problems arise.

Tie-labeling people as "attitude problems" just because they bring up concerns has injured this company far beyond any of those whose "attitude" was out of line BECAUSE they brought up a concern.

Heres the part I don't understand. You have all the answers that will fix all our problems yet UPS will not allow you the priveledge of actually leading people.

Several discussions past, on the subject of the ERI, Tie and I were debating the merits of the Employee Relation Index. I don't remember the specific question- but it centered on what results I had received in the ERI. I replied that I did not have any direct reports at the time because I was working out of a virtual office.

Tieguy, on a few occasions now, has used this information to inaccurately paint a picture that because in my current assignment I have no direct reports that I am not entrusted to lead people.

There are many different assignments at Ups. Some of them, center manager or feeder manager certainly entail the responsibility of directly supervising people on a daily basis. Other work assignments- like Business Development, individuals have no direct reports but are responsible for millions of dollars of revenue and are entrusted to be a direct representative to many large companies and their senior management teams.

There are many, many other assignments in consulting; financials, logistics and even security that Ups'ers work at every day that have no direct reports. In fact, many of the jobs I have just described demand so much travel that the only way for one to operate is out of a suitcase and off of a laptop.

This does NOT mean that the individual has lost the privilege of supervising people but rather his or her talents are such that they are specifically suited to controlling large chunks of revenue without the need of direct supervision.

In fact, I know of no one in my peer group that did not at some time or another in their career, have an assignment where they managed a group of people. It was in many cases an area manager’s position leading a sales division. But I have some colleagues that were in security and logistics too. All of the folks I work with have been promoted past the point of managing people resources and moved onto managing customer and company resources like, revenue, logistics, financials etc.

It is always important at any organization to broaden your educational and career goals to include as many different aspects of our business as one is qualified to participate in.

It is also bad business to assume that because someone is not in a position that is defined by specific parameters, such as having direct reports, that they have NEVER had direct reports.

That would be as bad as assuming that one who now has direct reports in an area like feeder, and has been there longer than a couple of years, has done such a poor job leading those people, that they are yet to be promoted to more responsibility and greater challenges.


Remember Tie- "There is no idea, no fact, which could not be vulgarized and presented in a ludicrous light"

-Dostoyevsky

Gee, I hope you feel better now. Have a nice day.

Tieguy,
just a nitpick, but noone at UPS "leads people", they supervise or manage people, which is a little different.

I don't intend to nitpick either but noone is not a word at UPS. Perhaps you meant no one. OK, I did mean to nitpick. Happy New Year everyone.