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In the sticky Southern heat, hundreds of workers streamed in for the 11 a.m. shift last month at United Parcel Service Inc.’s local package-sorting facility, one of dozens nationwide that help it move millions of parcels daily.

In a windowless room, a 30-year-old analog control panel about the size of a chest freezer monitors operations, with rows of green and red lights indicating when something goes awry in the building’s web of conveyor belts.

“Thirty years ago, this was top-notch,” UPS plant engineering manager Dean Britt said of the control panel. Today, the panel’s computing capabilities “can probably fit on your phone,” he said, “and not even a good phone.”

The site, and other similar UPS facilities, haven’t automated much over decades — despite a rush of new warehouse technology in many industries. Today, the company is paying a price.

In a business where shaving off a mile per day per driver can result in savings of up to $50 million per year, UPS has plenty of incentive to incorporate technology to drive efficiencies in every area of its operations.

According to UPS’ Chief Technology Officer Juan Perez, “Our business drives technology at UPS.” Here are just a few of the ways UPS uses big data and artificial intelligence (AI) to prepare for the 4^th Industrial Revolution.

Some employers support creating a federal loan program to help struggling multiemployer pension funds, witnesses told the bipartisan House and Senate Joint Select Committee on the Solvency of Multiemployer Pension Plans on Wednesday.

Chris Langan, vice president of finance for United Parcel Service Inc., told the panel that UPS officials “believe that long term, low-interest-rate loans are a viable option,” adding, “there are ways to protect taxpayers as well.”