I’ve been working there for a little under a month now and they’ve got me on the worst line with some of the worst trucks in the building. Usually within an hour or so of me getting there I can barely maneuver through all of the massive irregular packages I have to put in there. Currently while my drivers are satisfied with my work both of my supervisors are threatening to fire me if I don’t load more packages an hour. I’m around 155 on average. I’d rather not having getting fired on my resume so if I don’t pick up the pace I’m just gonna quit before they get the chance.
Any advice for improving my preload. On topic please.
- Thread starter thelamb99
- Start date
Indecisi0n
Well-Known Member
tadpole
Well-Known Member
Just keep showing up on time and doing the best you can with a smile on your face, until you make seniority.
Once you attain seniority, my advice is file a harassment grievance. That will get the threats to stop.
Once you attain seniority, you’ll never get fired for going slow. Just follow all the methods. If it’s too bulky to load effectively then just ask them what they want you to do. Not your problem. Don’t stress out if you’re not finished in time. Not your problem.
Once you attain seniority, my advice is file a harassment grievance. That will get the threats to stop.
Once you attain seniority, you’ll never get fired for going slow. Just follow all the methods. If it’s too bulky to load effectively then just ask them what they want you to do. Not your problem. Don’t stress out if you’re not finished in time. Not your problem.
PT Car Washer
Well-Known Member
You could be loading 255 pieces an hour and they would still tell you it is not good enough. You will become more efficient with more experience.
Jkloc420
Do you need an air compressor or tire gauge
They need bodies more then they need speed
Poop Head
Judge me.
Don't give up.
UPS_carnage11
Active Member
In my center we had blue vest preloaders training new hires within a week of being hired. Isn't that lovely?
PT Car Washer
Well-Known Member
New guy. Make them wear a blue vest that says "Inside" for what? 30 days.
Jstpeachy
Well-Known Member
Oh. Never seen such things at my building lol thanks!
MECH-lift
Union Brother ✊🧔 RPCD
Wow UPS , I can’t believe no one wants to stick around
MECH-lift
Union Brother ✊🧔 RPCD
Ask your supervisors how long they loaded trucks for , also ask for a demonstration while you watch them ....
Overpaid Union Thug
Well-Known Member
One thing that I always tell new (and sometimes seasoned) preloaders is try and put the boxes that are taking up allot of space on shelves on the floor. And when the truck's shelves start getting full later in the shift apply that same process to what's already on the shelves. There's no need to struggle with placing smaller/medium sized packages on a shelf that's full of larger boxes when you can jus drop the latter on the floor. Drivers hate it when we come in and see the shelves stuffed like a pig but plenty of real-estate on the floor. Avoiding that helps the preloader just as much as the driver.
Hot Carl
Well-Known Member
The two most important things for me to learn were 1) Work primarily belt-to-car and 2) work in the direction of the belt.
Always start at the front of your work area and work your way to the end. That will minimize your steps and let the belt do most of the carrying. You do not want to be caught at the end of your work area sorting through boxes all morning or you'll never get caught up.
Stack is whack. It makes a mess of your work area and increases your chances of having misloads. Scan them, put them away, get back out for the next one. Now there are times where there's too much coming at once and you have to stack it so you don't miss anything, but just remember that they won't load themselves. Also carry as many packages as you can into the truck at once as you safely can. If something is too big, stick it under the belt and save it for the end. If you need help lifting something, it's better to ask than to risk hurting yourself. Walk at a brisk pace, never run.
Shipping labels should face to the front, upwards, or outwards. Keep all bulk together as best you can.
Finally, don't let supervisors intimidate you. I know at least in my building a couple of them are only supervisors because they couldn't load worth a damn themselves. Bust your ass for your 30 days, work through your break if you have to, show them you care and don't mouth off. Once you gain seniority, never skip your break, work at a safe pace, and if your supervisors are full of
, be sure to let them know.
Always start at the front of your work area and work your way to the end. That will minimize your steps and let the belt do most of the carrying. You do not want to be caught at the end of your work area sorting through boxes all morning or you'll never get caught up.
Stack is whack. It makes a mess of your work area and increases your chances of having misloads. Scan them, put them away, get back out for the next one. Now there are times where there's too much coming at once and you have to stack it so you don't miss anything, but just remember that they won't load themselves. Also carry as many packages as you can into the truck at once as you safely can. If something is too big, stick it under the belt and save it for the end. If you need help lifting something, it's better to ask than to risk hurting yourself. Walk at a brisk pace, never run.
Shipping labels should face to the front, upwards, or outwards. Keep all bulk together as best you can.
Finally, don't let supervisors intimidate you. I know at least in my building a couple of them are only supervisors because they couldn't load worth a damn themselves. Bust your ass for your 30 days, work through your break if you have to, show them you care and don't mouth off. Once you gain seniority, never skip your break, work at a safe pace, and if your supervisors are full of
, be sure to let them know.
eats packages
Deranged lunatic
Most every failed preload assignment I see is because the top shelf is underutilized. The floor is hot real estate.
The penalty however is that I cannot perfectly adhere to the dumb-dumb dispatch system when moving households from the top shelf and replacing them with apartments/distributors/automotive/etc.
Whatever lands on the floor is generally entirely because the stop is hard to handle, lots of 55 pound boxes fit nicely on the top shelf but these goddam midget boxes weighing 30 lbs each are going to get the boot to the floor.
I mean, there are days where the floor feels a little empty, but this issue is a far better issue than when you blow out the floor and there is a huge amount of space remaining up top.
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eats packages
Deranged lunatic
Just develop good handwriting, take a peek at the physical address labels and line your stops up for now because it will accelerate your understanding of what you are handling a lot faster.
As a general rule of thumb, if it does not fit nicely into the shelf or floor like any other box, stack it out against the back of the package car. No need to trip over things or smash your face into things sticking out of the shelves.
Play a game with whatever you stacked out at the end of the day. The ones that look residential in nature need to get out of sight aka stuff them into the shelves diagonally or bury them under the shelves or off to the side and out of the way. The ones that look like businesses can then block the middle floor.
As a general rule of thumb, if it does not fit nicely into the shelf or floor like any other box, stack it out against the back of the package car. No need to trip over things or smash your face into things sticking out of the shelves.
Play a game with whatever you stacked out at the end of the day. The ones that look residential in nature need to get out of sight aka stuff them into the shelves diagonally or bury them under the shelves or off to the side and out of the way. The ones that look like businesses can then block the middle floor.
Overpaid Union Thug
Well-Known Member
When I come in the truck in the morning and see the preloader struggling the first thing I do is tell them to watch as I instantly create lots of extra room by simply choosing the biggest boxes on the shelves and dropping them into spaces on the floor. It’s not rocket science. The look on their faces is always priceless.
eats packages
Deranged lunatic
This is the "good problem". A preloader struggling to load stuff on the top shelf, making it a challenge is going to improve very quickly. But the preloaders (AND DISPATCHERS!!!) that immediately look to the floor to solve all of their problems are going to have issues come peak season.
I have had the fine opportunity of working with some old as dirt drivers. Watching him spend upwards of 10-20 seconds just toying with a slice, manipulating it in any way possible before letting out a sad sign and dropping something to the floor.
I mean if you have floor space, go for it, but UPS day by day is becoming a freight company and that means saving the floor like some kind of stand separating life and death.
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Overpaid Union Thug
Well-Known Member
That’s exactly why I say start dropping them towards the end. Problem solved.
eats packages
Deranged lunatic
We can call a truce on this because there are already plenty of good resources for finding a loading method that works
I would suggest looking at old posts by @jumpman23 and @Big Arrow Down...D since they both have made really good posts in the past relating to organized preload methods.
TL;DR the HIN system is kinda screwed up and you will never find a good compromise between sequence order and shelf density.
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