Being forced to use crayons to write sequence numbers..

[rudy5150]

Managment really doesnt care about load quality. They only care about misloads. If they cared about load quality they would give adequate time to the pre-load shift for loaders to organize their trucks, not give some loaders 5 trucks to load, not harass loaders about stacking which makes certain loaders panic and place packages anywhere in truck just so they arent stacked outside. That makes me laugh because some supervisors think that if a loader doesnt have any packages stacked outside his or her truck makes them a GReat Loader. Consistanly drivers end up loading their own trucks because the preload isnt given enough time. So what makes more sense....paying 18 preloaders an average of $15 an hour for 30 minutes or paying 30 drivers $32 an hour for 30 minutes?

 

[jibbs]

If I'm being 100% honest, I justify getting as much time on the clock as I ethically can by doing a thorough job of loading trucks accurately and the way certain drivers have asked me in the past. When I'm one of the last people actually working on my belt, I'm also one of the only people available to send to help someone else finish up elsewhere in the building.

 

[InsideUPS]

Managment really doesnt care about load quality. They only care about misloads. If they cared about load quality they would give adequate time to the pre-load shift for loaders to organize their trucks, not give some loaders 5 trucks to load, not harass loaders about stacking which makes certain loaders panic and place packages anywhere in truck just so they arent stacked outside. That makes me laugh because some supervisors think that if a loader doesnt have any packages stacked outside his or her truck makes them a GReat Loader. Consistanly drivers end up loading their own trucks because the preload isnt given enough time. So what makes more sense....paying 18 preloaders an average of $15 an hour for 30 minutes or paying 30 drivers $32 an hour for 30 minutes?

Honestly Rudy5150.... I think it makes more sense to use "UPS Math" and pay 30 drivers $42/hour (OT) considering that no driver gets off in 8 hours anymore. That 30 minutes loading their package cars basically equates to 30 minutes more OT for the driver.

True Story - What about the center getting charged with "AM" time..you may ask? Well...if you were a supervisor in our center...you would "sneak" back in around 11:30 PM......get into the timecards (older PTE)..not GTS.. and make "edits" to all those excessive AM times. Sure...the driver gets paid the same but the center manager and supervisors don't have to deal with those nasty conference calls. Why is it that UPS Corporate does not want to know the truth... and that they force so many people to compromise their integrity?

UPS - The most "Penny Wise - Pound Foolish" Company in America. Fortunately UPS has "deep pockets" which allow it to autocorrect from it's blunders.

 

[ORLY!?!]

The crayons are usless, they are old and outdated. They dont write well, so seeing the numbers is obsolete. They break and fracture, making them a huge waste of money.

Today, they ran out of sharpies, they had pastel colors of easter, lame! I grabed the darkest one which was gray and it ran dry before break. In my opinion, the king sized sharpies are the best of the pens. It last 2-3 shifts and the high from the smell makes life better. They also cost as much as the regular pens.

I like writing with the sharpies, edge of the package, liped locked and facing out. I do it more for me then driver, because lame dispatch ends up spewing an addcut with 1-50+ packages. So having them numbered and ready for purge is only next best.

I really rather have a scanner with me, with a print out on my side. Scan, rip read and place on. It would be easy work to place labels on the side then write anything. But UPS sees it as a waste of money. Why let a single loader take 30 bucks in printouts then lets the loader write with a 1$ sharpie or 10 cent crayon. Its just logistics man, get used to it.

Overall, preload is dog eat dog world man. You mange, you adapt you become a living god and / or legend. You have to own the beast to become it.

 

[UnconTROLLed]

Laffter.....you've been here at BC for a little while now.. I really cannot believe that you were actually serious about some of the comments you made here... It's really interesting to get different opinions and insight on how people think here at BC. First, it really does pay to do some research and read what you are commenting about. Second, YOU can MAKE or BREAK a drivers day... by the quality of your load. Third, you will give your Union steward serious headaches in trying to defend your attitude. Fourth, attitude at work is a fairly good predictor on how well you will succeed in your personal life outside of work.

PLEASE...please tell me that you were simply throwing in some sarcasm in your post and that you really do care about your drivers...and the quality of your work. Possibly....this may be the reason why supervisors feel the way they do about us hourly.. "This seems like some kind of a huge joke, about how preloaders are all children in management's eyes"

As a preloader, boxline and belt to car buildings, I didn't care so much. You do the best job you can. If it worked and the loads are good, chances are high it was luck and not skill. Many times that doesn't happen, because it system isn't designed for success.

I would ask you to look at UPS's numbers for preloaders. Check their assignments, how many cars, bulk stops, add-cuts, other duties. After doing this, check out their "planned capacity". Usually it's 90-110% (and that is UPS i.e. math, not everyday reality math). It's no different than any other hourly function at UPS- too many packages, too many duties, not enough time.

 

[UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)]

My preloader showed me the newest tool our PDS came up with to help the preloaders. It was a diagram of an empty package with all load locations identified and the projected numbers of packages going to each load location. I have to admit that I liked it and could see where it could help the preloaders.

 

[HomeDelivery]

guess crayons are cheaper than black permanent markers... <shrugs> (HD division drivers sorts/loads our own package cars & uses markers instead of crayons)

that's pretty dumb since those small labels are more efficient & hope some of the local management can stand behind the preloaders to get rid of the crayons

 

[rudy5150]

I want to see a methods/safety video on how to use crayons as you grasp opposite corners of box and check for shifting contents with a crayola in your hand. Doesnt seem safe to me and doesnt make much sense but we arent allowed to make sense at UPS

 

[soberups]

I'm honestly just happy to have the packages on the right shelf at this point.

Hell, Im grateful if they can just get them in the right truck.

 

[laffter]

Laffter.....you've been here at BC for a little while now.. I really cannot believe that you were actually serious about some of the comments you made here... It's really interesting to get different opinions and insight on how people think here at BC. First, it really does pay to do some research and read what you are commenting about. Second, YOU can MAKE or BREAK a drivers day... by the quality of your load. Third, you will give your Union steward serious headaches in trying to defend your attitude. Fourth, attitude at work is a fairly good predictor on how well you will succeed in your personal life outside of work.

PLEASE...please tell me that you were simply throwing in some sarcasm in your post and that you really do care about your drivers...and the quality of your work. Possibly....this may be the reason why supervisors feel the way they do about us hourly.. "This seems like some kind of a huge joke, about how preloaders are all children in management's eyes"

The obvious sarcastic parts were indeed sarcastic. However, management does only care about misloads. They do not truly care about load quality. So, as a preloader, if you desire to get away with the bare minimum, load quickly, do not misload, and... don't defecate in the trucks? I don't know. Those first two are really the only things they care about.

The driver of my mall route thanks me every other day for my work. The driver of a route I load only on Mondays (most of the time) apparently has a crush on me (...joke) because of my load quality. The drivers who run the resi route I load Tues-Fri are always happy to get me.

There are some people in management who appreciate this work. They really do. One driver sup walked by and was in awe at how neat everything looked. However, his opinion doesn't matter - the preload manager's opinion matters. And he doesn't give a crap about load quality. He likes numbers. Productivity high, misloads low. That's all he cares about.

Anyway, I'm really drunk. I lost track of where I was going with this.

Let's just say, I don't necessarily care about my drivers. They aren't my friends. But, for a person to do any job long-term, they must get some kind of satisfaction from it. I get satisfaction from knowing that I did a good job. I know this based on feedback I've received from drivers ever since I was hired.

 

[konsole]

To me what seems to be the best option is to not even move the PAL labels on small packages that you can slide up against the rear of the shelf. This utilizes any space behind any lip loaded packages and is very useful on a very heavy truck. Then don't try to move the PAL label on every piece of a bulk stop thats getting 10+ packages. Then of course move the PAL labels on any other packages that are lip loaded, but train the SPA people to apply the PAL labels to the side of the package that will most likely be facing out when the package is loaded. SPA people just slap the label on without thinking and I know they don't have much time but slapping it on the end of the package would help. That would save having to peel and reapply every PAL label.

 

[serenity now]

To me what seems to be the best option is to not even move the PAL labels on small packages that you can slide up against the rear of the shelf. This utilizes any space behind any lip loaded packages and is very useful on a very heavy truck. Then don't try to move the PAL label on every piece of a bulk stop thats getting 10+ packages. Then of course move the PAL labels on any other packages that are lip loaded, but train the SPA people to apply the PAL labels to the side of the package that will most likely be facing out when the package is loaded. SPA people just slap the label on without thinking and I know they don't have much time but slapping it on the end of the package would help. That would save having to peel and reapply every PAL label.

Seriously! * they already have 3 main targets, (Address, Barcode, COD amount) * they don't take their responsibility lightly either, because they almost always hit one of these

 

[fightingthegoodfight]

You can fight this till your blue in the face and never win...i cant believe you are just seeing this now as i have been harrassed by the crayon for over 3 years nows i was VERY stubern and would swear by picking stickers i would fight sups and managment time and time again about time safty logic blah blah blah

But after giving in it actually has made me a BETTER loader by knowing the streets and stops bulking stops ect

Here are some tip:

1.Check package label address
2.confirm SPA label address
3. Place box on shelf
4.jot down 4 numbers
5. Always look at the package(s) next to where your placing your box to insure its the right truck

I always faceout the sticker if i can because the sticker will always be on the same side of the package label hense following the "up or out" method for your drivers. So you dont really need to write on EVERY one but it will take some time to get used to. i load 1100-1200 pieces a day on 3 trucks and use my crayon so it can be done. But again EVERY SINGLE package? No way just enough to help myself help my drivers and please snoopy SUPS

Now honestly im back to like 50/50 sticker/crayon but youll notice its just the flavor of the week theyll be pushing you guys hard on this crayon for a month then everyone will forget about it only to start it back up again in a few weeks

Work as directed play the game and just dont misload

 

[Dragon]

You can fight this till your blue in the face and never win...i cant believe you are just seeing this now as i have been harrassed by the crayon for over 3 years nows i was VERY stubern and would swear by picking stickers i would fight sups and managment time and time again about time safty logic blah blah blah

But after giving in it actually has made me a BETTER loader by knowing the streets and stops bulking stops ect

Here are some tip:

1.Check package label address
2.confirm SPA label address
3. Place box on shelf
4.jot down 4 numbers
5. Always look at the package(s) next to where your placing your box to insure its the right truck

I always faceout the sticker if i can because the sticker will always be on the same side of the package label hense following the "up or out" method for your drivers. So you dont really need to write on EVERY one but it will take some time to get used to. i load 1100-1200 pieces a day on 3 trucks and use my crayon so it can be done. But again EVERY SINGLE package? No way just enough to help myself help my drivers and please snoopy SUPS

Now honestly im back to like 50/50 sticker/crayon but youll notice its just the flavor of the week theyll be pushing you guys hard on this crayon for a month then everyone will forget about it only to start it back up again in a few weeks

Work as directed play the game and just dont misload

Best advice given so far...

 

[Gazelle]

My preloader showed me the newest tool our PDS came up with to help the preloaders. It was a diagram of an empty package with all load locations identified and the projected numbers of packages going to each load location. I have to admit that I liked it and could see where it could help the preloaders.

Dave this is the enhanced load diagram. I make sure everyone knows that they are just a tool, as the forecast and add-cuts can change them dramatically. It's apart of the new LQ initiative.

 

[brownmonster]

We use less pre-loaders now because the system saved time by making the job easier. Now we make the loader look at 2 labels and write on the package? Sounds like the time should be given back and more loaders hired. No wonder we leave after 9 everyday. Someday this company needs to admit to itself that some if this crap doesn't work.

 

[UnconTROLLed]

Best advice given so far...

Play the game, agree 100%.

 

[jibbs]

Here are some tip:

1.Check package label address
2.confirm SPA label address
3. Place box on shelf
4.jot down 4 numbers
5. Always look at the package(s) next to where your placing your box to insure its the right truck

So I tried this today for the hell of it. We haven't been directed to use a specific method over another, it's pretty much whatever works. So yeah, basically I just had to add numbers 2 and 4 to my routine, and my supervisor started getting heated, man. I'd grab a box, check the PAL, check the SPA, walk into the truck, place the package correctly, write sequence number on the side. I'd say it increased the time I handled every package by about 300%-400% and the split was being neglected as a result. I'm going to keep trying to get faster with this because it seems more fool-proof even if it takes a bit longer, but I'm not sure if PTers splitting a belt alone have the time to realistically load like this.

 

[Box_Junkie]

Our preload has always used crayons. We've never reapplied PAL labels. This is news to me.

 

[UnconTROLLed]

it seems more fool-proof even if it takes a bit longer, but I'm not sure if PTers splitting a belt alone have the time to realistically load like this.

Correct, they'll have to hire someone else to help split the belt. Sarcasm.