Commit times

DOWNTRODDEN IN TEXAS

Well-Known Member
Can anyone help shed some light on commit times? Yesterday, my FO coordinator (low seniority PT courier), asked me to take 2 stops off another extended FO route to help get the swing driver back to run his P-1 route. I asked if they were 1000 commits, and he said yes. I only had six 0830 stops (yes I have some "early" commits..lol) so I said sure.

Later that day, I get a text from my manager saying I had lates....but I was told they were 1000 commits. This area is a noon P-1 area, but FO's are 0830. Does anyone else have an area like this? I would ask my engineer, but getting anything out of him is like banging your head against a wall, after a little bit you get numbed up and don't notice the blood til it's in your eyes.
 

Cactus

Just telling it like it is
The FO commit time should be 1000.

This is the first I've ever heard of noon P1/FO 0830.

I think your manager is wrong and your FO coordinator (PT courier) should get with the engineer to straighten out this mess. But good luck with that.
 

UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)

Well-Known Member
Our DIADs show all of our premium packages by commit time. We can go through this list and designate them commercial or residential as there are different commit times on the same level of service. The DIAD alerts us 20 minutes before each commit time on any undelivered packages with that commit time. This is especially helpful when the loader does not load all of the commits where they are PALed.
 

Ricochet1a

Well-Known Member
The current Express "Powerpad" software doesn't have ANY proactive features included within it.

The ASTRA labels do indicate the service area of a package, but this isn't looked at when Couriers load their volume - they only look for Priority Overnight, Standard Overnight, then everything else. First Overnight (usually 8AM or 8:30AM service, depending on distance the delivering station is from the ramp) is delivered by separate routes, since in most locations, the AM sort is ending right around those time - no way to get FO out on regular delivery routes.

The service area is coded NOT with a committment time, but rather a service area code.

Couriers are "expected" to know that when looking at a package with a specific service area code, to know the commitment time for that piece and plan their stop order accordingly.

There are NO alerts that come across the Powerpad to the Courier that they have a piece that is nearing a certain commit time - Couriers are expected to leave the station with volume they can make committment time with (that is the theory). If they miss committment time, they are only notified when they get back to the station and a report is run that indicates any late PODs. More often than not, Couriers are making their final P1 delivery at 1028, so having 15 to 20 minute alerts would be useless - there is no cushion provided to ensure that issues regarding committment time are avoided. Express maximizes productivity by loading up each route with as many P1 as they can possibly get off by the 1030 committment time - no margin for error. If the sort ends late, if traffic is heavier than usual, if the roads are under construction - there will be service failures, count on it.

On the pickup side, any alerts to pickups that are nearing their close time are initiated by dispatchers - the powerpad is a brick in this aspect.

The powerpad software DOESN'T prompt the Courier what the next stop to be made is - it is determined by the delivery Courier's stop order in the back of the truck (which they load their truck into), or for the pickup Courier, the order which they choose to hit their pickups. The Powerpad is merely a record keeping device, not a job aid for the Courier (only aids in eliminating paper record keeping).

Courier Best Practices (think this has died) trained Couriers to look at the address of their next stop as they are retreiving the volume for the current stop from the truck, then spend no further time looking at their volume. If they forget the exact street address (resi usually), they will spend a little extra time walking from where they stop the truck to where they should've stopped the truck. There is NO WAY for the Courier to look at their Powerpad and have the next delivery address appear - capability doesn't exist.

Many inexperienced Couriers will actually go through the truck after they have loaded it, and manually write out the address to which they will stop, so they have a "manifest of stops" to keep with them in the cab (they're NOT supposed to do this). Believe it or not, this actually saves them time over the course of the day (spending 10 minutes writing down addresses in order), compared to all the back and forth in the back of the truck - then if the contents get tossed, they still have a delivery order manifest along with a piece count for each stop written down.

The Express ROADS software will indicate which route on which a piece is to be loaded onto, but as of yet, doesn't indicate a stop order indication (address code 5325 is placed after address code 4983 in the truck).

After Express Couriers have placed a truck scan on all their pieces (Van Scan), there is no procedure for them to get any sort of printout or manifest (paper or electronic) as to which addresses will be "visited". The Courier is expected to maintain some recollection of what they have in the back, and hope to God that their stop order isn't trashed when they turn across a gutter and have their truck pitch back and forth and have the back tossed around. There are no cargo nets provided to cover packages placed on the shelves in stop order, to prevent them from being tossed.

Express is about 5-10 years behind UPS in the use of information technology in the hands of its drivers. Express does have the capability to have the ROADS labels now indicate a stop order prioritization, but engineering hasn't of yet finalized what a specific route's pattern will be (which would enable all addresses to be assigned a stop ordering, to determine truck stop order loading).

I believe that the reason Express has held off on the introduction of stop ordering software for Express routes, is that any efforts to make the software that would enable stop ordering to occur via IT means, would be rendered useless after Express converts to having delivery of non-overnight moved over to Ground.
 

DOWNTRODDEN IN TEXAS

Well-Known Member
I wish our PPAD's could do that, it would be a nice addition (please make note Memphites..).

The area in question is a 45 minute drive from my station, and it still makes no sense to me that this area is 0830 on FO's, the regular driver confirmed it today, she said it's always been this way.
 

HomeDelivery

Well-Known Member
weird... my old scanner for Home Delivery does alert me with a pop up bubble for appointment deliveries within 1/2 an hour of the time as well as evening deliveries

and when I worked for the Ground side, it also alerted me with the pickup time deadlines as well <shrugs> but with Ground's new scanner that's similar to Express now, I have no idea

----------------------
that's why HD is the easiest branch of FedEx to work at...

sequenced stops & you pack your vehicle yourself so there won't be any missed stops by the end of your day,

10% of the volume are businesses while 90% are residentials,

very little pickups (call tags in our division)

a printed manifest of every single parcel on your package vehicle in sequenced order,

& even a printout map of your delivery area if you wanted it.

maybe that's also why this branch is also the lowest paid of Ground ops :sad-little:
 

SmithBarney

Well-Known Member
...
Many inexperienced Couriers will actually go through the truck after they have loaded it, and manually write out the address to which they will stop, so they have a "manifest of stops" to keep with them in the cab (they're NOT supposed to do this). Believe it or not, this actually saves them time over the course of the day (spending 10 minutes writing down addresses in order), compared to all the back and forth in the back of the truck - then if the contents get tossed, they still have a delivery order manifest along with a piece count for each stop written down.
...

I like to think that I'm experienced.. I do this on most rural routes(and EVERY Saturday), and just the resi side of my commercial routes. If a manager challenges you on this practice, just remind them, that you are doing exactly what ROADS will be doing for you..(there is a reason it saves time, because it works)
I've never had a manager second guess my practice, and they have since encouraged our Saturday "volunteers" to do the same. One quick glance, and you see where you are going, not to mention it helps if you see something out of sequence... you can get it without driving past.

That being said when I ran in town at UPS, I never needed to write down anything, but the rural routes where I was driving 20-30 minutes between stops(yes very rural)
 

DOWNTRODDEN IN TEXAS

Well-Known Member
I like to think that I'm experienced.. I do this on most rural routes(and EVERY Saturday), and just the resi side of my commercial routes. If a manager challenges you on this practice, just remind them, that you are doing exactly what ROADS will be doing for you..(there is a reason it saves time, because it works)
I've never had a manager second guess my practice, and they have since encouraged our Saturday "volunteers" to do the same. One quick glance, and you see where you are going, not to mention it helps if you see something out of sequence... you can get it without driving past.

That being said when I ran in town at UPS, I never needed to write down anything, but the rural routes where I was driving 20-30 minutes between stops(yes very rural)

Do your rural deliveries include directions with the line "once you leave the paved road"? A LOT of mine do..and a lot of those are impassable when it does more than drizzle, but since we've been in a drought that hasn't been a problem..lol
 
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