Explain PAS

Overpaid Union Thug

Well-Known Member
I'm pretty sure the question has been addressed here several times but I've been off the internet too much to have ever seen it so...Could someone explain how PAS works? We are getting it next year. I've talked to drivers from the hub over from ours and from what I've gathered it is going to be like all the stops are prerecorded in the diad and the driver just needs to find each package in the section it is "SUPPOSED" to be loaded in. I am mainly interested in knowing everyone's (those of you that have PAS) opinion on it. What are the good things and bad things about it?
 

pasfailure

Active Member
Good system in theory. Pathetic implementation. Will totally screw up your center and piss everyone off and then spend six months putting it back the way it used to be. Computer programs are only as good as the info fed into them. Good loader still the key. Do not let the computer geeks map your area. The mapping program has no clue about dead ends, rivers, one ways, business areas, bulk, dumps, etc. Get ready to hear "Why are you getting here so late?" Other than that, it's a wonderful system.:tongue_sm
 
C

california

Guest
We just got PAS in our center. All the trucks are going out with at least 10 more stops in them because PAS doesn't recognize buildings with apartments or suites in them. So you get one address with multiple deliveries in it. What is cool is that you know how many packages there should be for each stops. Ideally, that is. You will get used to going into "details" and entering "can't find" when you can only find 6 of the 7 boxes that the board says are in your truck.
Management tells us that it will take about 3 months for PAS to catch up with all the apartments and suites so we won't be chronically overdispatched. We think it's another way for UPS to get us to take 10-15 more stops.
Any comments from more experienced PAS people?
 

disneyworld

Well-Known Member
Big Arrow Up said:
I'm pretty sure the question has been addressed here several times but I've been off the internet too much to have ever seen it so...Could someone explain how PAS works? We are getting it next year. I've talked to drivers from the hub over from ours and from what I've gathered it is going to be like all the stops are prerecorded in the diad and the driver just needs to find each package in the section it is "SUPPOSED" to be loaded in. I am mainly interested in knowing everyone's (those of you that have PAS) opinion on it. What are the good things and bad things about it?
The one address-multiple company stops are supposed to be alloted an average daily stop count,some days may be more,some are less.(SUPPOSEDLY). The theory is for less time sorting,but that never happens. You WILL have more over 10's than you ever have before,be prepared to work more hours. I still wonder what the meeting went like when this idea came up,something like this? "I have a great idea, let's give the drivers more work to do and that will make them more productive". Their way of thinking is,less drivers and less vehicles on the road means more profit. I don't know about anyone else but the more I have on my truck the slower I go.
 
C

california

Guest
Re: Explain PASAn

Hey, Disneyworld, you mean that PAS never learns to read apartment/suite numbers? They keep saying that in 3 months things will be fine.
 

scratch

Least Best Moderator
Staff member
Re: Explain PASAn

california said:
Hey, Disneyworld, you mean that PAS never learns to read apartment/suite numbers? They keep saying that in 3 months things will be fine.

Sure it will be fine, your check is in the mail, deregulation will lower the prices...............:lol: :lol: :lol:
 
C

california

Guest
I got 16 hours of overtime last week because of PAS and I literally did not see one of my kids for three days! Mileage is up 8-10 miles on my route following the new "trace." I don't mind overtime but when it's Christmas in June, that's just crazy!!!
 

tieguy

Banned
I've heard there is a way to fix the multiple stops in one building issue. I believe they have to list each consignee seperate?
 

upsdude

Well-Known Member
tieguy said:
I've heard there is a way to fix the multiple stops in one building issue. I believe they have to list each consignee seperate?

From what I’m seeing the “forecasted” stops do include consignees, the “actual” count doesn’t. I can look through my EDD every morning and show the PDS that I have way more work than his computer screen shows. Too bad he says, he must go with the “actual” count. I’m usually right on the money except for a couple “Not Founds”. If EDD shows 10 pieces for 123 Tieguy Drive and the detail section shows 8 different apartment numbers, how come EDD isn’t smart enough to count that as 8 stops?

And, for Heaven sakes, why can’t the preload give us sequential loads! All we’re getting now are section loads. My sort time hasn’t changed at all with PAS, I still have to stop and sort a section then run it.

On paper PAS is awesome, UPS just needs to get the bugs worked out. No offense to any IE folks out there, but I really wish you guys worked with real world numbers and situations.
 

tieguy

Banned
upsdude said:
I’m usually right on the money except for a couple “Not Founds”. If EDD shows 10 pieces for 123 Tieguy Drive and the detail section shows 8 different apartment numbers, how come EDD isn’t smart enough to count that as 8 stops?

Don't give up. There is a way to edit the information to show the apartment numbers. I'll ask around.
 

pasfailure

Active Member
Its frustrating when the pkg has a perfectly good address that gets it all the way accross the country and then the PAS system puts a bad PAL on it and it gets misloaded. The search characteristics in the system are goofy. Example: I have 2 Cost Cutters stores on the same street. One is inside the Walmart at 4115 and another down the street at 3375. The 3375 always ends up in the Walmart dump stop. Perfectly good worldship labels should not have a problem. County roads like "cty rd GR' end up mixed with other county roads from diff. loops. When the system works it's OK but I don't see it ever saving much time.
 

disneyworld

Well-Known Member
Re: Explain PASAn

california said:
Hey, Disneyworld, you mean that PAS never learns to read apartment/suite numbers? They keep saying that in 3 months things will be fine.
If there is no consignee list,they are "supposed" to give that address an average daily stop count that includes apartments.But I'm sure you know by now,the stop count they give it will only benefit them.
 

disneyworld

Well-Known Member
pasfailure said:
Its frustrating when the pkg has a perfectly good address that gets it all the way accross the country and then the PAS system puts a bad PAL on it and it gets misloaded. The search characteristics in the system are goofy. Example: I have 2 Cost Cutters stores on the same street. One is inside the Walmart at 4115 and another down the street at 3375. The 3375 always ends up in the Walmart dump stop. Perfectly good worldship labels should not have a problem. County roads like "cty rd GR' end up mixed with other county roads from diff. loops. When the system works it's OK but I don't see it ever saving much time.
It's also fun when you pull up to a house thinking you have a pkg in your car,the person is outside and the pkg isn't there.It's quite embarrasing,we look like a bunch of incompetent friend**.And the pile of missed pkgs in our center is a mile high because of bad pal labels.We should be ashamed of ourselves.
 

UPSmeoff

Well-Known Member
The problem with separating consignees is that each one gets its own sequence number.
Instead of my 5 businesses with the same address loaded on RDL. The computer gives some sequence nums and some not.
The result is i have those 5 stops on 3 shelves and the floor. Makes for a very frustrating day. Always hunting for that last pkg that the diad says is in there.
I am also on my third new loader in 2 weeks. Where does HR find these people.
Having a good preloader is crutial in the pas label process.
 

rushfan

Well-Known Member
Hey the phrase is, "once it's dialed in, you won't have to think". I've heard that too much. Half our building is on pas the other isn't. The rest of our center won't be "deployed on pas" till further notice. What a joke.
 

upsdude

Well-Known Member
UPSmeoff said:
Where does HR find these people.
Having a good preloader is crutial in the pas label process.

HR here is stuck on stupid. They will only hire students. Never mind hiring the guy (or gal) that needs a job. A person that is going to show up everyday because they need the money to eat. A person that has a strong work ethic and gosh, their work ethic might just rub off on others. You know, the old peer pressure concept. Not a student? No job for you!
 

upsdude

Well-Known Member
disneyworld said:
It's also fun when you pull up to a house thinking you have a pkg in your car,the person is outside and the pkg isn't there.It's quite embarrasing,we look like a bunch of incompetent friend**.And the pile of missed pkgs in our center is a mile high because of bad pal labels.We should be ashamed of ourselves.

I fixed that problem. Since I still have to sort I set up the neighborhood before I run it.
 

scratch

Least Best Moderator
Staff member
upsdude said:
I fixed that problem. Since I still have to sort I set up the neighborhood before I run it.

We went on PAS/EDD at the beginning of the year. They wanted us to follow the EDD list and stay in order about 87% of the time. After a couple of weeks, we were told to just run the route any way we wanted to. Thats what I do now, my area wasn't looped correctly. I still have to stop and set up my sections the way I used to. One of the first weeks, I ran it stop by stop, 100% according to EDD, except for the NDAs, they were all out of order. I still scored in the high eighties on trace effectiveness. I think EDD wants me to run Next Day Air out of order, no way would I make commit times if I did.:confused:1
 

aspenleaf

Well-Known Member
UPSmeoff said:
The problem with separating consignees is that each one gets its own sequence number.
Instead of my 5 businesses with the same address loaded on RDL. The computer gives some sequence nums and some not.
The result is i have those 5 stops on 3 shelves and the floor. Makes for a very frustrating day. Always hunting for that last pkg that the diad says is in there.
I am also on my third new loader in 2 weeks. Where does HR find these people.
Having a good preloader is crutial in the pas label process.

We have the same issue on my boxline; for us HR will hire anyone who agrees to join the union and says they can lift up to 70 lbs. I think a lot of people think the job will be easier than it is and I am not sure why since my HR guy did his best to scare us (but he was very truthful in what the job would be like). The training I got to be a preloader was this "think of your truck and packages a puzzle" and then she walked off. I hope you get a good loader soon; you need them trained before peak (if they last that long).
 
F

FrayedMind

Guest
Well I've been a SPA guy since 2004(I'm the only one left from the initial group). I don't load package cars or do the data acq part, but I can say that it makes the training of the Primary sorters much easier, they just need to know how to read and be able to match the color on the label with the color on the belt.

Out of all of the SPA guys in the aisle right now I was the only one who received actual training in it, now the new guys are just handed the gun and told, "Scan that bar code, stick the label", and they don't do the job so well.

As for the wrong labels on the packages, it happens. I personally don't get many(maybe 1-2 a month) many of the newer guys seem to get them alot. Especially when they're just starting out(One guy had 56 in one day during his first week!!)

I try to help them out as much as possible, but I can't watch them constantly, I have my own job to do.

Another thing is the packages that weren't delivered because of bad barcodes. We get them back in the local truck during the preload, and they have to be reSPA'ed, sometimes the old labels aren't crossed out, sometime the barcode is messed up and data acq isn't smart enough to put a new one on, sometimes they're NIB that have been floating around for weeks.

Sorry for the rant from a SPA guy's perspective.

Basically what needs to happen is to FULLY train everyone involved in the PAS, make sure data acq, and SPA guys know how to do their job and do it properly.
 
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