Fired for misloads

[PaidDriveTime?]

I dont know how other loaders do it, but this is the way I load my trucks, regardless of where I am. I take the two or three or four biggest stops, that arent say an RDR, RDL, FL1, 2, 3, 4, and I put those on the floor in order of sequence. So the big stop that is supposed to be in the 3000 section is on the floor directly behind the driver, and then the 4000 stop will be behind that close to the wheel well etc. So each day I come in and write down on my forecasts which numbers these are and I load those on the floor. This makes it much easier to keep all of them together, and put the rest of the packages on the shelf in order because there is more room.

 

[evilleace]

It sure is good terminology- sometimes the system puts anything it wants on the pal label; nothing close to what the shipping label reads. And no, it is not an out of sync. If the tracking numbers match, how does that happen?

this happens to me all the time when I am spa-ing and the sups tell me to let it go, funny though seems like I always end up getting those packages back when I do run backs from the belt at the end of the day.

 

[stevetheupsguy]

It would be nice, and I know I'm dreaming, if mgmt would have a building wide rap session with the preload and drivers. Afterward mgmt should let the drivers and their respective preloaders go over the structure of a good load and how it gets delivered. The preloaders would also have the opportunity to express whatever needs they have. Yes, it would be paid time! After this we could all stand around in a big circle, holding hands and singing Kumba ya my Lord. Had to end it with a funny, sorry. All of the above would be good, aside from the love circle, I guess.

 

[moontheloon1982]

I load about 12-1300 packages a day and average about 1 misload per day. Thats not really too bad when you are loading 250 pieces an hour. I defiantly respond to supervisors "talking tos" because I know I put more effort into the quality of my work then anybody else I see around me. The problem is in the system itself and management insisting upon operating with the bare minimum of people on the clock. I tell them that if they want me to move at such a ridiculously fast pace then they must also expect and be prepared for an error every 1300 packages or so. What they expect preloaders to do flawlessly is simply unrealisic, people make mistakes, especially when they are moving with that "sense of urgency" we hear so much about. Yet, you don't see anyone trying to come up with any kind of real solution to the misload problem. So I guess it isn't really even an issue.
Just say, "oh well, I'm doing my best" , but offer no apologies.

 

[moontheloon1982]

they should color-code the pals. Send the loader packages with 4 colors of pal , one color for each car he's loading. this would obviously eliminate misloads altogether ...but is it feasible?

 

[705red]

Look go to work on time every day, work at a comfortable brisk pace and do the best you can. If your working to wreckless this is were you could be having a problem.

Misloads are human error and as long as we humans still perform these jobs misloads will happen. You will never lose your job for misloads/missorts!

 

[rod]

You will never lose your job for misloads/missorts!

Maybe a better statement would be - you will never lose your job "permanently" for misloads/missorts. UPS has been known to fire employees for a lot less only to bring them back after they have "learned their lesson".

 

[sortaisle]

they should color-code the pals. Send the loader packages with 4 colors of pal , one color for each car he's loading. this would obviously eliminate misloads altogether ...but is it feasible?

No it's not feasible because it makes far too much sense. Sorry, idea shot down.

The Management

 

[OldUPSDriver]

What happens when the belt has 20 cars??

 

[hyena]

It would be nice, and I know I'm dreaming, if mgmt would have a building wide rap session with the preload and drivers. Afterward mgmt should let the drivers and their respective preloaders go over the structure of a good load and how it gets delivered. The preloaders would also have the opportunity to express whatever needs they have. Yes, it would be paid time! After this we could all stand around in a big circle, holding hands and singing Kumba ya my Lord. Had to end it with a funny, sorry. All of the above would be good, aside from the love circle, I guess.

Ahh but Steve this is logical you know we cant do something logical at UPS. They say theres common sence and then theres brown sence. I agree with you though. lol

 

[westsideworma]

It would be nice, and I know I'm dreaming, if mgmt would have a building wide rap session with the preload and drivers. Afterward mgmt should let the drivers and their respective preloaders go over the structure of a good load and how it gets delivered. The preloaders would also have the opportunity to express whatever needs they have. Yes, it would be paid time! After this we could all stand around in a big circle, holding hands and singing Kumba ya my Lord. Had to end it with a funny, sorry. All of the above would be good, aside from the love circle, I guess.

That helped me more than anything when I first started as a loader...I talked to my drivers daily (as on alpha charts it was tough learning at first) for tips and such. They in turn saw that I cared about what I was doing and basically each told me what HAD to be within reach first and what I could pile down the middle and not impede their delivery order. It was very helpful. They also took care of me at christmas which was surprising seeing as it was my first one so I must have done pretty well even for a newbie. Now preloaders are rarely on the clock when the drivers arrive and are pushed to load too fast which results in crappy loads. I have a guy who gets 1200 pieces to 3 cars..and these aren't qvc bags. Its very hard for him to maintain decent load quality shoehorning all those into 3 trucks. However he doesn't misload and his drivers like him and don't really fault him for what happens inside as the poor guy isn't really given a fighting chance (1100-1200 pieces and a 4am start).

 

[nomadder]

a matter of semantics LAKE---misloads or proper methods...

 

[moontheloon1982]

That helped me more than anything when I first started as a loader...I talked to my drivers daily (as on alpha charts it was tough learning at first) for tips and such. They in turn saw that I cared about what I was doing and basically each told me what HAD to be within reach first and what I could pile down the middle and not impede their delivery order. It was very helpful. They also took care of me at christmas which was surprising seeing as it was my first one so I must have done pretty well even for a newbie. Now preloaders are rarely on the clock when the drivers arrive and are pushed to load too fast which results in crappy loads. I have a guy who gets 1200 pieces to 3 cars..and these aren't qvc bags. Its very hard for him to maintain decent load quality shoehorning all those into 3 trucks. However he doesn't misload and his drivers like him and don't really fault him for what happens inside as the poor guy isn't really given a fighting chance (1100-1200 pieces and a 4am start).

I have done just about every job there is, on every shift at UPS.
As a former driver, I know first hand the effect a quality load has on a drivers ability to get his job done efficiently. The idea seems to be lost on most part-time preload sups who are always more concerned with their own numbers and eager to get their work-group wrapped and off the clock as early as possible. Of course, on the other hand, you have the driver's sups who I guarentee would much prefer the preloader take that extra bit of time to put some thought and care into how the load comes together and do it right. I got sick of finishing an exausting shift with a feeling that I hadn't done the best job I could do, mainly because of pressure from managment to do it too hastly. One day I simply explained to my sup what my standards were relating to load quality and let him know that I didn't intend to deviate from those standards for any reason from that point forward. An argument based on your refusal to take part in work that you personally deem to be sub-par shouldnt be met with very much resistance.
A manager with any tact whatsoever would recognize that you are acting on what you believe is best for the company and commend you for your commitment. Unfortunatly we don't have too many sups who are that perceptive. If your direct sup doesn't like it just go over his head and explain yourself to his manager, and so on. Eventually you will get to somebody who is actually looking at the big picture and not just their own stats. If something makes perfect sense to you chances are it probably makes perfect sense to somebody somewhere along the management chain. So don't just let your sup dismiss what you have to say if you know you are right. Believe it or not, we do have a lot of quality management personel who are perfectly reasonable people.
Preloaders are the most over-worked, under-paid, and under-appreciated part of the operation. They get very little respect from most drivers who seem to think their job is somehow more important just because their paychecks are so much bigger. They quickly forget what it's like getting up at three in the morning to work your ass off for a paycheck that hardly pays for the gas it took to get back and forth from the miserable place. The fact is that the preload sets the tone for the entire day. A good, managable load is often the difference between a drivers success or failure. Keeping a diligent preloader on the clock for an extra 20 minutes so that a driver might not have to waste time searching for a package is obviously 'bottom-line' friendly as well. Once you have a reputation as being somebody who works hard and takes pride in their work most good supervisors will take a step back, trust that what you are doing is neccessary, and let you do your job.

 

[drewed]

note to keep MOON 40 lines of solid text tend not to be read...

 

[theUPSman]

I load about 12-1300 packages a day and average about 1 misload per day. Thats not really too bad when you are loading 250 pieces an hour. I defiantly respond to supervisors "talking tos" because I know I put more effort into the quality of my work then anybody else I see around me. The problem is in the system itself and management insisting upon operating with the bare minimum of people on the clock. I tell them that if they want me to move at such a ridiculously fast pace then they must also expect and be prepared for an error every 1300 packages or so. What they expect preloaders to do flawlessly is simply unrealisic, people make mistakes, especially when they are moving with that "sense of urgency" we hear so much about. Yet, you don't see anyone trying to come up with any kind of real solution to the misload problem. So I guess it isn't really even an issue.
Just say, "oh well, I'm doing my best" , but offer no apologies.

Thank you! It's about time someone stated the realistic truth!

 

[westsideworma]

Thank you! It's about time someone stated the realistic truth!

The real solution would be to give the preloader more time....however I don't see that happening. Theres no way to refute it. When you have more time you build better loads and make less mistakes. Does it make sense to pay a driver 42 and change an hour to run misloads while driving a gas hog (more $$$) of a vehicle or pay the preloader making 9.50 an hour for an extra 15 min for them to go through their loads.

Or hell lets go nuts, how about giving them enough time for them to realistically do their job the right way and I don't just mean all the packages in the truck with no misloads. I mean secure loads, stops kept together etc. Most preloaders now don't have time for that. I had time for it just a few years ago...but since PAS...nope. Not even when I loaded while on PAS. The alpha charts were the fondest memories I have of preloading at UPS.

Someone at UPS needs to realistically analyze the preloaders job (do it for a week, a month, I dunno, but more than a day) and encounter all the mishaps and such that they do and then have them tell me the number they look for is realistic. The number is planned for a day when absolutely everything goes right...which is almost never the case. A manager I know said he'd never let an hourly beat him (this was when I was a loader and I do have witnesses lol) and ya know I see why, he went so fast, so fast...however it seemed every other package he would toss into my truck was a misload. Whats the point of going fast if you're doing it wrong? what could that possibly do to help me? I told him I never wanted him to help me again, I'll wrap when I wrap...the right way. Mind you that he just didn't want me getting OT. I finished with 5.4 hrs that day...still ended up with a 223pph load rate on a 200pph plan. Not to mention I helped both my neighbors when my cages were mostly empty just before break (they filled back up ridiculously so after break though as usual haha) after that I lost all respect for them. I worked my butt off and helped my neighbors, beat your fictitious production goal, had no misloads...and you guys had the nerve to rush me and potentially sabotage my loads? This is the wrong message to send to loaders and I'm sure its why we lose so many people here at this company.

Needless to say I don't bother my loaders like this. Probably why they work hard for me. Even someone nobody wants will come to my area and be successful and thats fine with me. Do we always make our "numbers"? Production: most of the time we make it or are just a bit over and misloads: nearly every day (currently 1/2500+ this month). All of this is done without nitpicking and constant harassment that some people think works in motivating people.

In short, my team comes to work and does their job; I tell them what they need to know and get out of their way while keeping an eye for possible problems (loads not containing for example) or safety issues. By what they need to know I mean piece count for heavy bulk stops and PCM that has a safety tip and demonstration, a previous day recap (roundtable on where we did well/came up short the day prior and ideas to continue/improve) as well as any special things going on at our building this day/week/month. NOT how they're so lucky to have these jobs and if they don't like it Mcdonalds his hiring (or Flynns at our location haha) or ANYTHING like that.

 

[trplnkl]

note to keep MOON 40 lines of solid text tend not to be read...

Note to Drewed: although it is a lengthy post, too bad you didn't take the time to read it. Many very good points made by moon. He has a pretty good handle on the situation.

 

[writer]

No, you can not be fired for having misloads. I have been with UPS for 3 years, never got more than a verbal warning. I was threatened with a warning letter a couple times, but never received them There are ways around it, and ways to improve yourself.

First, they (UPS) can not fire you for going too slow. If you need to, take your time to check each and every package. The first thing you are hounded about the next day is misloads, not how slow you worked. They may bitch at you for going slow day of, but as long as you follow all the methods and do what they say, their argument is baseless. It saves them money if you take your time checking the packages, while you may actually gain a few more mins each day.

Also, they provide tools to you, grease pencil, truck placards, and even load sheets at your request. Make sure your trucks have the proper placards on the outside, and also a good idea is to put them on the inside as well. On the back of both wheel wells, and at the front of the top by the bulkhead door. Get these printed in neon colors too, different color for each truck.

Get to know what you are loading, address, cities, etc. Most of the time you do not misload bulk stops, but usually its some residential package.

Also, stacking is not a bad thing, they bitch about it alot..not because its a safety issue, but because they pay you more to stay longer to take care of it. When you get bombarded with , stack it. Then take them in the car 2-3 at a time and checking them, circling the truck number as you put them on the shelf. This works really well for me.

Sometimes (this has been an issue at our sort) if you are sent home early after you are done and something comes down the belt at the end. Other people like to just chuck them into the trucks not seeing what truck its going into and you get the blame. When you are done, close the doors on your trucks. Also, a good idea to know your drivers. Sometimes if possible drivers meet up and if your routes between your trucks are in the same area then can exchange the packages and save your ass. Never ask them to do it, but if you are on good terms with your drivers they may do it as a courtesy for loading their trucks well. I have been saved this way a few times.

Also, never be afraid to ask for help. If you are in a situation that requires help, ask for it. If someone else loads your truck with you or loads one of your trucks and you get misloads, it is possible you didn't do it. Bring this up and it can be taken off the record. Exhaust all your options, this will cut them down.

Lastly, just simply pay attention.

In our center the operations manager and union steward come around and my loaders have been getting written up for 3+ misloads. 2 have had 3 day suspensions when they have too many and warning letters. So, yes, more can happen than just a verbal.

 

[westsideworma]

In our center the operations manager and union steward come around and my loaders have been getting written up for 3+ misloads. 2 have had 3 day suspensions when they have too many and warning letters. So, yes, more can happen than just a verbal.

I'll just comment on this at my center.

We had a guy hit someone and still get his job back with backpay.

Someone getting fired for misloading (or ANYTHING really) at my building is nigh impossible after this debacle...your mileage may vary.

 

[obraindead]

Here locally, our preloaders load missloads every day, our sups and managers just move them throughout the day. Preloaders keep their jobs. But check this out, the drivers get warning letters for not calling in missloads by a certain time daily.