General advice for new loaders?

[Wend1g0]

Hi, I just started at ups as a part time loader (not seasonal made it in before the cutoff).
I had my in class training days Monday through Wednesday, my first on floor day Thursday and my evaluation on Friday. I hit 330 PPH and my best wall was a 9 my worst a 6.

I don't have any issues building walls when the stable square and rectangle packages come down the chute. I understand the methods in theory but I've noticed in some circumstances they just are not practical.

Small packages-

What do you do if you are getting really small packages or packages where any weight will obviously result in them being crushed? How do you build a strong foundation? I was forced to make a wall 16 packages high and 23 across at one point. Is that just how it is sometimes?

Smalls bags-

More problematic (for me at least) are the smalls bags. 4 or 5 one can put on the top of a wall no problem and store along one side of the ramp until then. When the smalls bags rise to 8,9,10 count then it becomes a pain to manage these bags and the pressure to build walls for them mounts. Meanwhile packages are still coming down the chute. Any advice on how to deal with high bag volume would be most welcome.

PPH-

My PPH is 330. Is that considered good, bad, or average for being there for a week? How concerned should I be about getting that to raise? Is there a generally expected quota PPH and if so what is it?

Soreness and such-

Many people have said the soreness will be unbearable for the first few weeks/ months depending on who you ask. Is this something be that actually starts later? I only ask because while my upper body muscles and thighs were noticably tighter, it wasn't the pain that people keep griping about. If this soreness of legends does turn out to be a reality in my future, what remedies have you found to be helpful?

Apparel-

I'm still filling in the gaps here. After my finger split wide open, I got gloves. A blister forming had me grab moleskin and smart wool socks to prevent friction. My shorts split right along the back while doing a lift Friday so I have looser pants and shirts now. Any other things I should consider wearing/ bringing?


Advice-

Those are all the questions I have so far. Any other advice you can think of would be most appreciated.

 

[burrheadd]

330 pph not gonna cut it
Need you to pickup the pace

 

[Yeet]

Hi, I just started at ups as a part time loader (not seasonal made it in before the cutoff).
I had my in class training days Monday through Wednesday, my first on floor day Thursday and my evaluation on Friday. I hit 330 PPH and my best wall was a 9 my worst a 6.

I don't have any issues building walls when the stable square and rectangle packages come down the chute. I understand the methods in theory but I've noticed in some circumstances they just are not practical.

Small packages-

What do you do if you are getting really small packages or packages where any weight will obviously result in them being crushed? How do you build a strong foundation? I was forced to make a wall 16 packages high and 23 across at one point. Is that just how it is sometimes?

Smalls bags-

More problematic (for me at least) are the smalls bags. 4 or 5 one can put on the top of a wall no problem and store along one side of the ramp until then. When the smalls bags rise to 8,9,10 count then it becomes a pain to manage these bags and the pressure to build walls for them mounts. Meanwhile packages are still coming down the chute. Any advice on how to deal with high bag volume would be most welcome.

PPH-

My PPH is 330. Is that considered good, bad, or average for being there for a week? How concerned should I be about getting that to raise? Is there a generally expected quota PPH and if so what is it?

Soreness and such-

Many people have said the soreness will be unbearable for the first few weeks/ months depending on who you ask. Is this something be that actually starts later? I only ask because while my upper body muscles and thighs were noticably tighter, it wasn't the pain that people keep griping about. If this soreness of legends does turn out to be a reality in my future, what remedies have you found to be helpful?

Apparel-

I'm still filling in the gaps here. After my finger split wide open, I got gloves. A blister forming had me grab moleskin and smart wool socks to prevent friction. My shorts split right along the back while doing a lift Friday so I have looser pants and shirts now. Any other things I should consider wearing/ bringing?


Advice-

Those are all the questions I have so far. Any other advice you can think of would be most appreciated.

Small packages - use them as fillers or put them behind your wall.
Bags - set them to the side and use them when you reach the top of your wall. When you get better you can learn to build them into the wall so you don’t have bags on the floor blocking your egress.
PPH - don’t worry about that right now, speed will come in time when you just know where that next box is going in your wall and you don’t have to “box shop”.
Soreness - it gets better over time. Your body gets used to the abuse and just stops hurting. Drink plenty of water before, during, and after work to prevent cramping. Bananas also help.
Apparel - I’ve never used gloves. Your body builds these wonderful things called calluses. Wear light and loose fitting clothing like you’re going to the gym.
These are things that worked for me. Over time you will find what works for you. Don’t sweat the small stuff and leave work at work. Come in the next day with a fresh attitude like the previous day never happened.

 

[NAHimGOOD]

. Over time you will find what works for you. Don’t sweat the small stuff and leave work at work. Come in the next day with a fresh attitude like the previous day never happened.

Man if people only used that attitude everyday...

 

[...]

What @Yeet said with a few more comments.

More problematic (for me at least) are the smalls bags. 4 or 5 one can put on the top of a wall no problem and store along one side of the ramp until then. When the smalls bags rise to 8,9,10 count then it becomes a pain to manage these bags and the pressure to build walls for them mounts. Meanwhile packages are still coming down the chute. Any advice on how to deal with high bag volume would be most welcome.

As mentioned, try putting them to the side. But if they're creating egress issues, just load them. Right next to one of the sides of the trailer tends to be best if it's down low.

My PPH is 330. Is that considered good, bad, or average for being there for a week? How concerned should I be about getting that to raise? Is there a generally expected quota PPH and if so what is it?

It's pretty good, but I don't know how they're measuring it in your building. I was a pretty good loader with combination of good quality and average to above average speed...But I was almost always in the 250-270 range. I've only broken 300 a handful of times, and 400 once.

5-6 packages per minute is what my sup always told me, but it's way over simplified. When you're loading a trailer you're probably doing closer to 20 pieces per minute, however, your average tends to evaporate when you're breaking jams, moving to other trailers, and tossing up irregs.

Don't worry about it. Unless you're under 200, they're not gonna complain.

Many people have said the soreness will be unbearable for the first few weeks/ months depending on who you ask. Is this something be that actually starts later? I only ask because while my upper body muscles and thighs were noticably tighter, it wasn't the pain that people keep griping about. If this soreness of legends does turn out to be a reality in my future, what remedies have you found to be helpful?

If you haven't experienced it yet, you're not going to. This is something that effects people that are either out of shape or not accustomed you physical work.

I'm still filling in the gaps here. After my finger split wide open, I got gloves. A blister forming had me grab moleskin and smart wool socks to prevent friction. My shorts split right along the back while doing a lift Friday so I have looser pants and shirts now. Any other things I should consider wearing/ bringing?

I always wore a plain white t shirt because they're cheap. I tucked them in to avoid getting caught on stray pieces of equipment. That always worked for me.

Whether or not to wear gloves is up to you. I don't wear them as an air driver, but anytime I am asked to help local sort I do.

 

[Fido]

Do not frisbee envelopes and bags on the shelf anywhere.
Do not lay irreg large things like furniture flat on the ground and stack things on top. Save it for last and put it down the middle.
Large scale package bulk save for last if you have to. Stack it appropriately in the back of possible.

 

[specter208]

For trailers. Load the bigger and heavier stops closer to the floor. The lighter and smaller go further up the wall. If possible, I will finish a wall and leave some space between the next wall so that I can drop bags and other smells behind the wall. If you have 2 loaders, one of you guys can power scan and one the other just builds the wall.

 

[Yeet]

If you have 2 loaders, one of you guys can power scan and one the other just builds the wall.

Power scan. Now there’s a term I haven’t heard in a long time. Thanks for the nostalgia.

 

[Poop Head]

Just heap it in!