hot water and building heat

konsole

Well-Known Member
This week our building had an issue with the hot water heater with the wiring burning up, or something along these lines, and the hot water tank was replaced. I was told that the old tank was a 50 gallon tank and the new tank they installed was only a 6 gallon tank? Apparently this tank services about 15 sinks. The problem we are having now is the hot water from this 6 gallon tank only lasts for a short time and the rest of the employees that are working later are stuck with cold water to wash up. I'm usually one of the last maybe 10% of the employees to leave and sure enough going to the bathroom to cleanup today, there was no hot water. From talking with a plant engineering guy he said that the tank is definately way too small but that the plan is to keep the 6 gallon one, most likely as a way to save money but I dunno. If the company is not breaking a law or agreement then we would have to tell employees that leave earlier to minimize their hot water usage so employees leaving later could have some too. Myself and everyone else around here know that employees are not gonna obey that request though. Another employee mentioned that ambient temperature for a different building was being kept around 40 deg friend. but that the temperature is suppose to be closer to 55. I don't mind the company trying to cut back here or there to get itself through tougher times but if its breaking the law or agreement then thats a different story. Not long ago they removed the paper towel dispenser out of the mens room and moved it to the cafeteria and its not that big of deal but I just don't want them to be given an inch and they take a mile.

Does anoyone have any idea what the laws or agreements are concerning running hot water and ambient temperature? Are they providing only a small amount of hot water so that they can say that something is being provided or do they have to provide enough for all the employees? I work in Massachusetts if that matters.
 

UnconTROLLed

perfection
This week our building had an issue with the hot water heater with the wiring burning up, or something along these lines, and the hot water tank was replaced. I was told that the old tank was a 50 gallon tank and the new tank they installed was only a 6 gallon tank? Apparently this tank services about 15 sinks. The problem we are having now is the hot water from this 6 gallon tank only lasts for a short time and the rest of the employees that are working later are stuck with cold water to wash up. I'm usually one of the last maybe 10% of the employees to leave and sure enough going to the bathroom to cleanup today, there was no hot water. From talking with a plant engineering guy he said that the tank is definately way too small but that the plan is to keep the 6 gallon one, most likely as a way to save money but I dunno. If the company is not breaking a law or agreement then we would have to tell employees that leave earlier to minimize their hot water usage so employees leaving later could have some too. Myself and everyone else around here know that employees are not gonna obey that request though. Another employee mentioned that ambient temperature for a different building was being kept around 40 deg friend. but that the temperature is suppose to be closer to 55. I don't mind the company trying to cut back here or there to get itself through tougher times but if its breaking the law or agreement then thats a different story. Not long ago they removed the paper towel dispenser out of the mens room and moved it to the cafeteria and its not that big of deal but I just don't want them to be given an inch and they take a mile.

Does anoyone have any idea what the laws or agreements are concerning running hot water and ambient temperature? Are they providing only a small amount of hot water so that they can say that something is being provided or do they have to provide enough for all the employees? I work in Massachusetts if that matters.

File a grievance and also make OSHA aware. If there is a spill and you get it on your hands or body, and you need hot water to wash it off, you're in trouble!

One of our bathrooms in CHEMA ( one right outside sort 3-4) was out of hot water for months. I think the hot water heater was replaced, but it took a long time, and much longer than it should have. THis also seemed like a cost cutting measure

I'm pretty sure Shawn or Dana would love to file on that one. :peaceful:
 

konsole

Well-Known Member
ya I'm sure they would HA, but I need to make sure that there are no plans to fix the issue first before the pain train heads to the managers office :-)

Did you notice the lack of hot water too? Some lady told me that she was getting hot water in the upstairs bathrooms and in the downstairs womens bathrooms, dunno when she tested the water. Thats a good point about the safety issue though and I don't see how management can avoid that one. I'm gonna have to see how the water behaves tomorrow and a few days next week to make sure the problem isnt going away.
 

over9five

Moderator
Staff member
One of our bathrooms in CHEMA ( one right outside sort 3-4) was out of hot water for months. I think the hot water heater was replaced, but it took a long time, and much longer than it should have. THis also seemed like a cost cutting measure

:peaceful:

I'm not sure of sort locations, I think Sleeve is talking of the one above Wilmington Ctr., and it DID take a long time to fix!
What bothers me is those new hand dryers. I like how they blow at high power, but some of them don't heat up anymore. Cold 70 mph wind is not good!

I think hot water is a contractual issue if your building has a certain amount of employees. Check with your steward/BA.
 

JonFrum

Member
Here's what the Contract says . . .
ARTICLE 5. SANITARY CONDITIONS
The Employer agrees to maintain a clean, sanitary washroom having hot and cold running water with toilet facilities in all present and future buildings.
ARTICLE 18. SAFETY AND HEALTH EQUIPMENT, ACCIDENTS AND REPORTS
Section 6. Building Heat
Centers will be heated, where practical.

On a facility-by-facility basis, the Employer will evaluate whether additional ventilation or heat is needed for purposes of safety and health. This will include clerical work areas outside of office structures in the UPS facilities.
 

Theichii

Well-Known Member
it took our center 6 weeks to get water that didn't come from a bathroom. We had a kentwood water stand, then an hibishi water filter machine, then a 6 week lapse, then a regular old school style rectangular water fountain.
 

UnconTROLLed

perfection
I'm not sure of sort locations, I think Sleeve is talking of the one above Wilmington Ctr., and it DID take a long time to fix!
What bothers me is those new hand dryers. I like how they blow at high power, but some of them don't heat up anymore. Cold 70 mph wind is not good!

I think hot water is a contractual issue if your building has a certain amount of employees. Check with your steward/BA.

I did not know that one was not functional, ovah. The one outside the feeder office- unload 4 is the one I was talking about. Near the b-ball hoop. No hot water for 2 months at least.

I know that Norwood only has one bathroom area outside the centers on the main level. That is a big problem if there is no hot water. At least in CHEMA there's many restrooms.
 

Big Babooba

Well-Known Member
Massachusetts General Law Section 113, Chapter 149 requires that adequate heat be provided from October
15 through May 15:

"Every factory, workshop, manufacturing, mechanical and mercantile establishment, railroad freight
house, railway express terminal, public garages and premises used by express, trucking and transportation
companies, and any other building in which a person is employed, other than a building under construction,
shall be well lighted, well ventilated and kept free from unsanitary conditions. The work rooms therein in
actual use shall be properly heated during the period from October 15 to May 15, according to reasonable
rules and regulations adopted by the Department establishing minimum requirements with reference thereto;"
The following minimum temperatures have been established as guidelines by the Massachusetts Executive
Office of Labor and Workforce Development, Division of Occupational Safety.
Factories 60 - 62
Foundries 50 - 60
Machine Shops 60 - 62
Offices 66 - 68
Public Buildings 60 - 68
Restaurants 62 - 66
Schools 66 - 68
Stores 65
Theaters 62 - 65
 

over9five

Moderator
Staff member
I did not know that one was not functional, ovah. The one outside the feeder office- unload 4 is the one I was talking about. Near the b-ball hoop. No hot water for 2 months at least.

Oh yeah, I forgot about that one. I try never to go in there, it is the worst smelling mens room in the building!
 

Covemastah

Hoopah drives the boat Chief !!
Nothing beats the sanitary condition of the HARCT mens room down by 56/46 doors.No fault of UPS, it's the animals that use them.Toilets clogged,urine all over the floors,they break everything.Trash all over the place.
 

konsole

Well-Known Member
well concerning the hot water in the Norwood, MA building, the plant engineering guy agreed that the water wasnt adequately heated so he said he would fix it.
 

UPSF Peeon

Well-Known Member
lets see our dock is open, if its 10 below 0 outside the dock is 10 below 0.....we never have hot water, our water is dirty and were not allowed to drink it, the lighting in the yard is horrible, the lighting on the dock is even worse, the lines in the yard havent been painted in years and half of them are completely faded away

can somebody fix this plz
 

Covemastah

Hoopah drives the boat Chief !!
well concerning the hot water in the Norwood, MA building, the plant engineering guy agreed that the water wasnt adequately heated so he said he would fix it.
That is a nice bathroom in NORWOOD<compared to most buildings I have been at,it's like a palace.
 

bumped

Well-Known Member
I don't understand getting a 6 gallon tank. I thought we are a "green" company. They should have installed a tankless water heater.
 

JimJimmyJames

Big Time Feeder Driver
Nothing beats the sanitary condition of the HARCT mens room down by 56/46 doors.No fault of UPS, it's the animals that use them.Toilets clogged,urine all over the floors,they break everything.Trash all over the place.

Go upstairs Cove :happy2:.

Speaking of bathrooms that are hell holes, did any of you ever use the Meadowland's facilities in the hub? :sick:
 

bluehdmc

Well-Known Member
Go upstairs Cove :happy2:.

Speaking of bathrooms that are hell holes, did any of you ever use the Meadowland's facilities in the hub? :sick:

Talk about animals!!!! The one by the Jersey City center is the better one. (usually even has paper towels!) The one near door 115 or so can be quite disgusting particularly around 3-4 in the morning.
I'm surprised UPS seems to get away with the # of bathrooms in a building considering the # of employees on a shift, isn't there some sort of OSHA standard?
Although then seeing as there is an Article in the contract regarding this I suppose conditions used to be quite worse.
 

JonFrum

Member
Big Babooba,

Here in Lynnfield, down the road a piece from Chema, we fall under the same Mass. regulations, and even the same Plant Engineering guy as you do.

We've been suffering with no heat, or inadequate heat, for three years on the Local Sort shift. UPS has only just recently found the money to "fix" the broken heater. They installed a giant fan that blows constantly, 24 hours a day, and can't be shut off!!! It's probably designed to circulate warm air. Problem is, the heater thermostat is set so low, the air is always cold, so the fan is just blowing cold air almost all the time. This added wind chill just makes the cold air feel even worse, and draws the colder outside air into the building even faster.

UPS argues that they are a garage with open overhead doors and that the cold outside air coming into the building is unavoidable. They say they are a warehouse, and the heat standard for a warehouse is much lower than an office.

Also, look closely at the regulations you quote. Notice it says the rooms in use will be heated to those specified temperatures. Well, UPS will argue that the working areas of its buildings don't have rooms. Just vast open space. They do keep their offices roasty-toasty warm, as we all know when we occasionally enter one.
 

JimJimmyJames

Big Time Feeder Driver
Talk about animals!!!! The one by the Jersey City center is the better one. (usually even has paper towels!) The one near door 115 or so can be quite disgusting particularly around 3-4 in the morning.
I'm surprised UPS seems to get away with the # of bathrooms in a building considering the # of employees on a shift, isn't there some sort of OSHA standard?
Although then seeing as there is an Article in the contract regarding this I suppose conditions used to be quite worse.

I can't remember the codes to get into the cleaner ones, I am not there a lot anymore. Or at least I do not stay for long :happy2:.

Yup people, the driver's bathrooms have locks on the doors so the hub people cannot get into them.
 
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