How many packages per hour???

[LKLND3380]

"Altogether, about 1,700 seasonal hires have swelled the ranks, sorting through, loading and delivering packages to more than 40,000 ZIP codes at a pace that rises from 70,000 packages per hour to 85,000."
85,000 packages / 1,700 workers = 50 packages per hour...

That is less than one package a minute per employee...

After being hit with 30 trailers during preload and given +/- five hours to wrap up, I think I want to transfer to this facility...

 

[Keepingthemhonest]

Our expectation is 1200/hour, 3/sec (for one unloader)...we have a relatively small building and hired like 5 season guys who now are all unloaders...they suck and we rarely get it done. The goal is 91 parcels per man hour, total volume per the summation of all hours of preloaders working the sort...we don't hit it that often.

 

[LKLND3380]

Our expectation is 1200/hour, 3/sec (for one unloader)...we have a relatively small building and hired like 5 season guys who now are all unloaders...they suck and we rarely get it done. The goal is 91 parcels per man hour, total volume per the summation of all hours of preloaders working the sort...we don't hit it that often.

are those labels up... using hand to surface methods including load stands...

Here management says "Load stands are available IF requested BUT they would really cut down on production speed..." So we just grab in the middle of a wall - bring it down and try to have as many as possible land on the belt.

 

[wornoutupser]

are those labels up... using hand to surface methods including load stands...

Here management says "Load stands are available IF requested BUT they would really cut down on production speed..." So we just grab in the middle of a wall - bring it down and try to have as many as possible land on the belt.

Lakeland,

I am not far from you in a smaller building.

IE came in this year and dictated a higher flow for the unload. The problem is that our belts can't physically hold that many packages. They are too small.
It is amazing that we are being held to standards that can't be met-yet the IE college newbies have struck again!

Another funny thing was that while they were here, one of them told a female 20 year plus supervisor to go downstairs and make him some coffee. That supervisor told him to get off his young college butt and get his own! We all got a good laugh over that one.

Also, a major downtown car had a bulk stop blow out yesterday. Our preload supervisor told the loader to start throwing packages OVER the stack to the front of the car,as he would not allow any packages to be left in the building. This went on for over an hour. Will you please take this supervisor back and send back our old one! That driver was STARTING his PM section past 9:00 last night!

 

[Keepingthemhonest]

The kick our managers are on is that it doesn't take more time to be safe. Productivity and Saftey are independent and you 'should' be able to unload at rate while they preach saftey, you should hit your stops per hour while applying all the 100+driver methods seeing habits without running ect...what a joke. Being safe costs time. You have to spend time raising the belt to not over reach, moving the load stand, pivoting not twisting ect...quit this doublespeak you're not fooling anyone!

 

[Deuce]

what UPS wants for productivity, safety and methods is impossible.

 

[LKLND3380]

Lakeland,

I am not far from you in a smaller building.

IE came in this year and dictated a higher flow for the unload. The problem is that our belts can't physically hold that many packages. They are too small.
It is amazing that we are being held to standards that can't be met-yet the IE college newbies have struck again!

Another funny thing was that while they were here, one of them told a female 20 year plus supervisor to go downstairs and make him some coffee. That supervisor told him to get off his young college butt and get his own! We all got a good laugh over that one.

Also, a major downtown car had a bulk stop blow out yesterday. Our preload supervisor told the loader to start throwing packages OVER the stack to the front of the car,as he would not allow any packages to be left in the building. This went on for over an hour. Will you please take this supervisor back and send back our old one! That driver was STARTING his PM section past 9:00 last night!

We have belts that shake a scream due to having too much weight... Last year the belt had too much and gave up an hour before driver start time...

Sounds like you are talking about Hutch... He would go around after the grounds were done telling everyone to bulk out... We all know airs arrive with Next Day Air Savers, 2nd Day Air, Three Day Select that may go on the shelf blocked by the bulk stop...

We did have a couple loaders using the... ummmm... "method" you mentioned above and Bob Waitkus (district mgr) happend to see it. He asked the loaders "would you want to deliver this?" Bob went in and started to unload and then reload the truck himself... I think I should have filed a grievence for Bob taking work away...

Next time someone is told to "throw packages over a pile" remind them UPS does not tollerate mishandling (throwing) packages as well as not using proper "hand to surface" methods. Then tell the supervisor directing employees to throw the packages you need a Union Steward to doccument this in case Bob or someone else shows up..

We like having Andy back in Lakeland...

 

[LKLND3380]

what UPS wants for productivity, safety and methods is impossible.

They are not impossible as hundreds of other UPS facillities are doing it... At least they claim to be....

What they are doing is not using proper methods but falsely saying they are and making it tougher for others who are...

Just the other day we ALMOST got busted... Disrict Safety called and said they were coming in for an internal audit... We had 30 trailers and our start time was 3:30... They walked around but it was after supervisors grabbed some unloaders to help clean the stacked out trucks... They arrived but it was to do drivers first and preload would be the next day...

NEXT DAY the start time was 3:15 and we had 25 trailers... hmmmm... fifteen minutes more and five less trailers... hmmmm... BUT there was no preload audit... it was cancelled last minute...

 

[westsideworma]

They are not impossible as hundreds of other UPS facillities are doing it... At least they claim to be....

What they are doing is not using proper methods but falsely saying they are and making it tougher for others who are...

Just the other day we ALMOST got busted... Disrict Safety called and said they were coming in for an internal audit... We had 30 trailers and our start time was 3:30... They walked around but it was after supervisors grabbed some unloaders to help clean the stacked out trucks... They arrived but it was to do drivers first and preload would be the next day...

NEXT DAY the start time was 3:15 and we had 25 trailers... hmmmm... fifteen minutes more and five less trailers... hmmmm... BUT there was no preload audit... it was cancelled last minute...

what I hate even more than audits is when the "suits" come for a visit (or company as the supes call them). We can't stack out anything, all bulk has to be up and in the package cars (making walking through them a bitch) and the work area has to be in prestine condition (including all the PAS charts being up etc.). All so some bored execs can take a field trip to "the jungle" that is the preload shift. We are told to the drivers, just throw everything in. Sucks.

 

[aspenleaf]

what I hate even more than audits is when the "suits" come for a visit (or company as the supes call them). We can't stack out anything, all bulk has to be up and in the package cars (making walking through them a bitch) and the work area has to be in prestine condition (including all the PAS charts being up etc.). All so some bored execs can take a field trip to "the jungle" that is the preload shift. We are told to the drivers, just throw everything in. Sucks.

They do that to us also. Once I left on break and my bulk was stacked outside of my truck in the order it should be loaded. When I got back I found it tossed in my truck. I took it out and restacked it. I could not move in that truck but the area was nice looking with the suits came by. I work the end of my line so I saw them standing at the end of the belt with clipboards. I waved at them every few times I left a truck. My sup told me that I needed to not stack. I told him to have the suits come over and I'd show them that the stacks were not a mess but in order and it would be best for the customers if I didn't have to crawl over their fragile items to load the truck. He left me alone. I feel bad for the sups since they get yelled at for what we preloaders do wrong. My sup says as long as I keep not having misloads he doesn’t really care if I do stack. Now some people have a pile or a mound that blocks the belt. . .that is not good.

 

[hoser]

Here management says "Load stands are available IF requested BUT they would really cut down on production speed..." So we just grab in the middle of a wall - bring it down and try to have as many as possible land on the belt.

Ha, my mentality too; if you don't want it damaged, package it right. Don't put an x-box in an empty 6 cubic foot u-haul box with the bottom flaps folded. sadly, 2% of our customers don't realise this.

aldo sends us 100 boxes, which contain roughly 20 pairs of shoes, and they just fold the bottom of each box. ECS has fun sorting through various shoes and matching them up to each intra-store transfer.

maybe those retail managers will learn by the end of 2007.

 

[LKLND3380]

They do that to us also. Once I left on break and my bulk was stacked outside of my truck in the order it should be loaded. When I got back I found it tossed in my truck. I took it out and restacked it. I could not move in that truck but the area was nice looking with the suits came by. I work the end of my line so I saw them standing at the end of the belt with clipboards. I waved at them every few times I left a truck. My sup told me that I needed to not stack. I told him to have the suits come over and I'd show them that the stacks were not a mess but in order and it would be best for the customers if I didn't have to crawl over their fragile items to load the truck. He left me alone. I feel bad for the sups since they get yelled at for what we preloaders do wrong. My sup says as long as I keep not having misloads he doesn’t really care if I do stack. Now some people have a pile or a mound that blocks the belt. . .that is not good.

Double check - but I believe UPS CORPORATE SAFETY GUIDELINES direct that package cars MUST have a minimum of 14 inch walkway from the cab to the rear of the car. Egress behind the package car MUST have a 24 in walkway...

I am sure NO SUIT, MANAGER or SUPERVISOR would ever direct anyone to use UNSAFE METHODS... UPS has all the employees sign those silly little papers stating they have been trained for (INSERT SAFETY METHODS) this way they are protected and can write YOU up for unsafe behavior. These papers are often signed under DURESS and while no training has been done.

If your neighbour misses packages and YOU pull their work, stack it and results in a blocked egress... YOU can be written up for the pile as it is UNSAFE METHODS...

 

[BCFan]

does that mean there is supposed to w be a 14 inch wide path thru the truck from front to back? BC

 

[westsideworma]

does that mean there is supposed to w be a 14 inch wide path thru the truck from front to back? BC

yes but only in UPS' "on paper" world does this actually happen. Although right now its not too difficult to manage this (at least in the NE) however if they keep cutting routes its only a matter of time before that is no longer true.

 

[rod]

does that mean there is supposed to w be a 14 inch wide path thru the truck from front to back? BC

You have to be kidding! Very rarely was there even 14 square inches of space left in the whole friggin pkg car.

 

[HazMatMan]

UPS has all the employees sign those silly little papers stating they have been trained for (INSERT SAFETY METHODS)

I was taught don't sign anything but your paycheck, and I guess when i'm retiring those papers as well.

 

[HazMatMan]

Ups never did, and never will give you enough time to do the job by THEIR rules. It's impossible to follow ALL the methods ALL the time, but if all the workers at least TRIED to, what would happen? The job would not get done. Some workers fall into that trap of throwing, stacking, inaccurate stop count taking, burying airs in the package cars etc, etc. Just think if you followed the methods, stroked that stop count sheet when it was necessary, kept track of the airs, didn't stack packages. Packages are getting damaged more and more everyday, believe me I work with damages, some are shippers fault but MOST are UPS's fault. I understand UPS has a business to run, but it seems to be running in the wrong direction....Just my opinion, I am entitled to it.. P.S. All you unloaders who think it's easier to pull a wall down instead of grabbing one box at a time guess what? that creates more damages, so, thanks for the overtime......

 

[westsideworma]

Ups never did, and never will give you enough time to do the job by THEIR rules. It's impossible to follow ALL the methods ALL the time, but if all the workers at least TRIED to, what would happen? The job would not get done. Some workers fall into that trap of throwing, stacking, inaccurate stop count taking, burying airs in the package cars etc, etc. Just think if you followed the methods, stroked that stop count sheet when it was necessary, kept track of the airs, didn't stack packages. Packages are getting damaged more and more everyday, believe me I work with damages, some are shippers fault but MOST are UPS's fault. I understand UPS has a business to run, but it seems to be running in the wrong direction....Just my opinion, I am entitled to it.. P.S. All you unloaders who think it's easier to pull a wall down instead of grabbing one box at a time guess what? that creates more damages, so, thanks for the overtime......

quite right, I even did out the math once, I load at 200pph and had an 1100-1200 piece pull (four P1000s) and was starting at 3:45. Also bear in mind that a large amount of my work comes after break (approx 6:30). They wanted us done at 8:45....the math just doesn't add up. I'm by no means slow and do work hard, but the way they run this place it is never enough. So I had to resort to dumping cages, stacking, etc. I hate doing it because you're absolutely right sometimes things happen to packages this way. It got to the point where I just say screw it and did my work the right way and if they didn't send help well I didn't finish, I get paid the same rate either way, doesn't bother me.

 

[LKLND3380]

Ups never did, and never will give you enough time to do the job by THEIR rules. It's impossible to follow ALL the methods ALL the time, but if all the workers at least TRIED to, what would happen? The job would not get done. Some workers fall into that trap of throwing, stacking, inaccurate stop count taking, burying airs in the package cars etc, etc. Just think if you followed the methods, stroked that stop count sheet when it was necessary, kept track of the airs, didn't stack packages. Packages are getting damaged more and more everyday, believe me I work with damages, some are shippers fault but MOST are UPS's fault. I understand UPS has a business to run, but it seems to be running in the wrong direction....Just my opinion, I am entitled to it.. P.S. All you unloaders who think it's easier to pull a wall down instead of grabbing one box at a time guess what? that creates more damages, so, thanks for the overtime......

I guess you handle all those BROKEN $20 bottles of MonaVie, Tahitian NONI and Xango... Then you also have the broken bottles of Boost and Baby formula... The list goes on and on...

 

[aspenleaf]

Double check - but I believe UPS CORPORATE SAFETY GUIDELINES direct that package cars MUST have a minimum of 14 inch walkway from the cab to the rear of the car. Egress behind the package car MUST have a 24 in walkway...

I am sure NO SUIT, MANAGER or SUPERVISOR would ever direct anyone to use UNSAFE METHODS... UPS has all the employees sign those silly little papers stating they have been trained for (INSERT SAFETY METHODS) this way they are protected and can write YOU up for unsafe behavior. These papers are often signed under DURESS and while no training has been done.

If your neighbour misses packages and YOU pull their work, stack it and results in a blocked egress... YOU can be written up for the pile as it is UNSAFE METHODS...

I have not had any issues with my methods unless there is a huge bulk stop which I leave in the cage until close to the end of my shift. When I stack I have a nice walkway from the back of the truck to the front. However at the end of the day that pathway will get filled in so what do we do if there are too many packages for the package car? I still need to double check the safety methods.

Thanks for the info!