How to sum up Orion

[Overpaid Union Thug]

Serious question, they are pushing Orion to be at 95%...can me file a grievance for oversupervision?

Yes. Or follow it as close to 100% as humanly and safely as possible. Or request a list of the specific stops you are supposed to break trace for and still stay at 95% or better. That way if something is missed at least you can point out that they were not included on that list.

 

[Bob11B]

Yes. Or follow it as close to 100% as humanly and safely as possible. Or request a list of the specific stops you are supposed to break trace for and still stay at 95% or better. That way if something is missed at least you can point out that they were not included on that list.

I was following it today and it kept making me go straight across an extremely busy street and had me skipping over stops...messaged center and said “breaking trace, causing me to sit in too much traffic and unsafe situations”

 

[specter208]

Your route will continue to be dispatched accordingly until you give them incentive to fix the problem or eliminate it. It being ORION.


I used to agree with that until a business agent pointed out a few things to me. If they, meaning someone in upper management with a wild hair up their ass, wants to make an example of you they could by using the very language you cite against you. If running ORION is what they consider to be in their best interest and you are instructed to follow it and don’t then they can, and have, initiate progressive discipline. And it won’t matter much that ORION conflicts with methods or not.

Suggested that if someone is willing to risk that then more power to them but it would be more wise to use their metrics against them to get rid of the problem. He said that short of being instructed to genuinely put your life in danger you should always follow follow instructions whether they are contrary to the methods or not.

Was also told that Atlanta thinks that, as drivers, the customers are not ours but are UPS’s and if they are willing to risk pissing off those customers by forcing us to run ORION then we should. In the short term it is hard for many people to except that because some of us actually care about our customers but in the long term it is actually better for both of us.

If every driver in every center that’s on ORION would simply follow it to the best of their ability then corporate would have to shut it off and re-evaluate just how valuable it is. That doesn’t necessarily mean run it at 100% knowing that you are missing businesses but breaking off to make service on those businesses and then returning to trace. The miles would skyrocket to the point where corporate would definitely notice.

Hey said that drivers taking it upon them selves to do it their own way, whether or not it’s right or wrong, only hides the problem from those in Atlanta that thinks it works. With that happening, along with middle-management at the center level letting a few drivers do their own thing, corporate sees satisfying compliance percentages because many of the rest of the drivers in those centers are getting 85% or better despite doing it their own way. If everyone would just follow it for a few days we could actually use their compliance metrics in our favor for once to get something fixed. It’s your call obviously but I’ve been taking that advice for a while now and at the very least it has reduced my stop count and keeps me below 9 1/2 hours and if I want overtime it’s easy to get but with a much lighter workload. That’s why I always tell people that ORION is a win-win.

But blocking RDO as an option is something we should all be fighting against and the advice I just described, in my opinion, is the better way to get it back.

I feel the right thing to do is the same as you just mentioned. Follow ORION and let the real results talk. If you guys love your job then be honest with company and follow ORION, the company will then know what they have to do.

Think of it like this

" the wounds from a sincere friend are better than kisses from an enemy'
Proverbs 27:6

 

[soberups]

Serious question, they are pushing Orion to be at 95%...can me file a grievance for oversupervision?

Ask them to put it in writing that you wont face discipline for methods violations or service failures that result from following ORION.
If they wont do it, then tell them you wont follow ORION.
If they threaten discipline you then have a valid article 37 grievance because you are being given conflicting instructions under threat of discipline.

 

[soberups]

Your route will continue to be dispatched accordingly until you give them incentive to fix the problem or eliminate it. It being ORION.


I used to agree with that until a business agent pointed out a few things to me. If they, meaning someone in upper management with a wild hair up their ass, wants to make an example of you they could by using the very language you cite against you. If running ORION is what they consider to be in their best interest and you are instructed to follow it and don’t then they can, and have, initiate progressive discipline. And it won’t matter much that ORION conflicts with methods or not.

Suggested that if someone is willing to risk that then more power to them but it would be more wise to use their metrics against them to get rid of the problem. He said that short of being instructed to genuinely put your life in danger you should always follow follow instructions whether they are contrary to the methods or not.

Was also told that Atlanta thinks that, as drivers, the customers are not ours but are UPS’s and if they are willing to risk pissing off those customers by forcing us to run ORION then we should. In the short term it is hard for many people to except that because some of us actually care about our customers but in the long term it is actually better for both of us.

If every driver in every center that’s on ORION would simply follow it to the best of their ability then corporate would have to shut it off and re-evaluate just how valuable it is. That doesn’t necessarily mean run it at 100% knowing that you are missing businesses but breaking off to make service on those businesses and then returning to trace. The miles would skyrocket to the point where corporate would definitely notice.

Hey said that drivers taking it upon them selves to do it their own way, whether or not it’s right or wrong, only hides the problem from those in Atlanta that thinks it works. With that happening, along with middle-management at the center level letting a few drivers do their own thing, corporate sees satisfying compliance percentages because many of the rest of the drivers in those centers are getting 85% or better despite doing it their own way. If everyone would just follow it for a few days we could actually use their compliance metrics in our favor for once to get something fixed. It’s your call obviously but I’ve been taking that advice for a while now and at the very least it has reduced my stop count and keeps me below 9 1/2 hours and if I want overtime it’s easy to get but with a much lighter workload. That’s why I always tell people that ORION is a win-win.

But blocking RDO as an option is something we should all be fighting against and the advice I just described, in my opinion, is the better way to get it back.

I point blank asked my supervisor if he wanted me to follow ORION and he told me no.
I then told him that he needed to allow me to turn ODO off and have RDO or I would file a grievance for over supervision as well as a past practice grievance on the basis that they had been willing to turn it off in the past during peak therefore it was a working condition/standard that ought to be maintained.
My ORION has been shut off and I have RDO only.

 

[soberups]

Your route will continue to be dispatched accordingly until you give them incentive to fix the problem or eliminate it. It being ORION.


I used to agree with that until a business agent pointed out a few things to me. If they, meaning someone in upper management with a wild hair up their ass, wants to make an example of you they could by using the very language you cite against you. If running ORION is what they consider to be in their best interest and you are instructed to follow it and don’t then they can, and have, initiate progressive discipline. And it won’t matter much that ORION conflicts with methods or not.

Suggested that if someone is willing to risk that then more power to them but it would be more wise to use their metrics against them to get rid of the problem. He said that short of being instructed to genuinely put your life in danger you should always follow follow instructions whether they are contrary to the methods or not.

Was also told that Atlanta thinks that, as drivers, the customers are not ours but are UPS’s and if they are willing to risk pissing off those customers by forcing us to run ORION then we should. In the short term it is hard for many people to except that because some of us actually care about our customers but in the long term it is actually better for both of us.

If every driver in every center that’s on ORION would simply follow it to the best of their ability then corporate would have to shut it off and re-evaluate just how valuable it is. That doesn’t necessarily mean run it at 100% knowing that you are missing businesses but breaking off to make service on those businesses and then returning to trace. The miles would skyrocket to the point where corporate would definitely notice.

Hey said that drivers taking it upon them selves to do it their own way, whether or not it’s right or wrong, only hides the problem from those in Atlanta that thinks it works. With that happening, along with middle-management at the center level letting a few drivers do their own thing, corporate sees satisfying compliance percentages because many of the rest of the drivers in those centers are getting 85% or better despite doing it their own way. If everyone would just follow it for a few days we could actually use their compliance metrics in our favor for once to get something fixed. It’s your call obviously but I’ve been taking that advice for a while now and at the very least it has reduced my stop count and keeps me below 9 1/2 hours and if I want overtime it’s easy to get but with a much lighter workload. That’s why I always tell people that ORION is a win-win.

But blocking RDO as an option is something we should all be fighting against and the advice I just described, in my opinion, is the better way to get it back.

There are specific listed 340 work methods that require us to avoid delays and reduce miles.
I would use those methods, ignore ORION, and beat its projection by up to 40 miles.
There is no rational basis for management to claim that it is somehow in the company’s best interest to waste time and miles, particularly when drivers who have done so in the past have been terminated for dishonesty.
Instructing me to intentionally violate methods and intentionally waste time and miles in order to generate a compliance metric is a blatant example of over supervision, harassment and coercion. All of which are specifically prohibited under article 37.

 

[JL 0513]

I dont ignore ORION because I want to get done early or because I care about my numbers.
I ignore ORION because article 37 of the contract requires me to follow the methods and do my job in a manner that best represents the interest of the company.
Forced stupidity and intentional failure for the sole purpose of satisfying an ORION compliance metric is incompatible with my obligations under article 37.
If the company wants to renegotiate the contract and remove that requirement from the language then I will be more than happy to shut my brain off and be as intentionally stupid as they want me to be.
Until then, I will continue doing the job the way I was trained and in accordance with the contract.

Typical conflicting directives from UPS. We must work as directed. The directive is to follow Orion. This means it WILL make the job logistically harder in the sense that you're fighting more traffic, doing more walking since you're delivering to the left, and driving around blocks repeating streets to avoid backing in driveways. So follow it while maintaining safety. They will see the consequences. It's no longer our job to care.

While it makes you feel like an idiot, it also sets you free from having to think much about the job. Used to plan how you would run your route, figuring out how to most efficiently run a route while providing the best service you can. That's all gone. Just dock you DIAD, go wherever it tells you while enjoying whatever is coming out of you Bluetooth speaker. Deliver. Repeat. Don't even scroll through your DIAD all day. Check your savers for business at the 20 min prompt. And maybe check for remaining businesses at 4:30. Put Orion's stupidity on them.

 

[soberups]

This all boils down to accountability.
The company wants us to micromanage us and have us do it their way, but then blame us for any service failures that result from obeying their instructions.
Thats not how real life works.
“Think...but dont think too much” is not a valid directive.
“Be intentionally stupid 85% of the time but then make good decisions the remaining 15% of the time in order to prevent service failures or we will give you a warning letter” is harassment.

 

[vvv]

A few? LOL. Man you really showed them! LOL

I did brother. They put up with so much crap in short order that mine is turned off on a permanent basis while others have to wade thru the mayhem.

 

[JL 0513]

Orion was introduced 6 years ago, and this is the hardest push they've done. They're serious now with RDO gone and navigation mode that does actually make driving in circles easier because it always gets you to your next stop without having to think.

I wouldn't count on your management team continuing to allow you to have Orion turned off. Higher people are going to notice.

Don't do the 85 or even 90% thing. That just fixes it too much. Aim for 100% everyday only adjusting for service failures at the last minute.

 

[vvv]

I point blank asked my supervisor if he wanted me to follow ORION and he told me no.
I then told him that he needed to allow me to turn ODO off and have RDO or I would file a grievance for over supervision as well as a past practice grievance on the basis that they had been willing to turn it off in the past during peak therefore it was a working condition/standard that ought to be maintained.
My ORION has been shut off and I have RDO only.

My performance alone got mine shut off permanently. But I do agree and applaud what you say and your actions.......well done!!

 

[soberups]

Orion was introduced 6 years ago, and this is the hardest push they've done. They're serious now with RDO gone and navigation mode that does actually make driving in circles easier because it always gets you to your next stop without having to think.

I wouldn't count on your management team continuing to allow you to have Orion turned off. Higher people are going to notice.

Don't do the 85 or even 90% thing. That just fixes it too much. Aim for 100% everyday only adjusting for service failures at the last minute.

I have the new DIAD cradle with the nav feature that shows the map and the turn-by turn directions.
The map is not accurate on my route. It tried to get me to drive off a cliff once and it wants me to drive thru pastures and on dirt roads thru the woods that are gated and/or impassable when it is muddy.
The only good thing about it is that I can use the USB port to keep my bluetooth speaker charged.

 

[soberups]

Orion was introduced 6 years ago, and this is the hardest push they've done. They're serious now with RDO gone and navigation mode that does actually make driving in circles easier because it always gets you to your next stop without having to think.

I wouldn't count on your management team continuing to allow you to have Orion turned off. Higher people are going to notice.

Don't do the 85 or even 90% thing. That just fixes it too much. Aim for 100% everyday only adjusting for service failures at the last minute.

One of the issues I had with ORION on my route was that it was so bad that I literally did not have enough fuel to follow it.
My PDS tried to fix it and had no luck. He even called someone from corporate and they couldn’t figure it out. So that fact, plus my threatened grievance, got him to permanently delete my ORION. They actually can do that for a very limited number of routes per center.

 

[DriverNerd]

That's a very common perspective from people who don't have anything going on in their lives.

Other people don't want the hours that create the $20k.

It's not a raise. It's just more hours.

I don't care if other people want the hours or not. How does me working an additional 3-5 hours per week mean I don't have anything going on in my life?! You know nothing about me. What a a stupid thing to say.

 

[Round the block again]

Orion has me going the wrong way on one way streets ! I have 3 blocks on a one way street also but they’re loaded in 5 different areas on car WTF

 

[1989]

I have the new DIAD cradle with the nav feature that shows the map and the turn-by turn directions.
The map is not accurate on my route. It tried to get me to drive off a cliff once and it wants me to drive thru pastures and on dirt roads thru the woods that are gated and/or impassable when it is muddy.
The only good thing about it is that I can use the USB port to keep my bluetooth speaker charged.

Could management have done this on purpose?

 

[Overpaid Union Thug]

I point blank asked my supervisor if he wanted me to follow ORION and he told me no.
I then told him that he needed to allow me to turn ODO off and have RDO or I would file a grievance for over supervision as well as a past practice grievance on the basis that they had been willing to turn it off in the past during peak therefore it was a working condition/standard that ought to be maintained.
My ORION has been shut off and I have RDO only.

Yours is likely turned off because most of the rest of your center is kept on and likely has very little to do with the threat of a past practice grievance. If they really thought they needed you on ORION you’d have ODO only.

Each center is required to have a certain percentage of routes on ORION. They are only turning off ORION for routes that are mainly on busy roads and impossible to run on ORION without sitting in traffic all day waiting on left hand turns all day. Or on routes where it’s impossible to avoid missed commercial stops, excess miles, while also staying near their ORION percentage. Your route, from what you’ve described in the past, is exactly that.

The rest of us are stuck with ORION because management knows how to work the numbers. They’ve already figured out which routes (such as yours) to shut off and which to keep on ORION in order to meet their percentage and keep district level managers off their backs. This would be very difficult for them if everyone (that’s still on it) would run it 100%.

 

[1989]

Yours is likely turned off because most of the rest of your center is kept on and likely has very little to do with the threat of a past practice grievance. If they really thought they needed you on ORION you’d have ODO only.

Each center is required to have a certain percentage of routes on ORION. They are only turning off ORION for routes that are mainly on busy roads and impossible to run on ORION without sitting in traffic all day waiting on left hand turns all day. Or on routes where it’s impossible to avoid missed commercial stops, excess miles, while also staying near their ORION percentage. Your route, from what you’ve described in the past, is exactly that.

The rest of us are stuck with ORION because management knows how to work the numbers. They’ve already figured out which routes (such as yours) to shut off and which to keep on ORION in order to meet their percentage and keep district level managers off their backs. This would be very difficult for them if everyone (that’s still on it) would run it 100%.

Here, they only turn Orion off for the people who struggle.

 

[Overpaid Union Thug]

There are specific listed 340 work methods that require us to avoid delays and reduce miles.
I would use those methods, ignore ORION, and beat its projection by up to 40 miles.
There is no rational basis for management to claim that it is somehow in the company’s best interest to waste time and miles, particularly when drivers who have done so in the past have been terminated for dishonesty.
Instructing me to intentionally violate methods and intentionally waste time and miles in order to generate a compliance metric is a blatant example of over supervision, harassment and coercion. All of which are specifically prohibited under article 37.

As I said in a response to your other comment. Your route is being left alone because it’s absorbed (hidden) in the percentage of routes permitted to be off ORION because there simply is no way to have you on it without causing too many problems and sending up red flags on a district manager’s report. Otherwise you’d be ODO only like the rest of us. They don’t care about the grievances.

 

[1989]

As I said in a response to your other comment. Your route is being left alone because it’s absorbed (hidden) in the percentage of routes permitted to be off ORION because there simply is no way to have you on it without causing too many problems and sending up red flags on a district manager’s report. Otherwise you’d be ODO only like the rest of us. They don’t care about the grievances.

They also have a way to trick Orion compliance by running Orion up to a meet point. Then move that meet point up to 12:00 or so.