Telematics and the 111 foot driveway

[soberups]

I was recently shown a Telematics report and asked why I chose to back 111 feet into this driveway to make a pickup.

As can be seen, the "driveway" is barely longer than the 22 foot package car. Had I actually backed up 111 feet at this stop, I would have gone through the door, through the warehouse, and out through the opposite wall of the building which is about 80 feet wide.

Since none of these things occured, it would appear that there are some serious accuracy issues with the Telematics system.

 

[bumped]

Because you suppose to stay out of driveways less than 100ft. You backed 111ft...whats the problem

 

[Dragon]

So you are saying - you pull up - look to make sure its clear(from drivers side I assume) - pull past the door - then back.

 

[Dragon]

Is this a residence or a business. How many pieces did you get? Large or small cube?

 

[RoyalFlush]

I was recently shown a Telematics report and asked why I chose to back 111 feet into this driveway to make a pickup.

As can be seen, the "driveway" is barely longer than the 22 foot package car. Had I actually backed up 111 feet at this stop, I would have gone through the door, through the warehouse, and out through the opposite wall of the building which is about 80 feet wide.

Since none of these things occured, it would appear that there are some serious accuracy issues with the Telematics system.

Wouldn't it be possible to back 90 feet before reaching the driveway?

 

[pretzel_man]

I was recently shown a Telematics report and asked why I chose to back 111 feet into this driveway to make a pickup.

As can be seen, the "driveway" is barely longer than the 22 foot package car. Had I actually backed up 111 feet at this stop, I would have gone through the door, through the warehouse, and out through the opposite wall of the building which is about 80 feet wide.

Since none of these things occured, it would appear that there are some serious accuracy issues with the Telematics system.

I use Telematics all the time, and you are correct that its not 100% perfect.

Can I assume that your supervisor accepted your answer and moved on?

You brought up an example where Telematics was wrong. Its right 99.9+ % of the time. Telematics sites have reduced non seat belt usage, reduced backing (even if the report may not be 100%), reduced idle time, and improved performance....

I don't know what your supervisor did, but I would have accepted your answer.

I can understand that you are a wonderful driver. Not all drivers are, and Telematics quickly points them out....

Good system, just not a perfect one. I haven't seen a perfect system yet.

P-Man

 

[UPSGUY72]

Is this a daily pickup? If so how many packages do you pickup? If it is not daily pick up or you only pick up a couple of packages each day then you should not have back up.

Back to the telemactics part. If the GPS system isn't picking up 3 satellites then the data it's putting out is garbage.

 

[over9five]

Shouldn't it be possible to just trust that a professional driver who backs up probably has a legitimate reason for doing so?

 

[pretzel_man]

Shouldn't it be possible to just trust that a professional driver who backs up probably has a legitimate reason for doing so?

Over:

I understand what you are saying. I really do, but....

Go and look at some Telematics systems. Especially right after installation. You may have a much different opinion.

Not all drivers are excellent. Telematics points that out and allows for correction....

I've seen too many cases of this. I have also seen excellent drivers. I'm certain some supervisors spend time with nickel and dime details, but that doesn't make the process wrong. Just makes some supervisors wrong.

P-Man

 

[soberups]

Is this a residence or a business. How many pieces did you get? Large or small cube?

Its a business.

Some days they ship out one package. Other days, they ship out 10 or 15. Once or twice a week they ship an over 70.

The driveway I am backed into is off of an alley, which is off of the main road. I have to back into there in order to turn around.

In this situation, there is no alternative but to back up.

 

[soberups]

I've seen too many cases of this. I have also seen excellent drivers. I'm certain some supervisors spend time with nickel and dime details, but that doesn't make the process wrong. Just makes some supervisors wrong.

P-Man

They are being instructed by corporate to obsess over the nickel-and-dime details.

I dont have a problem with Telematics. I do have a problem with the manner in which it is being used. We are literally being drowned in paper every morning, with reports about where and when and how far and how fast we backed up. We get a report if the BH door got unlatched and we moved the car 20 feet before closing it. We get a report if the seat belt latched 1/1000th of a second before the wheels began to rotate. We get a report if the DIAD got pulled while waiting at a light.

When you combine its frequent inaccuracies with our managements obsession with irrelevant trivia, the system loses credibility in the eyes of the drivers.

It would be a good system if you used it to focus on the stuff that matters. But instead, we use it to justify writing reports and then we write reports about those reports and then there are even more reports about the reports that we wrote about all of the reports.

Those of us who do the work are growing weary of carrying the dead weight of those who write the reports.

 

[soberups]

Shouldn't it be possible to just trust that a professional driver who backs up probably has a legitimate reason for doing so?

Sure its possible...but there is no job security for the management person who learns to trust and delegate to his subordinates.

Job security is maintained thru obsessive, never-ending micromanagement over every metric that relates to the job.

Once we can measure it....we must manage it. The more we can measure, the more there is to manage. And the more there is to manage, the more the "important" the job of the manager can be made to appear.

The 1800 management people we just cut would probably agree with me.

 

[SWORDFISH]

How do they know your backing up? The GPS screen I have seen cannot distinguish if the trucks going forward or backward. I have heard they are installing boxes in some areas that register certain things is this how they can tell?

 

[browniehound]

I use Telematics all the time, and you are correct that its not 100% perfect.

Can I assume that your supervisor accepted your answer and moved on?

You brought up an example where Telematics was wrong. Its right 99.9+ % of the time. Telematics sites have reduced non seat belt usage, reduced backing (even if the report may not be 100%), reduced idle time, and improved performance....

I don't know what your supervisor did, but I would have accepted your answer.

I can understand that you are a wonderful driver. Not all drivers are, and Telematics quickly points them out....

Good system, just not a perfect one. I haven't seen a perfect system yet.

P-Man

P-man,
I'm at a telematics site and too believe that its right 99% of the time. I will even go so far that mangemement will give you the benefit of the doubt if you claim there is a one-time error in its report.

Its been over a year here and I've had my share of single bulk head door or seatbelt events and not one word has been said to me about it. Yes, my name will be on the report, but unless you are doing more than once or consistently, we are left alone.

The business manager understands that the door slides open from time to time, or the seatbealt didn't click in when you thought it would.

I have to give UPS and our center credit on this one. They now have a tool in which they can prove everybody wrong at any instance and I have yet to see the company really come down hard on someone yet.

Maybe its because the driver knows not to screw up now the UPS is watching 100% of the time? Either way, my management team has bought my explanation every time my name came up on a report.

Its like they're not too much interested in that it DID happen, but they want to know WHY it happened or WHY you went that way and I think these are very fair questions....

 

[soberups]

P-man,

Its been over a year here and I've had my share of single bulk head door or seatbelt events and not one word has been said to me about it. Yes, my name will be on the report, but unless you are doing more than once or consistently, we are left alone.

Enjoy it while it lasts.

One day soon, those BH door and seatbelt events are going to become the "flavor of the week" and you are going to start getting nagged to death over them.

 

[local804]

Its a business.

Some days they ship out one package. Other days, they ship out 10 or 15. Once or twice a week they ship an over 70.

.

Sober,
Just curious if your truck has the over 70 rollers in them or if you get a bargaining unit employee to give you a hand with the over 70.

 

[UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)]

Sober,
Just curious if your truck has the over 70 rollers in them or if you get a bargaining unit employee to give you a hand with the over 70.

I would think sober has a good working relationship with the people at this stop and they would be more than happy to give him a hand with over 70s if he asks.

Yeah, I know, the contract says UPS is supposed to send help for over 70s, but how many of us have the time to sit and wait for another bargaining unit employee to make his way over to help us? We either ask for help or "man up" and take care of it ourselves.

 

[local804]

I hear you loud and clear Upstate and it might be a little reaching but so is this supervisor asking this 23 year safety asset to our company about why he backed 111 feet to a stop. We are paid a good wage and have to all make hundreds of judgement calls everyday and 99% of the time they are the correct one.

Do you know what one of the first questions that a supervisor has to fill out to is boss when we fill out an accident report is?
Which method did the employee not follow and when was his last observation. The buck is always looking to be passed so the times where we just man up are long gone. The body over here isnt as strong as it used to be either.

 

[dillweed]

Seems the system could be a valuable tool if some common sense were added in.

 

[Covemastah]

Shouldn't it be possible to just trust that a professional driver who backs up probably has a legitimate reason for doing so?

Took the words right outah my mouth!!! There is no trust at this company,they hire us,train us,then have no faith in what they taught us !!!!