The morning ballet of the brown sardines

soberups

Pees in the brown Koolaid
Every morning in my building, I get to watch hundreds of dollars being wasted during the Ballet of the Brown Sardines.

My building was constructed in 1986 and was designed to park a total of 124 P-5, P-6 and P-8 package cars. It currently dispatches around 190 routes, most of which are in P-7's, P-10's and P-12's.

The only way to force that many cars into the available space is to pack them like sardines. Many of the cars are touching, and the average distance between them is less than 2 inches. It is often virtually impossible to get them out without them scratching each other, particularly when the vehicle in question lacks power steering and must be backed in and out a fraction of an inch at a time.

Rather than just coming to terms with this reality, UPS instead insists upon following its idiotic policy of charging a driver with an avoidable accident for even the slightest scratch.

Many drivers simply refuse to even try, and wind up making management do it in order to protect themselves. This results in huge and costly traffic jams and delays for everyone else who is parked behind them and must wait to get out. It is pointless, frustrating and time consuming, and it doesnt have to be this way.

The solution to this problem is simple; brown paint and common sense. Unfortunately, UPS would rather pole vault over mouse turds and make a big safety issue over minor, incidental contact between two vehicles that are parked so close as to be practically touching.

UPS has saved millions of dollars over the years by making do with the current facility instead of enlarging it. Perhaps a minute fraction of this profit could be applied towards the purchase of a can of brown touch up paint. Someone with a brain needs to come up with a policy that recognizes and accepts the simple reality that 190 trucks parked a half an inch apart will occasionally scratch one another and it serves no purpose to jump the employees ass over a $5 problem that they didnt cause and cannot control.
 

Sammie

Well-Known Member
Is there a space problem here??????
ballet-dancers-b.jpg
 

upsdude

Well-Known Member
Every morning in my building, I get to watch hundreds of dollars being wasted during the Ballet of the Brown Sardines.

My building was constructed in 1986 and was designed to park a total of 124 P-5, P-6 and P-8 package cars. It currently dispatches around 190 routes, most of which are in P-7's, P-10's and P-12's.

The only way to force that many cars into the available space is to pack them like sardines. Many of the cars are touching, and the average distance between them is less than 2 inches. It is often virtually impossible to get them out without them scratching each other, particularly when the vehicle in question lacks power steering and must be backed in and out a fraction of an inch at a time.

Rather than just coming to terms with this reality, UPS instead insists upon following its idiotic policy of charging a driver with an avoidable accident for even the slightest scratch.

Many drivers simply refuse to even try, and wind up making management do it in order to protect themselves. This results in huge and costly traffic jams and delays for everyone else who is parked behind them and must wait to get out. It is pointless, frustrating and time consuming, and it doesnt have to be this way.

The solution to this problem is simple; brown paint and common sense. Unfortunately, UPS would rather pole vault over mouse turds and make a big safety issue over minor, incidental contact between two vehicles that are parked so close as to be practically touching.

UPS has saved millions of dollars over the years by making do with the current facility instead of enlarging it. Perhaps a minute fraction of this profit could be applied towards the purchase of a can of brown touch up paint. Someone with a brain needs to come up with a policy that recognizes and accepts the simple reality that 190 trucks parked a half an inch apart will occasionally scratch one another and it serves no purpose to jump the employees ass over a $5 problem that they didnt cause and cannot control.

Same situation here!

The company did hire an off duty police officer to direct traffic so we can get out of the parking lot. The officer gets 25.00 an hour with a 2 hour minimum,works about 20 minutes.
 

dilligaf

IN VINO VERITAS
Sober, although we do not have nearly the number of rtes that you do, we do have the exact same problem. The issue is compounded when they only way to even get in the truck is to wait for you neighbor to pull because the truck is brick loaded. It sucks to sit around and twiddle your thumbs waiting for your neighbor to leave, to get your air loaded. This is ten times worse during peak.

And what makes no sense at all is the fact that they are actually going ahead with PAS here, in an outdated building that is to small.
 

Paid-over-in-Maine

15 more years of this!
We have the same problem, not as severe though. Although it is tight, and sometimes you have to wait your turn to get out, there is a little more room between trucks. Of course, it depends on who parked them. If one guy takes up to much room, it's a domino effect, he screws up the rest.
 

dilligaf

IN VINO VERITAS
Last night I couldn't even get my truck backed in. Had to go move the truck next to me first. Pulled it out and left it sit in the middle of the parking lot.
 

HEFFERNAN

Huge Member
Sober

Why don't you and the rest of the drivers get the union involved !
This is a case of harassment and you should get their involvement at the district or division level.

Over here, the car wash people and mechanics have brown paint available for any truck that needs it. I would assume that cost is cheaper than 3-pt seatbelts.:happy2:
 

Covemastah

Hoopah drives the boat Chief !!
Same situation here!

The company did hire an off duty police officer to direct traffic so we can get out of the parking lot. The officer gets 25.00 an hour with a 2 hour minimum,works about 20 minutes.
wow!! is he ever paid over!!
 

Catatonic

Nine Lives
Every morning in my building, I get to watch hundreds of dollars being wasted during the Ballet of the Brown Sardines.

My building was constructed in 1986 and was designed to park a total of 124 P-5, P-6 and P-8 package cars. It currently dispatches around 190 routes, most of which are in P-7's, P-10's and P-12's.

The only way to force that many cars into the available space is to pack them like sardines. Many of the cars are touching, and the average distance between them is less than 2 inches. It is often virtually impossible to get them out without them scratching each other, particularly when the vehicle in question lacks power steering and must be backed in and out a fraction of an inch at a time.

I guess some things are a constant at UPS. Been this way for 40 years or more.
Buildings are very expensive and once the money is spent, it's gone.
 

Channahon

Well-Known Member
I guess some things are a constant at UPS. Been this way for 40 years or more.
Buildings are very expensive and once the money is spent, it's gone.


The average bay for a package car used to be 9'ft when buildings were built, and have since come down to about 8.5'ft, which of course squeezes them closer together.

Although a challenge to get the package cars out of the building, the focus should be on the end cars being wrapped up, so the cars can start peeling off the dock.

Now in today's economy, which continues to get worse, just may alleviate the problem, as less routes may be needed, which means less cars.

Looking at it from this perspective, may ease the inconvenience of waiting to leave the building.
 

Channahon

Well-Known Member
Sober

Why don't you and the rest of the drivers get the union involved !
This is a case of harassment and you should get their involvement at the district or division level.


Parking cars close together and relying on professional drivers to leave the building accident free, is harassment?

Should UPS put up buildings to accomodate volume trends, so when the volume picks up, they should open a building, when the volume drops, close that building and use the original building?
 

over9five

Moderator
Staff member
Though I agree that Soberups is right that it is foolish to charge people with accidents for minor scratches, it really IS the drivers job not to hit things.

Sober, you have to drill it in to these people that they HAVE to take their time leaving the building. Take as Loooooooooong as you need to get that car out without hitting anything. If you can't do it, then you sit there until you can.
 

soberups

Pees in the brown Koolaid
Sober

Why don't you and the rest of the drivers get the union involved !
This is a case of harassment and you should get their involvement at the district or division level.

Over here, the car wash people and mechanics have brown paint available for any truck that needs it. I would assume that cost is cheaper than 3-pt seatbelts.:happy2:

The union supports our right to refuse to do unsafe work, and the solution is to refuse to move the vehicle and make management do it instead.

I'm not complaining about the inconvenience, because I'm paid by the hour. I am merely trying to point out that perhaps UPS ought to reconsider its policy and quit wasting time and resources on continuing to categorize contact between parked pkg cars in the AM as an "accident" with all of the paperwork, meetings, OJS's and training that entails.

Paint is cheaper than time.
 

Catatonic

Nine Lives
I am merely trying to point out that perhaps UPS ought to reconsider its policy and quit wasting time and resources on continuing to categorize contact between parked pkg cars in the AM as an "accident" with all of the paperwork, meetings, OJS's and training that entails.

Paint is cheaper than time.

That is a very valid and sage suggestion. That was what we did and had a p/t carwasher touching up the fleet once a week or as recorded in the DVIR.
Drivers would do a pretrip and find new scratches that occurred overnight and that would be noted on timecaed (pre-DIAD).
 

soberups

Pees in the brown Koolaid
Parking cars close together and relying on professional drivers to leave the building accident free, is harassment?

Should UPS put up buildings to accomodate volume trends, so when the volume picks up, they should open a building, when the volume drops, close that building and use the original building?

No to both questions.

There is nothing wrong in and of itself with parking cars close together.

The simple reality however is that the business decision to park cars so close together as to be touching carries with it the natural consequence of those cars getting scratched. This isnt a safety issue, it is a cosmetic issue.

Spending inordinate amounts of time every morning trying to avoid scratches creates huge delays and service issues for every driver in the building, and it would be far more cost effective to just consider scratches on a 25 yr old vehicle as part of the cost of doing business.
 

Catatonic

Nine Lives
No to both questions.

There is nothing wrong in and of itself with parking cars close together.

The simple reality however is that the business decision to park cars so close together as to be touching carries with it the natural consequence of those cars getting scratched. This isnt a safety issue, it is a cosmetic issue.

Spending inordinate amounts of time every morning trying to avoid scratches creates huge delays and service issues for every driver in the building, and it would be far more cost effective to just consider scratches on a 25 yr old vehicle as part of the cost of doing business.

It's just a cost of doing business the way we do and the lack of accountability on the various people moving vehicles after the driver parks on the belt/dock.

These scratches/rubs occur often during the preload operation when people are walking in and out of the cars and getting bulk stops on one side of the vehicle weighing more than the packages on the other side of vehicle.
Cars parked 1 inch apart with a right leaner and left leaner will actually be touching. We use to have people stand on the bumpers to balance out the weight (reduce lean) until we got the cars apart.
 

HEFFERNAN

Huge Member
Parking cars close together and relying on professional drivers to leave the building accident free, is harassment?

Should UPS put up buildings to accomodate volume trends, so when the volume picks up, they should open a building, when the volume drops, close that building and use the original building?

Be serious Chan !!

We are not talking about a Wal-Mart parking lot here. Charging drivers an accident for scratching the side of a car is harassment. A bucket of paint is cheaper. These trucks are parked close for a reason. To get as many cars in line as possible. Sober has repeated many times that the building is overloaded. He gets loaded outside now because of this.

Also, to build or retrofit a new building, they can't rip out all the belts and UPS equipment in the current facility and move it over. Everything would basically have to be brand new because you need to keep the worn out building running. In this recession, UPS will not even think about building new centers.
 
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