To Trace or Not to Trace

[Cobra Agent]

I am going into my fourth week of driving and need some good solid info. I have read other posts and most all of you say stick to trace. I am delivering to a college area where i have to walk most of my stops from corners (college kids cant park worth a hoot). I can not drive down most streets. My center mgr said that i need to be delivering 18 pcs per hour but according to trace it can not be done. My one road sup says the same thing. Last tues i delivered 158 stops and was back in the building at 7 and still ran an hour and thirty min over!! My sup is telling me not to follow trace for me to "run the route in a more logical way". I have yet to make my 30 days, do should i stick to trace or make up my own route. I thought that the pas system did away with drivers having to do this. I am unsure on what the more "logical" thing is to do. If i stick with trace i will be way over my alloted time but if i run it my way and i am still over i cant win.

 

[brownrodster]

Just do it in the fast way you think it can be done! I can do a route for a week and do it drastically different each day depending on what I have. I just do it in the fastest manner I think is possible !! I'm not on PAS so I don't even know how the routes I do are supposed to be done.

 

[filiperuvian]

If they say run it by trace, run it by trace. I'm assuming you're still on probation, so any slip up can be used to dq you. If you're running it by trace and by, oh say 11:00 or something you get the feeling you're not gonna hit your numbers, then call the center manager or your on road and tell them 'hey, just to let you know i'm running this route the way it's set up but i don't think i'm going to hit the mark you want/get in early...what do you want me to do?'. let THE
MGT. TEAM make that decision. I also suggest writing down anything that holds you up-traffic, finding parking,how many cart trips a stop takes...all of that. because if they decide to dq you because you're not 'performing' you can then pull out your notes and point to specific instances that ate up your time. and now would be a good time to get acquainted with the shop steward. tell him what's going on and ask him what he suggests.

 

[rod]

Running 158 stops in a college area and back to the building by 7:00---the kid should get a medal - not be chewed out. It would be nice to give this load to the center manager and say show me how it's done

 

[UPSBOI]

If management can ride with you and show scratch that would be fine otherwise there would be a demonstrated amount of time that the route can be run(ie; SPORH). This is definitely a situation that needs to be followed up with the union in order to straighten this situation out without being disqualified from driving.

I'm with ROD on this one!

KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK! It will get better.

 

[Mike Hawk]

I am going into my fourth week of driving and need some good solid info. I have read other posts and most all of you say stick to trace. I am delivering to a college area where i have to walk most of my stops from corners (college kids cant park worth a hoot). I can not drive down most streets. My center mgr said that i need to be delivering 18 pcs per hour but according to trace it can not be done. My one road sup says the same thing. Last tues i delivered 158 stops and was back in the building at 7 and still ran an hour and thirty min over!! My sup is telling me not to follow trace for me to "run the route in a more logical way". I have yet to make my 30 days, do should i stick to trace or make up my own route. I thought that the pas system did away with drivers having to do this. I am unsure on what the more "logical" thing is to do. If i stick with trace i will be way over my alloted time but if i run it my way and i am still over i cant win.

Tell your supe to trace the route in a more logical way, if it is a training route then your managment team should have expirence running it to train people.

 

[Overpaid Union Thug]

I am going into my fourth week of driving and need some good solid info. I have read other posts and most all of you say stick to trace. I am delivering to a college area where i have to walk most of my stops from corners (college kids cant park worth a hoot). I can not drive down most streets. My center mgr said that i need to be delivering 18 pcs per hour but according to trace it can not be done. My one road sup says the same thing. Last tues i delivered 158 stops and was back in the building at 7 and still ran an hour and thirty min over!! My sup is telling me not to follow trace for me to "run the route in a more logical way". I have yet to make my 30 days, do should i stick to trace or make up my own route. I thought that the pas system did away with drivers having to do this. I am unsure on what the more "logical" thing is to do. If i stick with trace i will be way over my alloted time but if i run it my way and i am still over i cant win.

I ran a route by trace yesterday and the result was two missed pieces (businesses loaded in the 8000 section) and barely clocking out under 9.5. If you are a newer driver then how can your sup expect you to run any route in the most logical way? Its not like you are an expert at any of the routes yet. I suggest using one day on that route to take notes on all the areas. Spend the whole day just learning the areas and don't worry about the numbers. Take notes on how you think each area should be run. Like which areas can be run on trace and which areas can't.

There are things advertised about PAS that aren't always true. Not having to sort is normally true but if the dispatch sup screws up then you will be sorting. An example of this is when for some reason a bunch of stops all have the same sequence number. I had 25 stops with the same number thursday and 40 one day a few weeks ago. There were still in order in EDD but the preloaders never put them in order so I had to sort them. And PAS definitely does not eliminate the need for drivers to think for themselves because the looping was primarily done by computer geeks that used maps and Google Earth like programs to set up our routes. In most cases EDD is pretty close to how it should be run. When its not you can still make your own adjustments and run routes how you know they should be run. It just sucks for you right now because you are still learning the ropes.

 

[helenofcalifornia]

I differ with the above comments. You are doing a terrific job and will be a great driver.but I would try to do the route the quickest way in my first 30 days to pass probation and then try to re-work the trace after. I would tell management also that I was not following trace and that you were trying to see if you could do it a different, faster way. Good luck and tell us how you do. Awesome job, don't let anybody tell you different!

 

[New Englander]

You don't have to follow trace.

You only have to follow trace to 90%, yes even that is near impossible on rural routes.
Though knowing you can break trace 10 times on 100 stops and use the "carrot" button/function twice and only have that count as two trace hits regardless of how many you deliver in order under the "carrot" (but out of true route trace) it's not impossible to "follow" trace pretty darn close.

Yet....once they start doing add/cuts during and not prior to the preload - your trace may end up completely screwed.

PAS helps more then it hurts. You can quickly scan your day in the AM once you get EDD, see your bulk stops, your chasers or stuff out of order. Once your making deliveries it tells you how many packages you can expect to find back there instead of guessing on your first few bulk stops etc.

Obviously PAS and EDD can not fix human error.

 

[tourists24]

Look,,, if you are still on your 30 day probationary period, you need to run the route anyway thats makes the numbers look good. If you run trace and are 1 1/2 over but can run it a different way and bring that down, then that's what you should do. Once you get your seniority, simply ask them which way they expect it to be done and then the ball is in their court; overallowed after that point doesnt matter if you are doing your best.

 

[hseofpayne]

New suggestion: ask the driver who normally runs the rte how he runs it and what his normal over/under allowed is. Regular rte drivers can give you numerous inside scoops on how best to run a rte. Good Luck!

 

[Overpaid Union Thug]

New suggestion: ask the driver who normally runs the rte how he runs it and what his normal over/under allowed is. Regular rte drivers can give you numerous inside scoops on how best to run a rte. Good Luck!

That plus taking notes while on the route was how I learned our training route. A driver can learn allot in one day if they concentrate on that and don't worry about the numbers. It's amazing how much one can learn when the pressure is off.

 

[cino321]

158 stops sounds like 13 hours of work to me.

 

[JustTired]

Isn't it amazing that this conversation even needs to take place?

The whole purpose of EDD was to layout the area in a logical manner so that a monkey could deliver it effectively. This is a classic example of the shortcomings in this system. Especially considering all of the advice to "run it the best, shortest, fastest way to qualify" and then run it by trace after qualification.

This pretty much shows that there is a right way to run the area (drivers knowledge and ability) and a "less" right way (EDD). Hopefully someone other that P-man is paying attention. The key to a system that works is "driver input" at all stages of the implementation. I guess it's hard to admit that a driver might just be smarter than the computer or smarter than the person laying out the "trace".

Anyway, good luck CA. It seems to me that it's sort of a "catch-22" situation. It sucks to be a newbie under the EDD system. Hopefully, you have a management team that has some consideration for the circumstances. Otherwise, they just might be going through a whole bunch of DQs to fill the position.

 

[bad company]

Isn't the probation period under the new contract 60 days now? 60 working days to be exact?...

I hate to even be recommending this, because you really shouldn't have to do it, but I know of several new drivers who skip their lunch everyday while on probation to make their numbers look better. Once you qualify, you take every second of your lunch as stated in the contract. But that extra hour of time may help you stay off the radar and lay low while trying to qualify.

And when your supervisor was training you on the route, how many days did he ride with you, and what time did you get done on those days? Was the stop count similar to what you have now by yourself?

 

[New Englander]

Justtired - EDD is a much better system then how we did it prior. It's benefits far out weigh it's problems.

As far as trace? Some of ours are near perfect - as perfect as can be in rural area's with roads not getting deliveries daily. As I said up before you only need to follow it 90% and there are ways to break a section twice a day and deliver that section out of trace.

Then there are some real crappers.

It all depended upon what drivers had what routes and what guys/gals from the PAS teams were working with them. Some of the PAS Special Ops team wanted to also make these PAS rides OJS and safety rides. Those people did not have their entire focus on getting the routes written close to correctly enough at the end of the first day the drivers were so sick of dealing with them, neither did they.

 

[dilligaf]

Not everyone is on PAS yet. We have rtes that are set up well and can be run as loaded, we also have rtes that are screwed. I run these rtes as to what makes sense. The better I know the rtes the better I know where to take short cuts and the better I know how far I can push the time commits. I don't run trace on many rtes and have never had anything said. If I was questioned my standard answer would be "what trace?". As I have never had official training on any new rte (except one).

 

[browniehound]

I agree with New Englander that the benefits of PAS far outweigh the problems. What gets me going is the fact that most of the negatives can be fixed with a little bit of effort from the driver and the dispatch sup.

I have done routes that were meticuosly planned out in EDD. You can literally do it stop for stop according to EDD and this will be the most efficent way to run the route. This one route I've done amazed me on how well the trace was done. All you would need is a map and then follow the DIAD and you could run this route blind with no problems.

I have also seen the other side of the spectrum where if you followed the trace you would be working 13 hours that day and the driver or his dispatch sup. won't fix it.

Our newhire is in a tough spot. He's given the concept of PAS/EDD then doens't underdstand why the routes are not set up stop for stop. This is a great question on his part because he went to "UPS class" for 2 weeks where I'm sure they told him how great EDD is.

Now, where he gets to the real world he is confused because his center manager tells him not to run it by trace. He is thinking (I'm sure), why not just fix the EDD so you can run it on trace? This is where EDD would be most helpful, for someone who doesn't know the entire area, but that goes out the window because the newhire is told to break trace and do it the most logical way.

Thats fine, but he is new and doesn't know the most logical way YET. He's probably asking (and I am too) 'Why not just put it in the DIAD the most logical way so everyone benefits?'. I would really love an answer to this question myself!

 

[UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)]

Success (or failure) on EDD depends a great deal in how much prep work went in to setting up the run when the PAS/EDD team is in your center. I spent a lot of time on mine and, as such, it is 95% where it should be. Others that did not invest the time are struggling.

 

[Cobra Agent]

2 weeks in class i went to class for 4 days took a test on the fifth day and came home. Once i came home it was 4 mos before i started driving. The enormous amount of info shoved into our brains was simply sensory overload. My on road drove with me for first 3 days then on 6th day. I have voiced my concerns with him about trace and "they are working on it". The driver who had the rte was on it for 10 yrs he gave me some tips on the rte they helped alot. I think the biggest factor in me coming under is one that i wished people would have told me about before i started driving. BLISTERS I have blisters on top of blisters that are beside blisters. I change my socks and shoes at least once per shift and i am still hobbiling around like an ups pimp, So It is safe to say that i am not moving as fast as i should