what to expect in 2010???

What'dyabringmetoday???

Well-Known Member
I believe p-man is a down-to-earth type of guy and appears to be involved with UPS management according to his posts. But, no matter what, people WILL find a way to alter reports, run up miles, pad stops, beat the system, whatever you want to call it. Not just at UPS, but in life in general. Unfortunately, we seem to have more people at UPS that want to cheat than people that want to just do things the right way. Seems like most of the people on Brown Cafe want to do things properly. Perhaps you could all convince your co-workers of the same?
 

BILLYB

Active Member
And the downside to that is that there will be less control which will lead to more chaos.
The role and purpose of management is to Plan, Organize and Control. As management resources are reduced, at some point of reduction, an imaginary line will be crossed and Control will be lost. UPS will then adjust like we always do.
CHAOS?? Are you really Austin Powers?! My center manager team causes nothing but chaos! If they would listen to the answer to the question they just asked WE might actually get a fair dispatch in our center!
 

BILLYB

Active Member
Pretzelman,

You obviously are not on the front lines of the business. Those beloved reports showing "missort" frequency are complete KKrap. On the front lines of every center and every hub in every district, those reports are manipulated by the very people responsible for creating them.

One of the main reasons for the decrease in missort reporting has to do with the "false" coding of missorts in the first place.

Its an easy task to appear "good" on numbers when all you have to do is instruct your drivers to falsely "sheet" packages with codes that dont appear on the "missed" or service failed reports.

Managers at every hub have instructed both the drivers, OMS sups and hub personnel to record pkgs that were service failed for the day as "NOT READY 1".

Additionally, another popular code is "SECURITY".

These codes prevent the proper recording of service failed packages by the thousands each business day.

In my hub, I personally presented to the division manager, documentation from our "management" to sheet as described above, and his response was "we have to do, what we have to do", "we dont need the heat from corporate".

While you are celebrating some rediculous report, those trying to keep in line with their bonus structures are "cooking the books" in order to appear as if "all is well" on the front lines.

Its too bad the company doesnt can every single management person responsible for "cooking the books".

Its just better to appear successful on paper.

On a daily basis, our particular center service fails about 100 packages a day due to missorts on wrong cars. PAS has proven to be a partial success but proned to serious err's.

As far as service is concerned, WLA is probably the worst for service as overtime has hit all time highs this year. Plenty of package drivers have passed 90K this year. This hasnt been due to raises, but completely related to the excessive overtime worked each week since the begining of the year.

1145 is the average paid day out here. Knocking on customers doors after 830pm and some up to 930pm doesnt make for good customer service.

The company, in its efforts to provide better communication to its customers, sends emails to customers telling them to expect their package between 9am and 5pm, only to have our drivers showing up at 9pm.

This is a constant source of aggravation for the drivers as "we" are the ones having to explain why we are out there after 830pm.

The company has spent tons of money on excessive overtime in 2009 and to that end, any hopes of additional profits disappeared with the extra 20K paid to each full time driver.

Service, is a thing of the past. Today, numbers mean more to the company than service ever has.

MIP has been the root cause of corruption in the package divisions. As long as managers are directly affected by the daily business, then there will always be managers trying to manipulate the numbers and increasing their MIP.

:peaceful:
Can't disagree with you at all! My center manager had me at a 13.5 dispatch which I finished in 11 hours! Next day - Can U do more? NO!!! Went to union reps - was told " you don't need them." center manager " what can I do for U?" Me " take off 2 pickups costing 45 mins. Response " Can't do that - what else?" WHY DID YOU BOTHER ASKING????
 

UnconTROLLed

perfection
Other:

You are accurate that I'm not on the VERY front line of the business. On the other hand, you do not know how the reports are created.

There is almost zero ability to manipulate the service reports. They come from SEAS, and NOT the daily reports your center sees.

The missorts I was talking about were hub missorts. They are automatically generated and assigned. There is no code that can be input to change those reports.

In addition, service failures are calculated by the system based on the service the customer has chosen. The reports are a "no excuses" report. Meaning that entering "Security" does not keep the package from showing up as late.

There are very few codes that can hide a service failure, and their use is closely monitored.

Go have someone show you the SEAS reports.

P-Man

If a center manager has air drivers round up missorts that are on a truck, and has them deliver them, they are not missorts now are they? So how is that not manipulating the numbers? PAS errors, out of synch, preloader misload, or some factor came about to create the misload. Those misloads are not accounted for,though, at the end of the day.
How is that not manpulating the system?
 

pretzel_man

Well-Known Member
If a center manager has air drivers round up missorts that are on a truck, and has them deliver them, they are not missorts now are they? So how is that not manipulating the numbers? PAS errors, out of synch, preloader misload, or some factor came about to create the misload. Those misloads are not accounted for,though, at the end of the day.
How is that not manpulating the system?

Please reread what I wrote. I said that I was talking about hub missorts.

If a preload missort ends up as a service failure it will be counted as a failure regardless (almost all codes) of the code used.

P-Man
 

UPS Lifer

Well-Known Member
Please reread what I wrote. I said that I was talking about hub missorts.

If a preload missort ends up as a service failure it will be counted as a failure regardless (almost all codes) of the code used.

P-Man

P-Man
You are 100% correct about SEAS!

To make it extremely simple for the rest of the folks to understand... SEAS looks at the origin (where the package starts from) and where it ends up at. It also takes into consideration the time in transit and the intermediate locations (corridors) that the packages flow through.

Most drivers who refer to service failures are talking about misloads. A misload is loaded onto the wrong package car ... or not loaded at all for delivery.

TOS - You may have a problem in your own facility but other facilities such as San Fernando or Van Nuys may be relatively misload and missort free. You really won't know that unless you visit these facilities on a daily basis. So to make a blanket statement about your entire district is probably not a fair assessment.
 

UnconTROLLed

perfection
Regardless, hub missorts show up that are not actually missorts, within the reports. point being: you cannot trust the numbers or reports to give 100% accurate information or even close to it. Of course, where convienent, management will use it as gospel.
 

UPS Lifer

Well-Known Member
Regardless, hub missorts show up that are not actually missorts, within the reports. point being: you cannot trust the numbers or reports to give 100% accurate information or even close to it. Of course, where convienent, management will use it as gospel.

Not following the logic here. How does a hub missort show up that is not actually a missort... I spent a lot of time using SEAS and drilling down to find out what areas needed attention. It is as accurate a system we have for determining hub to hub and hub to center missorts. It utilizes where and when a package was scanned or not scanned. You can't go into the system and change the info.

Do you use this system? Why do you think it can be manipulated?
 

wkmac

Well-Known Member
There is a MYTH here that service is poor. Service measured objectively is at an all time high.

Find someone who has access to SEAS and take a look at the service levels. Hub missorts are approaching 1 per 2500. That's incredible.

I do have access to SEAS and your observations are spot on! The trends are pointing upward as well so I look for those measures to go higher in the future. Look towards a 1/5000 to be a standard at some point going forward.

And you are correct, it is incredible.

jmo

Just a further note concerning TOS observations. My observations are strictly from an internal POV from origin to destination Preload. Once the Preload has the package in sorting to the package car, a lot of what TOS is saying may in fact be true based on what I hear from observations on our local scene. Having watched over the last decade closely as it relates to auto misloads on automated systems and being a complete PAIN IN THE ARSE to IS over problems in the earlier SEAS versions which to their credit (tip of the hat guys) they fixed in later versions, the picture internally and especially on the automated side is fantantic (IMO) and getting better day by day. I still stand by what I said above as well!
 
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UPSSOCKS

Well-Known Member
Time will be cut, people will be laid off, jobs will vanish into thin air, employees will be forced to retire, the tension between the people that keep the company afloat (management) and the ones that drag it down (union) will increase. It will be a bloodbath. There won't be enough grievances in the world to make up for the losses.
 

UnconTROLLed

perfection
Not following the logic here. How does a hub missort show up that is not actually a missort... I spent a lot of time using SEAS and drilling down to find out what areas needed attention. It is as accurate a system we have for determining hub to hub and hub to center missorts. It utilizes where and when a package was scanned or not scanned. You can't go into the system and change the info.

Do you use this system? Why do you think it can be manipulated?

Happens quite often. I tested my theory, and a missort popped up on reports that was "by sort" not a missort, and I was given the ole "Try to pay more attention". So having said that, the part-time supervisor was given reason from above to say something to me, therefore that invalid and incorrect little stat on a peice of paper obviously meant something.
 

UnconTROLLed

perfection
Not following the logic here. How does a hub missort show up that is not actually a missort... I spent a lot of time using SEAS and drilling down to find out what areas needed attention. It is as accurate a system we have for determining hub to hub and hub to center missorts. It utilizes where and when a package was scanned or not scanned. You can't go into the system and change the info.

Do you use this system? Why do you think it can be manipulated?

I don't use SEAS, so i am not up to speed on what is possible as far as management fixing numbers. I have my doubts but I'll take your word for it.

A missort can be applied in any instance a package did not arrive at it's intended destination. That does not mean the intended destination was 100% wholly correct on the 5x7, hand written etc label. If there are errors on the label, the package can be "correctly" sorted to the incorrect address and it is still a missort. Please, enlighten me (1) how that is the sorter or loader/baggers fault and (2) tell me that these statistics, not only missorts but misloads, SPORH, etc etc are near 100% perfect when then arent, not even close.
 

UPSSOCKS

Well-Known Member
Management can't change the numbers in SEAS. We can send a request for SEAS to look at an error but nine times out of ten nothing is changed. The problem is with "paper misloads" is it confuses the customer. Let's just say you mistoggle a package. Let's say that package is hot. If that package is for some reason left in building SEAS reads the data as a misload. Two wrongs always result in a misload. Say you scan a package to GRENC, but you load the package to CACH. In transit to CACH the trailer is offloaded and the package gets left in building. SEAS reads the package as late. As it goes back through the GIPLD events SEAS reads that you scanned it to GRENC and assigns you the misload. The reason mangement treats paper misloads as real misloads is because if the customer is tracking that package they think their package is going to GRENC. Understand...
 

dannyboy

From the promised LAND
There is a MYTH here that service is poor. Service measured objectively is at an all time high.

Find someone who has access to SEAS and take a look at the service levels. Hub missorts are approaching 1 per 2500. That's incredible.

Of course, we are spending a lot of money to make the service good. People are digging into trailers to find missorts. There are shuttle runs everywhere at great expense, but service is definitely higher.


In addition, service failures are calculated by the system based on the service the customer has chosen. The reports are a "no excuses" report. Meaning that entering "Security" does not keep the package from showing up as late.
There are very few codes that can hide a service failure, and their use is closely monitored.
If a preload missort ends up as a service failure it will be counted as a failure regardless (almost all codes) of the code used.
pman, thankyou for your input, it as always, is valued.


problem begins when what you see in the final report is groomed for your viewing pleasure. and it happens. not just missorts on the preload, but whole areas being missed by our driver. and when the driver asked what to do with the missed packages, there are numerous ways they are handled.

i remember not that long ago, a whole section of businesses were missed three days running because the driver could not get there before they closed. and the packages were never shown as missed service.

most drivers here can tell you frankly that they are told on a regular basis to show packages as one code when they are actually another code if the truth were told. but yet you say it does not matter the code? then why the big deal about using the codes they specify instead of the real code for the failure?

Originally Posted by anonymous
I see a lot less management which will lead to a lot less micro-management .

And the downside to that is that there will be less control which will lead to more chaos.
The role and purpose of management is to Plan, Organize and Control. As management resources are reduced, at some point of reduction, an imaginary line will be crossed and Control will be lost. UPS will then adjust like we always do.




i think what you are meaning to say is that a lot less management will result in more micro management, demanding more control over situations beyond their ability to control.



Sales / Marketing is hiring many people from the outside. Many are being hired at the division manager level
and here, my friends is the real problem that all other issues spring from.
why is it that we feel we need to go to other companies, or to hire people off the street to get good people? we hire total strangers into our upper management levels that have never been at ground zero, and don’t have a clue about what we really do and have to offer. they do know how to make money, and try to control things. and the only part of service they can know is what they can measure, everything else is bogus in their eyes.


as random mentioned, the art of management is to surround yourself with those that you pick to move the company in the direction you want. you custom fit people for the jobs you need done, and allow for the cross training of those that want to broaden their base of experience.

this allows for the home grown heros to shine and rise to the top like cream on milk. ( for you city folk, milk from a cow is about 15-30% cream that when left undisturbed, rises to the top.) but what we have now is a stagnant pool of talent that is not interested in becoming the best, but only to hang on to what they have. the art of raising management has been lost here at ups

i understand that we do have to get in new blood from the outside, and some of the best talent is elsewhere (just like outside companies have grabbed some of our cream), but the overall view of what i see is that our cream, instead of rising has stagnated and become sour. no real reason to excel, only to cover your ass and make the numbers. nothing more, nothing less.

and its these talented people that have changed the ups culture to suit themselves and what they want ups to be in the future. not that change is bad, but when you change culture to “fit in”, maybe its time to step back and ask why.

jmho with my 33 years at brown, and what i have seen since.

d
 
A

anonymous6

Guest
this is not speculation as i do as i always do. when i want to know something i speak to the person who knows.

1. management will be cut back 30,000 worldwide.
2. feeder runs will be cut back to 9hrs where practical
3. drivers will be fired for anything and everything
4. union busting will start
 

jim50321

Active Member
With the passage of health care reform and the 40% tax on the amount that cadillac health plans exceed $23,000, look for the company to begin laying the groundwork to require us to start paying for our health benefits. I believe this can be negotiated and agreed upon with the union outside of the current bargaining agreement.
 

UPSSOCKS

Well-Known Member
this is not speculation as i do as i always do. when i want to know something i speak to the person who knows.

1. management will be cut back 30,000 worldwide.
2. feeder runs will be cut back to 9hrs where practical
3. drivers will be fired for anything and everything
4. union busting will start

I'm sure the person that "knows" really wants to leak it to an hourly, but your not that far off.....

3 and 4 are correct
1 is a prediction, 30,000 is the number they are trying to get to. It will take alot of buyouts to get there.
 

UPSSOCKS

Well-Known Member
With the passage of health care reform and the 40% tax on the amount that cadillac health plans exceed $23,000, look for the company to begin laying the groundwork to require us to start paying for our health benefits. I believe this can be negotiated and agreed upon with the union outside of the current bargaining agreement.

The Benny's won't be free much longer......
 
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