Life at UPS is a life under constant scrutiny. Wherever you go you’re being watched. Every move you make
is noted in some form or another.
The first method the company used, of course, was the stalking supervisor. The driver would be stalked, and snuck up on by the manager, or supervisor in the hopes of catching the driver cheating or stealing from the company.
Then along came the days of the DIAD implementation. At first there were no times associated with a delivery stop. Then the company re-programmed the DIAD to show a time on every “stop-complete”, whether delivery or pick-up. (“Oh no, we’re all going to be fired.”)
Next came route mapping, where the company could plot on a map the route a driver took, showing the times, and of course any discrepancies in the drivers day. Of course the company only used mapping when they thought a driver was stealing time from them. (Isn’t that every day?)
With the implementation of EDD and PAS the driver no longer made the decision as to how they were going to run the route on any given day. A comparison of what EDD said should happen, and what the driver did, could be printed out, and put before the driver with a threat of discipline if the driver did not follow EDD. (Again, all drivers are time thieves, and dishonest, and if they are not following EDD, they are thieving from the company, or so they thought.)
The latest technology for driver scrutiny, of course, is Telematics. Telematics gives management all the information possible off of GPS satellites available to the company. Start, stop, speed, location being the information most important in guessing at what the driver is doing, or not doing. Millions of dollars spent because, of course, the drivers cannot be trusted to make those decisions. (Even though the company made billions trusting them for over 100 years.)
At this point, any self respecting driver would throw up his/her arms and say, “how can I possibly function under such close watch?”
Well here’s even more discouraging news. Many business locations now have video set up to record goings on inside, and outside their businesses. Not only that, many residences also have recorders that are motion activated, and record any movements inside, and outside there homes.
One of the most common tools management has in a disciplinary hearing is the video of a particular situation in which a driver may be involved. Many times it takes much of the doubt out of what actually happened in a situation.
Click here for just such an example of what can be seen in outside video
Never assume you are “not” being watched. Whenever you are in your Brown Suit you are more noticeable and your every move is being watched by someone. Someone whom you have no control over regarding the assumptions made about what you are doing.
All of the idea of all the scrutiny is certainly overwhelming to any human, but there’s one thing to keep in mind. Finding trained people that can function under this kind of scrutiny, and remain professional, and do a professional job, are hard to find. While the company will never admit it to you, technology increases your value to the company. The days of using any “Joe Blow” as a driver are over.
The cheating, humper dumper, newspaper route type of driver is a thing of the past. Eventually the driver, not doing the job by the “methods”, will be caught. If they are not caught by the company’s technology, they’ll get caught by the customer’s technology.
That value is what will keep you with a solid career at UPS.
You just have to get used to the idea that you are being watched, every second of every day.
Fact Check On Republican Debate by AP
http://news.yahoo.com/fact-check-slippery-assertions-gop-debate-032527744.html
Here’s the reality of what they are proposing.
The ‘New Normal’ Retirement Dream Home
The Titles Need Switching
Fantastic Plastic?
There isn’t a better way to catch my attention than using a Star Trek analogy. Well, done UPS. It’s kinda like how in Star Trek III, Scotty sees a lot of unexplored potential in the ol’ Enterprise, but the brass are telling him she’s scrap because the new Excelsior’s “transwarp” engine is the only future worth having. Then we learn the Enterprise is still the only hope for their mission, while the Excelsior can’t cut it. Granted, there was some sabotage in there somewhere… but the underlying message is the same! UPS is constantly trying to counter increasing fuel prices. This is likely true with every company in transportation, but UPS recently announced and demo’d its mostly plastic delivery truck that’s 40% more fuel efficient than the current. By ditching the sheet metal for plastic, these trucks are said to be 1,000 lbs lighter. This allows for a smaller diesel engine, which lends greatly to the lower fuel consumption. But back to that Star Trek line. It seems by way of that Star Trek story that UPS doesn’t see next-gen powertrains being reliable enough for widespread use just yet. Current technology can be further advanced while the bugs are being worked out of upcoming tech. It’s not like UPS hasn’t already embraced EVs. The company blog points out that they already have 1,900 EVs delievery packages. But these are smaller vehicles whose limited range cannot match that of the classic diesel trucks. This truck is an intermediary step whose innovations seem easily carried forward to the EV age. Fast Company explains that this truck is part of the firm’s goal to increase efficiency 20% across its entire fleet by 2020 over the baseline established in 2000. The plastic brown trucks are still in the prototype stage so your UPS man will still be driving the ol’ ironside for some time.
This Plastic Delivery Truck Is The Future Of UPS
See the New Plastic Car
Congress Underpaid?
(Charles Dharapak/AP)
Everyone complains about their job now and then, and members of Congress are no exception. 
A few lawmakers have suggested in recent months that despite a $174,000 annual salary, generous health care and pensions, and perks for things like travel and mail, being one of the elite 435 ain’t always what it’s cracked up to be. And when you calculate the hours they put in, the pay isn’t stellar either, they say.
The Florida Capital News reported last week on a speech Steve Southerland, a Republican representative, gave to a retirement community in Tallahassee in which he complained about some of the parts of his new job:
“He said his $174,000 salary is not so much, considering the hours a member of the House puts in, and that he had to sever ties with his family business in Panama City. Southerland also said there are no instant pensions or free health insurance, as some of his constituents often ask him about in Congress.
“‘And by the way, did I mention? They’re shooting at us. There is law-enforcement security in this room right now, and why is that?” Southerland told about 125 people in an auditorium at the Westminster Oaks retirement community. “If you think this job pays too much, with those kinds of risks and cutting me off from my family business, I’ll just tell you: This job don’t mean that much to me. I had a good life in Panama City.’
“…He added that ‘if you took the hours that I work and divided it into my pay,’ the $174,000 salary would not seem so high.”
Southerland, a freshman, ran a family funeral home business in Panama City and earned about $90,000 before joining Congress in January.
His sentiments were not unlike those expressed by Sean Duffy, a Republican representative from Wisconsin, when he said in March it was a “struggle” to pay his mortgage and student loans with his congressional salary. “At this point, I’m not living high on the hog,” Duffy, a father of six, said. (Compared to his colleagues, Duffy is one of the least wealthy members of Congress.)
At the height of the debate over a possible government shutdown last spring, Linda Sánchez, a Democratic representative from California, said during an MSNBC interview that she was living “paycheck to paycheck” on her congressional salary. And she wasn’t the only one. Renee Ellmers, a Republican representative from North Carolina, was asked if she would forgo her pay in the case of a shutdown. Ellmers declined, saying, “I need my paycheck.”
Are times really so tough that even members of Congress are struggling to get by? The numbers suggest otherwise. A recent analysis of congressional pay found that members of Congress earn about 3.4 times the salary of the average American worker. Using that standard, members of Congress are among the highest paid legislators in the developed world.
This talk probably won’t help Congress’ approval rating. The federal government is the worst-rated industry in the country, viewed favorably by only 17 percent of Americans, according to a new Gallup survey.
The Bottom Line
Remember when?
If your a driver that’s been around a few years, you might remember when the company used to put together soft ball teams on the weekends. They would sponsor weekend tournaments of drivers and their families at local parks. Managers and drivers would participate on the same teams together creating a level of comradery. All to build a feeling of team spirit and loyalty among the workforce.
Remember when there used to be a safe driving award program? Drivers were rewarded for the number of years they would go without an avoidable accident. Every driver was given a catalogue to chose a prize depending on the number of years. On the five year accomplishments the prizes were fairly substantial, such as bikes for ten years TV’s for twenty, etc. In the later years they were also given a pin with a diamond, and there was a banquet held for drivers that achieved 25 or more years.
Remember when their was also a “Years of Service” award. Drivers were rewarded for their years of service. They were given a plaque honoring the number of years, and they again had a catalogue of prizes to choose from.
Remember when there was a magazine published to talk about the people that worked for the company, and their achievements both at work, and off the job? The magazine was called the “Big Idea”. How many of you remember what the “Big Idea” was? Of course the “Big Idea” was “Service”. The idea of the magazine was to honor the employees that worked together to provide service within the company to that customer outside the company.
Remember when the TV commercials bragged about the quality of their drivers? The commercials would show the extra length drivers would go to in making their deliveries. They also showed the special relationships drivers would establish with the customers. How the customer could set their watch by the driver, and that if any problem arose, the customer could always turn to that same driver for resolution.
These are just examples of what the company, “used to be”. Most of these programs were in the days before the Public Sale of Stock. These programs were in the days of James E. Casey. These programs were in the day when the company cared as much for the people that worked for it, as they did about the customer. The programs were when the company felt that the effort was for all of us, customer and employee alike.
Isn’t it a shame that those are the “good ‘ole days”.
All of these programs have been replaced with EDD, and PAS, and Telematics, and Production Standards, and Discipline, and Management By Intimidation. Any of you Rank and Filers feel a sense of pride over any of these programs?
So the inquiring driver may want to know why the change in mentality towards the employees and their success? After the company went public with it’s stock, it’s all about one thing, and one thing only!
It’s the company’s new “Big Idea”!
The Bottom Line!
Run Brown Run!
Let’s See, They Lie in the Media?
New letters bring scandal closer to Rupert Murdoch
Posted: 08/17/2011 04:31:37 AM MDT
Updated: 08/17/2011 04:31:37 AM MDT
LONDON—The taint of a hacking scandal is creeping closer to media baron Rupert Murdoch.
New documents published by U.K. lawmakers investigating Britain’s phone-hacking scandal apparently contradict claims made by the News Corp. chief’s former right-hand man and cast doubt on his son James Murdoch’s testimony before Parliament.
Among them is a letter claiming that illegal espionage was pervasive at Murdoch’s now-defunct News of the World tabloid.
Former Murdoch confidante Les Hinton said in 2009 that he’d seen no evidence that phone hacking had spread beyond a single rogue reporter at the tabloid. Yet Hinton is among those copied in on the explosive letter.
Three former lieutenants are also challenging assertions by James Murdoch that he wasn’t told the full facts about the scandal.