Delivery Drivers to Pick Up Pace by Surrendering Keys
LOUISVILLE,Ky.—United Parcel Service Inc.,already designs its delivery routes to avoid left turns,so as not to
waste time waiting for a break in oncoming traffic. And the company requires drivers to walk at a “brisk pace,”which
it defines as 2.5 paces a second,to keep things moving fast
But at an investor conference here,executives said they had hit upon another cost-saving strategy:take away the drivers’keys. They said the company will save $70 million a year by going to a “keyless”system in which drivers will start their vehicle with a fob hooked to their belt.
Currently,UPS drivers are required to carry key rings on their ring finger to avoid wasting time searching for them.
During UPS’s driver-training school,instructors yell out,“raise your hands!”Candidates caught without their keys lose
points.
Still,wrangling with keys can eat up valuable seconds,UPS says. Once a driver stops,he or she has to take the keys
out of the ignition,and then turn around and use them to unlock the bulkhead door to get to the packages.
Soon,drivers will wear a digital-remote fob on their belts and will be able to turn the engine off with a button that will
unlock the bulkhead door at the same time.
That automatic door opening will save 1.75 seconds per stop,or 6.5 minutes per driver per day,while also
reducing motion and fatigue,said David Abney,UPS’s chief operating officer.
Mr. Abney acknowledged that the company is “obsessive.”Each night,when drivers return from deliveries,UPS industrial engineers study data from computers aboard each truck. The data show details such as how much drivers idle,how often they back up,whether they are wearing seatbelts,or even seem to be going out of their way for lunch. The information helps shape new procedures.
“We”re obsessive about efficiency,”Mr. Abney said.