Finally did. But they couldn't Dump-and-Run this time. Verizon made them make me sign for it.
On Thu, Apr 8, 2010 at 7:04 PM, Keith Johnson <keithbjohn...@comcast.net>wrote: > > > Ha! Did the package arrive? > > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Martin Baxter" <martinbaxt...@gmail.com> > To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com > Sent: Thursday, April 8, 2010 12:41:19 PM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern > Subject: Re: [scifinoir2] UPS Brings Hi Tech to Driver Training > > > > Keith, the first part's easy, for The Unparalleled Masters of the Dump and > Run... > > Martin (REALLY shouldn't speak ill of Brown, as Brown has something to do > for me by close-of-business) > > On Thu, Apr 8, 2010 at 12:31 PM, Keith Johnson > <keithbjohn...@comcast.net>wrote: > >> >> >> Wow, this is amazing, and not just for the integration of high tech, >> multimedia training for all these companies. I guess I never realized UPS >> drivers had to follow so many rules. Park a truck and get one package off in >> 15 seconds total? Walk at a prescribed number of mph? I guess I only thought >> of such efficiency drills in terms of movements and motions in >> manufacturing/processing plants, where time spent soldering, adding nuts and >> bolts, cutting up chickens, etc., is strictly regimented. >> And who knew that UPS drivers make up to 74K annually? That is solidly in >> the same earnings range as network administrators/engineers and other >> professions in the IT field. No wonder so many big old hulking brothers put >> up with wearing those silly looking little brown uniforms! >> >> ****************************************************** >> >> http://finance.yahoo.com/career-work/article/109258/usps-thinks-out-of-the-box?mod=career-leadership >> UPS Thinks Out of the Box on Driver Training >> by Jennifer Levitz >> Wednesday, April 7, 2010 >> >> provided by >> [image: wsjlogo.gif] <http://wsj.com/> >> >> Vexed that some 30% of driver candidates flunk its traditional training, >> *United Parcel Service Inc.* (UPS <http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=UPS>) is >> moving beyond the classroom to ready its rookies for the road. In the place >> of books and lectures are videogames, a contraption that simulates walking >> on ice and an obstacle course around an artificial village. >> Based on results so far, the world's largest package-delivery company is >> convinced that 20-somethings -- the bulk of UPS driver recruits -- respond >> best to high-tech instruction and a chance to hone skills. >> >> Driver training is crucial for Atlanta-based UPS, which employs 99,000 >> U.S. drivers and says it will need to hire 25,000 over the next five years >> to replace retiring Baby Boomers. Candidates vying for a driver's job, which >> pays an average of $74,000 annually, now spend one week at Integrad, an >> 11,500-square-foot, low-slung brick UPS training center 10 miles outside of >> Washington, D.C. There they move from one station to another practicing the >> company's "340 Methods," prescribed by UPS industrial engineers to save >> seconds and improve safety in every task from lifting and loading boxes to >> selecting a package from a shelf in the truck. >> >> They play a videogame that places them in the driver's seat and has them >> identify obstacles. They progress from computer simulations to >> "Clarksville," a village of miniature houses and faux businesses on the >> property where they drive a real truck and must successfully execute five >> deliveries in 19 minutes. >> >> So far, the new methods, designed by UPS and researchers from Virginia >> Tech, are proving successful, UPS says. Of the 1,629 trainees who have >> completed Integrad since it began as an experiment in 2007, only 10% have >> failed the training program, which takes a total of six weeks overall and >> includes 30 days driving a truck in the real world. UPS is known for >> promoting within, and many driver candidates began as UPS package handlers >> or other employees. >> >> By getting out of the traditional classroom and using technology and >> hands-on learning, "we've enhanced the probability of success of these new >> drivers," says Allen Hill, UPS's senior vice president of human resources. A >> second Integrad will open in the Chicago area in the summer, and the >> training methods will eventually go company-wide, he says. >> >> "Are you ready for this? Shake the nerves out! Take a deep breath," cheers >> Chris Breslin, a graying Integrad instructor, rallying his fresh-faced >> recruits on a recent day. >> >> As Nick Byrnes, a 23-year-old with a buzz cut and black Ray-Ban >> sunglasses, drove through Clarksville, a UPS instructor tossed a football in >> his path. Mr. Byrnes hit the brakes. But then, when he hopped out to deliver >> a package, instructor Mike Keys sneaked an orange traffic cone in front of >> the truck. >> >> Mr. Byrnes hopped back in and started up. "Stop! Stop! Ugh!" yelled Mr. >> Keys. He picked up the cone. "This is a kid who was playing football around >> your vehicle and went to get his ball." >> >> Mr. Byrnes looked shaken and slapped his forehead. The lesson stuck: At >> the next stop, he checked for cones. >> >> UPS isn't the only company using new training tools. Food service company >> Sodexo Inc. has recruited chefs through "Second Life" virtual job fairs and >> *Cisco Systems Inc.* (CSCO <http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=csco>) has >> taught programming techniques through videogames. FedEx Corp. says it, too, >> has moved toward more hands-on learning in the past five years, although it >> adds the change wasn't prompted by a high failure rate among trainees. >> >> On a recent day, UPS students at Integrad moved through "kinetic learning" >> modules. In one corner, they practiced loading and unloading packages from a >> UPS truck with clear sides, timed by instructors. >> >> UPS allows 15.5 seconds to park a truck and retrieve one package from the >> cargo, which is arranged in order of delivery. >> >> Over at the "slip and fall" machine, an instructor greased a tiled runway >> in preparation for a regular drill: Students must carry a 10-pound box down >> the surface -- while wearing shoes with no real tread. Luckily they wear a >> safety harness, as most flail around like drunken ice skaters until they are >> taught to stand straight and take slow baby steps. (This is the one time UPS >> relents on its rule that drivers walk at a "brisk pace," or 2.5 paces per >> second.) >> >> In another corner, Rich Gossman, at 37 the oldest in the group, was >> slumped at a videogame that tests recruits' ability to find sales leads for >> UPS, something today's drivers are expected to do. The game puts his avatar >> in rooms where he has to identify competitors' packages. >> >> Mr. Gossman, a married father, works overnight at a UPS warehouse, >> unloading packages for $12.50 an hour. Being a UPS driver appeals to him >> because of the pay and job security. >> >> "This has been the most stressful week of my life," he said. But as he >> played the game Mr. Gossman got a pat on the back from UPS supervisor, Peggy >> Emmart. "I saw you identify that competitor package," she said. >> >> "I saw that FedEx package and went, click, let's get 'em," said Mr. >> Gossman. >> >> Trainees must pay attention to detail and appearance and work as a team. >> Students whose brown uniforms aren't ironed properly -- hanger creases are >> forbidden -- lose points for their teams, as does any trainee caught without >> his keys. UPS requires drivers to wear keys on their ring fingers to avoid >> wasting time searching for them. >> >> "Raise your hands," Mr. Breslin ordered one group. Five jingling pairs of >> hands went up. "Good job," he said, clapping. "See how easy it is to bond >> with your keys?" >> >> > >
