8 Secrets of UPS Drivers

You may have a good relationship with your UPS driver, but how much do you really know about his job? United Parcel Service employees dressed in brown clothing deliver more than 15 million packages a day to more than 220 countries and territories around the world; they even deliver to the North Pole. But what is it like to be a UPS driver? Here are some little-known facts about cyclists wasting their time.

1. They are always watched.

UPS knows that time is money and is obsessed with using data to improve productivity. Jack Lewis, director of process Managed Ups Services, told NPR that "one minute per driver per day for a year equals $ 14.5 million" and "one minute of downtime per driver per day ultimately costs $ 500,000 in fuel ... "Laptop drivers, called DIAD (short for Delivery Information Acquisition Device), keep track of your every move. Have you ever wondered why your UPS employee can't stay and listen to your life story? up to 200 stops at the end of the day and is calculated. "You're trained for urgency," says Wendy Widmann, who has driven for 14 years. how hard they brake and whether truck doors are open or closed - all of this data is collected for UPS analysts who use it to develop time-saving tactics.

2. They go to the training ground.

All drivers must complete and complete a specialized training course called "Integrated", in which they learn everything they need to know in this area. They learn how to handle heavy boxes filled with cinder blocks to simulate real packaging. They are taught to start a truck with one hand and buckle on with the other to save time. And the "slip and fall simulator" teaches them to walk safely on slippery roads. There is even a miniature delivery route with tiny houses “where they will drive their truck and do simulated home delivery,” says UPS spokesman Dan Cardillo.

3. Reversing is not recommended.

With the exception of boot site backups, “we usually tell you that the first rule of thumb to back up is to avoid it,” says Cardillo. According to UPS, backups increase the likelihood of a driver inadvertently colliding with something (or someone). UPS driver Bill Earle told NPR that it's rare a day goes by when you're not told you back up too often or too quickly.

4. Good drivers are rewarded ...

... gifts from the catalog. When a driver has been without an accident for five years, he can choose from catalogs of retail stores, including Michael C. Fina. “The more years of safe driving I have, the better my gifts are,” says Kevin Dyer, a former driver who has been driving for 38 years. “In one of the first years I received a road safety team. He had everything: flares, amplifier wires, flashlight, tape, whatever. I received a set of golf clubs for one year. It wore them out. “A preventable accident brings you back to zero.“ I was there for seven years and then I returned to the small tree, ”says Widmann. and gas grills. "

5. Good drivers get a bomber jacket.

A driver who has passed 25 years without accidents is included in the UPS "Circle of Honor" and receives a special patch and a bomber jacket.

6. Trucks are big brown microwaves.

They are not air-conditioned, so drivers drive their routes with doors open to keep their cool. “It's cold in winter and hot in summer,” says Widmann. "It was great to have 50 and 60 degree days."

7. Oh, and they’re not trucks.

UPS calls them exclusively "package wagons."

8. They have to contribute their music.

Machine-in-a-box UPS does not come with a radio, so if you want to listen to music, you must bring your own player with you.