The Ubiquitous UPS Truck
I started out as a seasonal (temporary) hire in 1978, and now work in media relations at our corporate headquarters. Our last CEO began his career loading trucks while in college. So we mean it when we say we promote from within. – Dan McMackin Text by Joanne M. Anderson Photos courtesy of UPS Humble beginnings takes on new meaning when you learn that UPS (formerly United Parcel Service) was founded in Seattle in 1907 by two teenagers with a $100 loan. The numbers today are staggering: 2020 revenue - $84.6 billion Employees - 540,000 Countries/territories - 220 Packages delivered daily 24 million or so (the world) Delivery vehicle fleet - 127,000 Jet aircraft - 550+ (owned, leased, chartered) Daily U.S. flights - 1,232 Daily global flights - 712 It is tricky to write about a UPS truck because they have so many. The firm has the largest private 34
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fleet of alternative fuel and advanced technology trucks in the world. Several still run on gasoline, others on compressed natural gas CNG. Some are electric hybrid, others are all electric, ethanol, propane, hydraulic hybrid and more which can power the engine which turns the wheels and carries the driver who hands you a package. Dan McMackin, UPS spokesperson, started his career with the company loading tractor trailers at night in high school. He worked his way through college as a part-time package handler, then a full-time driver, before holding several front line operations positions, including supervising drivers and working in the safety department. Eventually, he transferred to the Atlanta headquarters.
Driver Training “There are more than 500 methods of package delivery,” McMackin explains. “Each driver learns how to sit, put on the seatbelt, and start the vehicle, all in one motion. Entering a truck is done with 3 points of contact at all times, which is two feet and one hand or one foot and both hands on a surface to avoid slipping or tripping. Exiting the vehicle is done in reverse, grabbing the handrail and facing the packages as you leave the truck space.” The company spends $200 million each year on safety alone.
Logistics The large brown trucks and other UPS vehicles are not cruising
Nov/Dec 2021
