Chapter 7, Problem 34DQ

Summary Introduction

Case summary:

UPS is world's largest package delivery company with the instantly recognizable brown trucks. Every day United Parcel Service (UPS) transports some 15 million packages and documents throughout the United States and to more than 215 countries and territories. Delivering those packages quickly and correctly is what it gets to do.

The UPS invested in next generation training facility called "Integrad." There trainees use video games, "slip and fall simulator which combines a greased floor with slippery shoes." And an obstacle course around a mock village.

At the training centre outside of Baltimore, applicants for a driver's job, which pays an average of $74000 annually, spend one week practising and training to be a driver. They move from one station to the next practising the company's "340 Methods," which are techniques developed by 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."

Characters in the case:

No prominent characters in the case.

To determine:

The advantages and drawbacks you see to this training approach for

1. The trainee
2. The company