United Parcel Service UPS opens European training center
Cologne · Cologne became home to the first UPS training center on Monday. The U.S. firm teaches workers safe and efficient work methods.
Climbing out of a UPS van is not as straightforward as it looks. Because UPS drivers usually get out on the right hand side, they have to be very cautious of bikers and walkers. Not only that, but using the hand rail to get up and down those stairs saves them extra kilos of weight on the bones. A UPS training center shows how pressure sensors monitor a driver getting in and out of the van. An 80-kilo man going down the stairs without a rail has the effect of 210 kilos weighing down the body, while using the rail lightens it up to 60 kilos. With 100 stops per day, that can add up.
In addition to the seven UPS training centers already operating in the U.S., a training center was opened in Cologne on Monday. The center, called UPS Integrad is the first opened in Europe. Training sessions last five days, including driving practice. Frank Sportolari of UPS in Germany says UPS teaches safe and efficient work practices. They want drivers to stay in good health so they can continue to work for the company. Worldwide, there are 8,700 drivers who have not had an accident in 25 years, 160 of them in Germany.
Young people learn differently than in the past, partly because of their experience with playing video games. To address those changes, UPS has created a 3D simulation film to use alongside traditional teaching methods.
An important station in the training center advises workers to handle the packages as little as possible. Extra handling requires more energy and stress on the body. Loading the packages properly is critical to making sure a driver doesn’t have to shuffle things around at every stop. Drivers are also taught how to lift things in a way that doesn’t cause injuries, and of course the really heavy items have to be rolled on a cart. (Orig. text: Ralf Arenz)
