UPS's Latest Efficiency Move: Ditch the Keys - WSJ.com
EXCERPTS:
"LOUISVILLE, Ky.—United Parcel Service Inc., already designs its delivery routes to avoid left turns, so as not to waste time waiting for oncoming traffic. And the company requires its drivers to walk at a "brisk pace," which it defines as 2.5 paces a second.
But at an investor conference here, UPS executives said they hit upon another cost-saving strategy: take away the drivers' keys.
They said the company will save $70 million a year by going to a "keyless" system in which drivers will start their vehicle with a fob hooked to their belt.
Currently, UPS drivers are required to carry key rings on their ring finger to avoid wasting time searching for them. During the company's driver-training school, instructors yell out, "raise your hands!" Candidates caught without their keys lose points.
Still, wrangling with keys can eat up valuable seconds, UPS says. Once a driver stops, he or she has to take the keys out of the ignition, and then turn around and use them to unlock the bulkhead door to get to the packages.
Soon, drivers will wear a digital-remote fob on their belts and will be able to turn the engine off with a button that will unlock the bulkhead door at the same time.... That automatic door opening will save 1.75 seconds per stop, or 6.5 minutes per driver per day, while also reducing motion and fatigue, said David Abney, UPS's chief operating officer.
Mr. Abney acknowledged that the company is "obsessive...."
