Go behind the scenes with Team UPS at the National Truck Driving Championships

It was game on at the weeklong competition in Orlando, FL, that featured more than 400 of the best drivers in the business, including 19 UPSers who won U.S. state championships this year to qualify for the Nationals.

Competing in the nine classifications, the drivers were tested on their knowledge of safety rules and regulations, performance of pre-trip inspections, and on-course driving skills.

Top UPS performances were turned in by Robert Foskey, who finished seventh in the Twins division and Clarence Jenkins, who placed eighth in the Sleeper division. Making his second appearance in the Nationals, Tim Sproles from Bristol,TN, garnered a tenth-place finish in the Sleeper division.  

Check out the following video and find out why the worst thing you can do at the competition is run over a duck.

Here’s our all-star roster:

Tim Bailey, Jr. – West Virginia

Ty Bentley – North Carolina

Gregory Deterding – Maine

John Evans – Nevada

Robert Foskey – Florida

John Foran – Vermont

Don Gaston – Kentucky

Larry Hall – Maryland

Steve Hanna – Missouri

Todd Hester – Georgia

Clarence Jenkins – West Virginia

Roger Nicholson – Georgia

Kari Paulson – Illinois

Bill Raff – Illinois

Ron Raney – Iowa

David Sharp – Nevada

Vernon Smith – Nevada

Tim Sproles – Virginia

Alan St. Clair  – Illinois

UPS driver William Raff provides a recap from the event:

“Very early Saturday, all of the drivers were introduced to the spectators, walked across the stage to receive their State Champion (silver) belt buckles and shook about 30 officials’ hands along the way. We also received envelopes containing a participation certificate and a printout of our individual scores for the written, pre-trip and driving tests. The printout showed points possible, our individual score, class average and what rank we achieved. The top five scorers in each class received blank printouts as they are to drive again, a different course, this morning so that 1st thru 5th place for each class can be determined. Saturday we attended the Championships Banquet where those drivers ranking 1st, 2nd & 3rd in their class and the Grand Champion of the entire event were announced. The 1st place winners in each class received a gold belt buckle. We rooted for our good friend from YRC, Rich Seigle, who made the top five. For some reason Rich has a soft spot in his heart for us UPS guys. He befriended us back in the late 90′s at the state event and has been guiding and coaching us ever since. I love that guy. “

Yesterday, UPS recognized its safest drivers by inducting 1,122 driving professionals into the company’s Circle of Honor. The new Circle of Honor represents the senior safe drivers in the organization who have gone at least 25 years without an accident. The group has a total of 5,248 active members.

Ron Sowder of UPS’s Ohio Valley District is the company’s top safe driver. He has driven accident free for 49 years and amassed over 4 million miles.  Ron credits his success to staying alert, keeping a positive attitude on the roads and exercising his skills. The skills Ron is referring to are the cornerstone of the safe driving methods UPS teaches all of its drivers. The following are some that Ron uses every day:

1. When starting up at an intersection, look left, right and left again.
2. When stopped in traffic, leave a car length of space from the vehicle ahead. This allows space to get by cars that stall as well as a cushion to turning vehicles.
3. Make eye contact with other drivers by using horns, lights and  signals.
4. As a rule of thumb, use rearview and side mirrors once every five to eight seconds.

Ron, who is affectionately called “Big Dog,” has a daily 312-mile roundtrip route from West Carrollton, Ohio, to Louisville and back and he has done it for 49 years without a crash. Compare that to your daily commute! 

We’re also celebrating UPS’s top female safe driver, Ginny Odom, who drives out of our Florida District and has a “daily commute” of 600 miles. Ginny’s route is from Orlando to Cordele, Ga., and back. She has driven accident free for 36 years and credits another of UPS’s safe driving staples, keeping a space cushion from the vehicle in front of you.

The group of elite drivers is recognizable by a UPS Circle of Honor patch that they wear on the sleeve of the iconic UPS brown uniform. So if your regular driver comes by, keep an eye out for that patch and say congratulations to a true safe driving professional.

At UPS, one of the things we’re known for is our drivers. UPS customers have come to count on them for more than 100 years. They’re trusted, familiar faces in neighborhoods and offices. But UPS drivers are more than helpful and friendly – they’re also very safe. Today, UPS honors 5,248 of its safest drivers who’ve achieved 25 years or more of accident-free driving. These drivers are part of an elite group known as the Circle of Honor. And you can recognize a Circle of Honor driver by the patch displayed on his or her uniform sleeve.

This year’s Circle of Honor includes UPSers from Canada, Germany and Puerto Rico. In the U.S., more than 5,000 drivers qualified for the Circle. Which state has the most? That would be California.

Together, our Circle of Honor drivers have logged more than 5 billion miles of safe driving. That’s nearly 54 times the distance between the earth and the sun.

How do they do it? Through rigorous training and keeping their full attention on the road at all times. On average, UPS drivers undergo 40 hours of training before they hit the road in our brown package cars. Here are a few tips you can follow to stay safe on the road:

• Always pay attention to changing road conditions and adjust your speed accordingly.
• Avoid distractions in your car – this includes mobile phones and food.
• Pay attention to other drivers on the road and keep a safe distance.
• If roads are slippery, use smooth starts and stops.
• Brake early to avoid “heavy braking” (and sliding) when stopping.

The next time a UPS driver stops by your home or office with a package, look carefully at the shirt sleeve. If you see the Circle of Honor patch, you know your driver is one of the best.

Impressive. Innovative. INTENSIVE! These are all words that have been used to describe UPS Integrad®, the driver training program that combines technology, hands-on experience and real-time feedback to get new driver candidates ready for the road.

The program started three years ago at the first training site in Landover, Md., the result of extensive research on differences in learning style among multiple generations. Based on the retention rate and performance of new drivers who went through the first Integrad facility, UPS opened a second facility this summer just outside Chicago.

I’ve often wondered about what happens after Integrad? To date, more than 1,500 new driver candidates have begun the Integrad training. Where are they now? The very short and simple answer is that most of them have gone back to their home state to become safe and confident drivers. 

I recently had the opportunity to speak with a few graduates right before they started on their fast-paced day. A couple of them were fresh out of the program and the others had been out a year or longer, including one who was recently promoted and now manages a pretty diverse group of drivers – some with 30 years of experience, some with five years and some with as little as two weeks.

Although we couldn’t chat long, it was interesting to hear each driver express how the program provided “real world” experiences impacting their personal driving habits. 

Related Post: Ever Wonder What it Takes to Wear Those Brown Shorts?

Here are snippets of their reflections on the Integrad experience:

Maybe more than you think. Today’s UPS driver must focus on more than just the physical tasks of delivering your package. As the company’s most visible representatives, they’re also expected to have a broad knowledge base of our products and services and know how to interact well with our customers.

That’s why we have UPS Integrad, an innovative driver training program that helps new drivers make sense of it all. The state-of-the-art program was developed as a result of almost two years of research that UPS did with some of the best minds at MIT and Virginia Tech. It incorporates technology in the form of virtual reality and simulations with classroom-based training, allowing trainees to “learn by doing.” 

A typical day in the program might include walking across a treated surface that simulates ice or grease; using a touch-screen to identify potential hazards encountered while driving a typical route, or maybe even driving the truck (we call it a package car) in the parking-lot-turned-fake town of “Clarksville,” complete with little houses, street signs, a loading dock and sheds that simulate delivery stops.

The program, which launched as a pilot in 2007 in Landover, Md., has proven successful in training and retaining good drivers – so much so that UPS has expanded the program to open a second training facility in the Chicago area. This facility replicates the first one and serves as a central location where driver candidates can come to receive consistent training. 

Want to become a driver now? Let me warn you, it may take a while. Most UPS drivers begin their career as part-timers, starting out by loading, unloading and sorting packages, then they work their way up through the ranks. I guess we all have to start somewhere.

You can view the current open positions at upsjobs.com. We also share news about job opening on Twitter and at Facebook.

Related post: Where are they now? Life After Integrad.

I get to work on user testing to help determine what is needed in future versions of the driver handheld devices, called DIAD (Delivery Information Acquisition Device.) And to do this we ask the experts, UPS drivers:  In January 2008 a driver survey was conducted requesting user feedback, pros and cons, concerning the DIAD IV.  The results indicated three areas of concern:  1) the placement of the signature key, due to customers inadvertently hitting this key; 2) the shifted keypad, which requires the driver to toggle between alpha and numeric characters; and 3) the size of the device, too big and too heavy. 

The next question that needed to be addressed was: does the DIAD V need to be a “custom” device or can the DIAD V be a standard off-the-shelf product?  In the past, standard products did not meet the needs of UPS, which resulted in the need (and expense) of developing a “custom” device.  Customization also requires country and regulatory certifications for the device and accessories for each country in which the equipment will be used.  Today standard products have all the components of a DIAD device plus a few newer innovations.  So, once again, the experts were consulted!  Four standard off-the-shelf devices were tested on-road by drivers at nine different locations.  The test results indicated that two of the devices tested were acceptable (and actually preferred over the DIAD IV) and two of the devices tested were not suited for the operational environment (too small with QWERTY or computer keypads). 

Based on the information provided by our drivers (the real experts), UPS contacted three major companies in the handheld device market which then responded with proposals of their standard ruggedized product(s).  In late 2009, after clarifying and negotiating changes in the proposals, the product and the vendor were selected.  Drum roll please…The DIAD V will be a standard product built by Honeywell.  The device will have a full color VGA screen and expanded radio communication coverage.  The DIAD V will be smaller and lighter than the DIAD IV, which will alleviate issues with the signature key (due to the device size, the customer’s grasp while signing the device will be different) and the DIAD V will have a full alpha numeric keypad, eliminating the shift key.

The UPS and the Honeywell project teams are currently engaged and forging ahead to begin deployment in August 2011.

This corporate blog is meant to be your window into UPS, an opportunity to meet a lot of people in addition to the individual drivers who deliver your packages.  Standing behind those front-line drivers are thousands of enthusiastic UPSers who strive to serve their customers and communities, working together across time zones and more than 200 countries and territories.

Starting out, you’ll see plenty of stories about what happens at UPS during the holidays (including shipping tips).  But there’s much, much more that we plan to share.  Like personal stories on volunteerism.  Ways to connect your business to international markets.  How we’re using technology and practical solutions to reduce fuel use and improve our green business practices. Plus news updates about UPS.  We’ll feature stories from employees around the world who have all types of interesting jobs.  Think of the upside blog as a peak “under the hood” of the big Brown engine that is UPS.

Some of our stories may be humorous while others will reflect opinions that we hope spark feedback.  We’re eager to share and talk with you.  Please join the conversation.

Ready to add your two-cents? Be sure to see our tips for keeping the discussion on topic.

Norman Black and The upside team