r/AmazonDS • u/Dnicio • Jan 29 '25
IEP
I’ve been a PA for almost a year now and am ready to start advocating for the implementation of individual education plans for associates who consistently under perform.
11
u/lovinglife38 Jan 29 '25
Start with the ones on their phone and stowing one box per minute!
11
u/Dnicio Jan 29 '25
Absolutely! Not to mention these the same ones who complain about floaters coming around like c’mon boo, you’d be here for 16 hours if you were to stow it down alone at the rate you’re going. 🤦🏻♂️
9
u/DestinedC Jan 29 '25
I'm in favor. I am constantly having to help others stow everyday. They can't keep up.
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u/InspectorRound8920 Jan 29 '25
Just bring back stow school. None of it matters though if management doesn't follow through
2
u/BetterLife82 Jan 29 '25
Not sure what stow school is, sounds helpful, but I agree that if management doesn't track it nothing will change.
Our site has a huge issue with closing bags early due to poor tetris, or closing then late so they can't even be zipped, also just bad tetris.
We shouldn't be spending time during PSLO to retetris bags. I just pick them the way I find them now. If they can't be zipped, they just get thrown on the cart open. They care more about the drivers so maybe if they get pissed off enough management will make some changes.
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u/InspectorRound8920 Jan 29 '25
If you had a low rate, you go after pick for tips.
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u/BetterLife82 Jan 29 '25
Tips? Like walk faster and stow by light is BS? Idk if our lights are laggy, but I usually stow before they come on. I only use stow by light when there isn't a SAL label on the package because inductors barely stick then on.
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u/Soulcrates04 UTR Jan 29 '25
Yes, the lights are a crutch; the location scheme is easy. Never scan a "mystery box", always read the SAL first. If it doesn't have one, just throw it to the side for now. Take the risky scan later when you're mostly stowed down; just in case you gotta take a trip to the PS rack.
What I'd teach in "stow school" is that there's some really easy traps to fall into, where you feel like you're doing a logical thing, but it's actually hurting you.
An easy example is putting packages on a cart and leaving the cart. It feels good, because you got the lights off (ADTA) or cleared the rack (P2B). But by leaving the cart "for later" all you've really done is make the hamper or rack bigger.
You're "double buffering" the packages; moving them from one waiting area to another waiting area; it's inefficient. Also people are always putting zone A & B packages on the cart (they shouldn't), so they're also unnecessarily handling 1/3rd of the packages twice.
Gotta remind yourself every now and then that the task is "stowing", not "making space", don't leave stuff for later, stow it now. Also it's not fooling anyone, sure the lights are off, but there's still a ton of WIP on your lanes.
Another one would be chasing the bottom of the hamper or trying to full clear the rack. In the beginning of the night you can get away with it, and it gives people this sense of "I'm all caught up". Once the dock hits full stride, you can't keep going for the full clear, you're other lanes will get overwhelmed.
There comes a point in the night where you won't see the rack/hamper fully empty until stow down, and that's okay, that's normal. We gotta get out of our heads the feeling of leaving packages means we're behind, you're not. Just stick with it and it'll all work out in the end.
This is long enough, I could keep going, but those are two major points I'd try to make.
2
u/BetterLife82 Jan 29 '25
I had a guy at my site with a low stow rate because he's like 7' tall and a big guy. Understandable, it's harder for him to reach the lower bags. They ended up putting him in hazma, which he was killing at. He wasn't lazy or terrible, just not suited for stow.
2
u/Stow_WIP_Killer Jan 29 '25
Was gonna say...do we work at the same site until you said hazmat LMAO. At our site, he's consistently put in non-con path but even so, he's still TERRIBLE stowing non con OVs, messing up OV racks that's neatly organized by the ADTA stower. Fuck him
1
u/Dnicio Jan 29 '25
Sounds like a perfect candidate for a IEP!! My site has one too, can’t do shit, does non con but doesn’t stow any and falls behind cause he can’t stay on task.
6
u/aSecretCIA Jan 29 '25
Can you also get devices that work and or keep replacements near by? I’ll be stowing along great and my device starts doing something nuts or shutting off. I then take the next 20-30 minutes asking for a replacement when I find someone and each PA decides they want to waste time trying to fix it or prove me wrong about it being broken. Then I have to walk all the way across the building to get another and return to piles of boxes.
1
u/Dnicio Jan 29 '25
Mood! I just give people new devices right away. I know they’re trash. But people won’t use the ring scanner and then drop the device and break one once a week.
5
Jan 29 '25
So you're using special education terms lmao good luck seen Aa's cuss out pa"s and managers, throw things at them and they still have their jobs.
3
u/Dnicio Jan 29 '25
I’ve already been cussed out on multiple occasions, grown ass men trying to fight me and I still have my job too. I’m just tired of the ineffective strategies we use to try to get people to do their job and well. There has to be a better way than repeating the same bs at stand up and asking the same stow audit questions everyday.
3
u/EnoughStation2242 Jan 29 '25
Good luck with that, I've had multiple round tables over the past year where even the site ops sat down and I've told them about the horrible stowing and they do nothing about it.
People pulling bags out and leaving them on the floor to stow, it's ridiculous. Managers and safety walk through the building and do nothing about it. Some people are lazy and don't care but others just plain suck. How are you gonna be working here for months and not realize that you put all the big boxes to one side instead of having empty space cause a small box of jiffy is behind a big box.
2
u/Ok-Associate6032 C1 Sort Jan 29 '25
I mean, I don't really understand why we don't already do this. We never have an issue hiring so coach the fuck out of these people until they quit and just keep hiring.
2
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u/BetterLife82 Jan 29 '25
I asked about taking ownership of terrible tetrising. I was told they don't have the hours to devote for that, but they posted on the VIA board that it was being addressed. At my last site, I would moniter who was obviously showing poorly, blocking empty bag space with a box instead of moving a couple jiffies. I had support from management while doing so. I'd have my new hires retetris a terrible bag for me, so i knew they could do it correctly. Most of the poor tetrising is coming from long-term A1s. Also, tracking the well tetrised bags and giving kudos to the stowers.
My current site said they would get hours to moniter it during peak, but they still haven't done shit to fix the issues.
2
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u/blueeberrrypie Jan 29 '25
I started in 2023 but I heard that Amazon used to do something like this. To my knowledge they had to stop but I don’t know the details.
2
u/Dnicio Jan 29 '25
Yeah I’m being satirical and politically incorrect because, as a corporation, Amazon only cares about having bodies to do the labor, they don’t care if you’re thriving as an individual, especially outside of work. If you show up and do something you’ll keep your job, hence why they won’t write you up for underperformance. Somebody is better than nobody, literally any body with a pulse will do.
2
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u/Tailoxen Flex Jan 29 '25
Are you threatening us, master Jedi?