Archived Distribution Center Questions

[Barrywill4]

Hey I just had a couple questions about the distribution center. Do they get paid weekly or biweekly? Is it true that you get a raise every 3 months for the first 2 years you are there? What's it like working in inbound and outbound? What about the break schedule while working certain shifts. Thank you so much in advance for any and all feedback, it is greatly appreciated.

 

[dabeastfromtheeast]

Oh my, so much to cover....
Yes, we are paid weekly. For the progression pay info, there's another recent post about that on DC forums that covers that.

OB. Outbound. Arguably the most physically difficult job in the entire company. Also where I call home.
OB Core roles:

• OB Doors: The most basic OB role, and what most think of when they imagine the DC. You load the trailers destined for the stores from a chute fed from the sorter (and ergo the rest of the building)
• Non-con Sort: You ride around on a Crown PE or tugger, scanning freight that cant ride the mezz to the OB doors and loading them onto endcap pallets or bring them straight to the door.
• Depal: You take freight brought in from Warehouse and load it onto the conveyors bound for OB.

For the TMs showing excellence in their domain, and usually higher seniority, there's specialty roles:

• Mezz/Sorter Operators: Masters of the building's vast mezzanine of conveyors, breaking jams, and running the immense sorter that feeds cartons to the OB doors.
• Closer: In charge of cutting/closing trailers, delivering non-merch, and generally acting as an intermediary between the TMs sorting/in doors and the GL.
• Depal POC (Point of Contact): In charge of the Depal team, calling plays based upon LOS goals and the freight present.
• Auto-depal Operator: Trained to run the Auto-depals, large machines designed to strip a pallet down and load it's freight onto conveyors in a matter of seconds.

As for IB, I only know so much. I know there's ART, where you unload the trailer and a machine automatically reads the carton and applies a label. There's other docks where you receive the product and label it all manually. And then there's the Packet Office, which communicates between IB and the yard dogs, moving around trailers as needed.

And the breaks vary state-to-state, DC-to-DC and even between different keys in the same building. So you're going to have to ask when you get there.

Hope that helps.

 

[TgtTrainer]

Oh my, so much to cover.

That was my first thought too lol

 

[Hardlinesmaster]

http://www.thebreakroom.org/index.php?threads/newb-with-some-questions.11662/

 

[trowa03]

Also just for clarification...

Are you asking about an: RDC, FDC, FC(.com), IW or UDC.
(am I forgetting anything else?

 

[Barrywill4]

What's overtime like at the DC level? Like is it there if you want it? I know there was absolutely no ot in my store

 

[dabeastfromtheeast]

To elaborate on my chat post, I've heard of some buildings having so much OT need, that if you ever want it, you got it. At my building for OB, we almost always have OT right now for BTC/BTS, Q4 and a few odd days the rest of the year. From what I've seen, Warehouse and IB seem to get the most OT opportunities, but this is by no means true for every building.

As for details about OT, Your GL will tell you more detail about your buildings' process, but it involves signing up in a Flexing/OT sheet and a call-in line that prattles off whether your schedule is normal, or flexing (going home early/not coming in) or OT is approved. Also depending on your buildings' needs, there can days where they can institute mandatory flexing or OT. The max you can work is 72 hrs, 8-days straight, but you can't work a full calender week. Also, when working OT, I believe you are guaranteed work for the first three hours of the shift, but afterwards, if there's no business need for you, they can ask you to go home.

If you're just getting hired, I really wouldn't sweat most of this, since you can't flex/OT in your first 90 days unless they do mandatories.

 

[Barrywill4]

Thanks. One more question lol. What should I wear to orientation and to my first day. I'm gonna be in inbound, so I want to be as comfortable as possible. If there any type of dress code?

 

[dabeastfromtheeast]

For orientation: whatever. You're gonna spend most of the day in a A/C'd classroom, so you're not going have to worry about becoming a sweaty mess on the warehouse floor.

For actual work: There's not really much of a dress code. I usually just wear a sleeveless tee or wife beater and shorts. Get high quality gel insoles for your shoes. You'll need em. Just remember year-round, on the warehouse floor, there's no A/C in the summer and no heat in the winter, so dress accordingly.

 

[Memphis DC]

Fulfillment Questions
Do people on A-2 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. get off at exactly 6a.m. in the morning. Or is it 6:30 a.m. which includes a lunch break? The job description says they work 12.5 hours a day. Start time says 6 p.m. Thanks

 

[Barrywill4]

Yea I'm on a-2 key and we get off at exactly 6. Depending on which department you are in though it's a long walk to the only exit lol.

 

[Alduinsdemise]

A2 inbound. We work ART, which is the automated receival, and the manual dock, which is breaking apart pallets by hand, at a 80%-20% split (repetitive motion issues).

On the manual dock, you use the RC (forklift) to pull out pallets, break them apart, if they are mixed freight, sort out flow, which is headed to OB immediately or reserve which goes into the warehouse, rebuild the reserve into pallets, receive and stage the freight. Sometimes you may also have full pallets of reserve our flow, which you receive and stage accordingly. Our expectations are to being receiving 330 reserve/300 flow per hour (depending on freight and flow/reserve volume can be a cakewalk or a stroll in hell). Also different departments/types of freight have lower expectations.

In ART there are 4 dock doors in a "set". 2 extendo lines and 2 manual doors. you can be either be in the truck sorting the fright onto the extendo, out on the line building all the reserve that comes around and receiving it, or on the RC moving the stuff being built to the staging area for warehouse to pick up. Being "on the line" can be extremely nerve wracking, bc same as OB, you can't let the freight back up on the extendo. More stoppages means less cartons being inducted, which is money being lost. On the RC, not only are you expected to move the freight being built, but you should also find time to work one of the manual doors as well (depending on flow/reserve volumes for your ART line). All while working in about 1000sq/ft with 5-9 other people and another RC. ART is extremely fast pace, but very easy to adapt too. Expectations are higher, you are expected to induct that same as the manual dock, but for each person on your line. So 4 man line is a rate of 1300/1200 flow/ reserve per hour, however when the art line is functioning flawlessly and there are few stoppages on the mezzanine due to jams and backups, it's quite easy. We've been pushing 10k cartons in roughly a 10hr time frame.

Specialty rolls include:
Sweeps---trucks that return from our stores are filled with trash, recyclables, returned freight, and other misc stuff. You offload it, log it, and send the empty trailers to OB to load again for the stores.

PIPO---receiving full pallets for reserve our flow. Offload it, receive it, stage it. No fuss no muss, easiest and most highly coveted inbound function.

Small package---receiving lower quantity, high dollar, items (iPhones, game consoles, etc.) Few ate trained here because it's such a meticulous process. Also highly coveted.

Non-con: receiving stuff to heavy, long, or fragile for the mezzanine. (Most funuture, bagged pet food, glass bottles/jars). Most hate it, some don't mind.

M&M: Music and Movies. These are received differently and each piece is received individually (instead of casepacks). Very few are trained in this function because it is such a meticulous process.