Archived Is a 1 hour Truck Unload a fair time?

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My store a one of the ones that are switching to 6am, and for the last 3 months our ETL-LOG has been harping on getting these trucks unloaded in one hour. It's even got to the point where our store has brought in other STL for different stores and even the DTL. Ours trucks are like 2200-2800 4 times a week. It's really frustrating because even if the throwers go super fast, the line gets backed up, or pallets get full or Blackline is backed up. I don't see how other store are actually doing a 1 hour unload.

Though my store is kinda old, it's one of those store where the dock and line are at different angles. So we have to use a line that curves, and boxes and shit get truck and the ETL thinks it's a good ideal to keep pushing so everything falls on the floor which takes even more time to pick up after we are done.

We normally finish in the 1:30 to 1:50 mark but no matter what we try, we can't do it. It probably doesn't help that our line looks like it's from WWII.
 
If stuff is falling on the floor, whoever is pushing just needs to stop...there's nothing more annoying than someone too impatient/incompetent not get that merely pushing the line harder is going to get the boxes sorted faster.

That said, a 1 hour is definitely feasible, but might be a bit ambitious at this point. Our crew is pretty meh and we do a 2500 in about 1:30. Set the pace, don't let someone else do it for you. Look at your line setup, are the pallets getting out quickly? Is everyone shifting when a particular area gets backlogged?

Is someone moving slowly? Work next to that person and embarrass them a bit by crushing their speed.
 
How do you use pallets on a 6am unload? Are you allowed to have pallets on the floor after 8?
 
It probably doesn't help that our line looks like it's from WWII.

:D

On a perfect day (perfect attendance, everyone ate breakfast, no hangovers, etc) we can get a 2400 piece in 1:15. This rarely happens though. If doesn't help that we are doing a push all during this 6 am process as well. The custom blocks were changed for the worse and the team still hasn't gotten accustomed to the changes.
 
I hate it when they push the line too hard and boxes are flying off. They come out of the trailer and are pissed because it's not moving...I just say to them "push harder" :p

Our unloads were only like that two or three times, each time the truck was "unloaded" in less than an hour, but it took like 20 minutes to pick everything up.

Biggest thing about keeping the line moving is the people in the bays. Are they paying attention? Talking to each other? The the pallets getting too big? My TL would watch us and then juggle us around, get the most productive people at the front to keep it moving. You have a little more leeway in the last bay or two. Swapping the throwers halfway through does wonders too...but chances are the line wont be able to keep up.
 
Its definitely doable our unload is usually right at an hour 5 to 10 minutes after depending on truck. 2800 or more 1:15-1:30. Its all in the custom block setup and where you have people stationed at. If stuff is falling off the line to the point its like another truck on the floor, you need 1-2 people there to keep it on the line and keep pushing. The biggest dept's should be at the end of the line to not create a road block. If backstock is backing up the line get more people for that, or last resort have them push it onto the floor, sucks to have to pick it up but keeps the line moving.
We actually had complaints about us pushing the line to hard and to quick, our comment to them is if I see your grabbing a box I wait for a second, if your sitting there reading the box like a book, I'm pushing the line. Their looking for 1 set of numbers it doesnt take that long to look especially at the end of the line.
We have had other stores come over to ours to see our unload and wonder why they cant do it. They then tell us well we only have 8 people on the unload or 12, sorry thats not enough to get it done in an hour. Our store has 15-17 people on the unload every day.
 
My team seems to be having trouble with the transition that is not pre-tied. They know if it has a T in front to backstock it, but they push the ones with the T and the date in the small black box. What about the ones with AD and the date in the small black box?
 
Our unload usually takes 2hrs...averaging 2800 - 3000 five days a week. We have a fast push team mostly all females who aren't allowed to throw the truck. So I guess that's why they cut us some slack. Same ppl throwing the truck for two hrs five days a week? It gets tiring but they understand that.
 
We unloaded a truck in 37 minutes 1 time! Granted it was like a 1700 piece truck but we did it. We were taking a triple truck and he blitzkreiged a truck with like 5 or 6 unloaders inside the truck and a bunch of people on the line. Trucks in 1 hour can be done if you have the bodies and can get the people pumped up for it.
 
Some of those problems you guys listed seem to be big ones for us. For the unload before the blocks/bays, we have 4 throwers and 1 scanner. The throwers are pretty fast, me and 3 other guys. And the scanner keeps up most of time. Then the trouble starts. The thrower on the line that's closer to the trailer has to take of Transition/Bulk Plastic/Holiday Candy, Diapers and Furniture. The Thrower before the blocks has to taker off Small Paper, Bulk Paper, and Softline in addtion to catching anything that missed by the other guy on the line. The person pushing the is usually the scanner, which is kinda hard to do while scanning. Then our ETL comes and bulldozes the fucking line because it gets stuck at the 90'degree turn we have. This causes a ton of stuff to either break or fall on the floor.

We have 4 with 4 guys each blocks, for the most part they keep up unless we're going really fast, but we only have on 1 guy behind the line taking off all the black line. So the line get's backed up often when we try to keep a fast pace. The guy behind also has to take off Baby Push which can take a while the guy in Block 4 also takes off every repack and adds to flat. I feel this whole process is wrong. We suggested just taking off repacks at the line and sending down paper or w/e but our ETL doesn't really like our ideals. It's at the point where they tell us we have an hour and I just laugh and say ok.

It sucks because no matter how hard I work on the truck, we still won't get done because of the other factors. So sometimes I just don't give a damn.
 
our unload expectation is 1hour as well. we usually get done with a 22oo - 2800 truck between 1hour and 1hour 15minutes unless its a smaller truck. in that case we get done faster. it can be done. it just takes time to get used to the pace and the people not rotating around to different places on the line. you get the same people doing the same spot that their best at each day and you'll be fine. its only when there are call ins that you start to have problems...

people pushing the line when its backed up pisses me off so much. i havent been on the line in years but when i come to get a pallet and see people pushing a line thats backed up, i just want to jump on the line and push it all right back in their f**king face. nothing is more irritating then that when your working on the line. in all seriousness though. it pisses me off more because thats when people start to get hurt. you get a couple hundred pounds of boxes on the line and your on a spot towards the end, it doesnt feel pleasant getting your fingers crushed between the boxes or caught in the rollers....
 
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As everyone else has said, with enough bodies willing to work together anything is possible. As far as pushing the line goes...I push and keep pushing. That's how the truck team was trained since inception at my store and that's what the ETLs expect. To them writing off a few broken cases is better than having to pay the extra wages for whoever has to stay to finish pushing the truck because we couldn't get it unloaded in time. Now, granted, I dont do it spitefully. But it really doesn't take more than a few seconds to read by our numbers. If you are talking to the person next to you, slacking off, or not helping me push the line of boxes is going to go right past you.

people pushing the line when its backed up pisses me off so much. i havent been on the line in years but when i come to get a pallet and see people pushing a line thats backed up, i just want to jump on the line and push it all right back in their f**king face. nothing is more irritating then that when your working on the line. in all seriousness though. it pisses me off more because thats when people start to get hurt. you get a couple hundred pounds of boxes on the line and your on a spot towards the end, it doesnt feel pleasant getting your fingers crushed between the boxes or caught in the rollers....

Please don't do that. I have gotten my wrist put into a brace for a month before by someone shoving it back while I was pushing. Not backed up, this person just got mad because they had to take two steps to the side to get a box rather than leaning against the pole. At least being on the line you can expect that boxes might be be coming your way and to watch your hands. The line is only meant to go one way.
 
Got a 2300 truck today, 55 minute unload time, push all, truck unload started at 7:30, was slow guy and the ETL from 7:30-7:50. Then 7:50-8:25 was me and ETL. Probably would have cut 5-10 minutes if they would schedule me at 7:30..
 
Please don't do that. I have gotten my wrist put into a brace for a month before by someone shoving it back while I was pushing. Not backed up, this person just got mad because they had to take two steps to the side to get a box rather than leaning against the pole. At least being on the line you can expect that boxes might be be coming your way and to watch your hands. The line is only meant to go one way.

obviously you didnt read the "in all seriousness" part of my post...

ive seen hands a fingers broken on the line because of pushing....



Got a 2300 truck today, 55 minute unload time, push all, truck unload started at 7:30, was slow guy and the ETL from 7:30-7:50. Then 7:50-8:25 was me and ETL. Probably would have cut 5-10 minutes if they would schedule me at 7:30..

great job my friend!
 
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For us, 1 hour has always been our target time for truck unloads, which we can do on some of the mid-size trucks (Roughly 1500-1700. I've thrown a 1500 piece in about 45 minutes.) but on any given morning, if we have the right people in the right places, we can be finished in an hour and 15 with a full-ish truck.

Boxes falling off the line is an issue, especially for me. I generally try to throw a truck so that boxes end up on the nestaflex in a way where they wouldn't fall simply by coming in contact with another box, but I tend to get a bit too hasty sometimes. We've also got a couple good pushers but a lot of the time it's one guy at the front of the line doing double-duty trying to push and build the first 3-4 pallets on the line, so it gets dicey.

Got a 2300 truck today, 55 minute unload time, push all, truck unload started at 7:30, was slow guy and the ETL from 7:30-7:50. Then 7:50-8:25 was me and ETL. Probably would have cut 5-10 minutes if they would schedule me at 7:30..

Daaaaaaaaamn!
 
Got a 2300 truck today, 55 minute unload time, push all, truck unload started at 7:30, was slow guy and the ETL from 7:30-7:50. Then 7:50-8:25 was me and ETL. Probably would have cut 5-10 minutes if they would schedule me at 7:30..
can i have your team please
 
Got a 2300 truck today, 55 minute unload time, push all, truck unload started at 7:30, was slow guy and the ETL from 7:30-7:50. Then 7:50-8:25 was me and ETL. Probably would have cut 5-10 minutes if they would schedule me at 7:30..
can i have your team please
No.
Boxes falling off the line is an issue, especially for me. I generally try to throw a truck so that boxes end up on the nestaflex in a way where they wouldn't fall simply by coming in contact with another box, but I tend to get a bit too hasty sometimes. We've also got a couple good pushers but a lot of the time it's one guy at the front of the line doing double-duty trying to push and build the first 3-4 pallets on the line, so it gets dicey.
Boxes falling are unavoidable but it can be minimized. Try to make the line as straight as possible, and do not put small boxes right in front of a medium/large box. Where do you place your backstock pallets? if near the front then have that person push while scanning what is being pushed for backstock ;)
 
Boxes falling are unavoidable but it can be minimized. Try to make the line as straight as possible, and do not put small boxes right in front of a medium/large box. Where do you place your backstock pallets? if near the front then have that person push while scanning what is being pushed for backstock ;)

We're an all-push, so we don't have backstock pallets or a scanner on the line unless we're expecting a large amount of transition product that we know isn't going to go out yet, and typically when we do, it ends up going to the back. It pretty much comes down to the one dedicated pusher we have for the limited amount of time we have, otherwise it's up to the guys at the front to support that effort as much as they can.
 
Boxes falling are unavoidable but it can be minimized. Try to make the line as straight as possible, and do not put small boxes right in front of a medium/large box. Where do you place your backstock pallets? if near the front then have that person push while scanning what is being pushed for backstock ;)

We're an all-push, so we don't have backstock pallets or a scanner on the line unless we're expecting a large amount of transition product that we know isn't going to go out yet, and typically when we do, it ends up going to the back. It pretty much comes down to the one dedicated pusher we have for the limited amount of time we have, otherwise it's up to the guys at the front to support that effort as much as they can.

I am an all push store also but we do get a pallet or 2 of boxes that are backstock because the plano team is far far behind. I know our team lead also comes and pushs the stuff out of truck. I dont know what your teamlead is doing (prob playing around) but if you have to ( i know i do this a couple times a truck) speed walk down the line and push everything down. Shouldnt take no more then 10 seconds, unless the stackers are backedup, and then you got a bunch of room to unload till the pusher is back. It is all about learning what the quickest adjustments are and being able to implement them.
 
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