Wife wants A/C in UPS trucks, prevent heat strokes

[slacktide_bitog]

Originally Posted by StevieC
Here the trucks are owned by Fedex the company. That is interesting that in the U.S. they are independent contractors... I know the FedEx ground trucks have A/C because they are unionized here. FexEx express does not and they aren't union


Originally Posted by earlyre


FedEx is a different animal. The delivery guys are independent contractors who buy not only their own truck, but the route itself.

FedEx itself does not own any delivery trucks.

USPS, not sure about bigger rigs, but 99%sure the LLV does not have air, just a dash mounted fan.


Actually, Fedex Ground (the word "Ex" in green) is the independent contractors driving trucks that are not owned by Fedex. Home Delivery is also run by Fedex Ground.

Fedex Express (the word "Ex" in orange) is Fedex employees driving Fedex-owned trucks.

 

[CT8]

Originally Posted by FlyNavyP3
I agree with UPS that A/C would likely be ineffective based on the nature of the routes. I'm not one to normal side with big corporate America but I sincerely agree with them this time. Sounds like her husband allowed himself to get dehydrated, that's on him, not UPS. Only one side of the story is told here, is he overweight, drinks coffee in the morning, smoker? Other risk factors? Not trying to kick the driver here but there's a lot the individual can do to keep themselves healthy. I'm really getting sick of people blaming others for their own health, feelings, or well being. Take some personal responsibility and ownership for your health, body and fitness stop deflecting and blaming others.

+ 1 the doors are always open.

 

[StevieC]

Originally Posted by slacktide_bitog
Originally Posted by StevieC
Here the trucks are owned by Fedex the company. That is interesting that in the U.S. they are independent contractors... I know the FedEx ground trucks have A/C because they are unionized here. FexEx express does not and they aren't union


Originally Posted by earlyre


FedEx is a different animal. The delivery guys are independent contractors who buy not only their own truck, but the route itself.

FedEx itself does not own any delivery trucks.

USPS, not sure about bigger rigs, but 99%sure the LLV does not have air, just a dash mounted fan.


Actually, Fedex Ground (the word "Ex" in green) is the independent contractors driving trucks that are not owned by Fedex. Home Delivery is also run by Fedex Ground.

Fedex Express (the word "Ex" in orange) is Fedex employees driving Fedex-owned trucks.

Maybe in the U.S. but not in Canada. I worked for them in College.

 

[Eddie]

I worked in a tractor factory without air for many years. Many jobs and other people work without air in body shops, mechanic shops, yard workers etc. What the big deal. Drink water, use a cooling fan and deal with it, or get a different job. Ed

 

[maxdustington]

Originally Posted by Silverado12
Anyone in their fifties needs to slow down in their day to day activities. I was feeling bad out in the heat today and went inside, drank a liter of H2O and started feeling better. These guys can't really do that.
They can't do it after drinking beers all night for 20 years. Those are the people who have trouble when it gets hot on the jobsite, the ones with the beer guts.

 

[bdcardinal]

I wonder if something like the cool suits for racecar drivers would work better. You wear a vest or shirt under your clothes that has cooled water running through it. There is a remote mounted AC unit where the water is cooled and then pumped back through the shirt. There are quick disconnects since they are used in endurance racing with multiple drivers in the same car.

 

[bubbatime]

The quick disconnects would break on the first shift. They are in and out of their trucks 500 times or more per shift.

 

[hpb]

Originally Posted by Eddie
I worked in a tractor factory without air for many years. Many jobs and other people work without air in body shops, mechanic shops, yard workers etc. What the big deal. Drink water, use a cooling fan and deal with it, or get a different job. Ed


Agreed!

 

[Johnny2Bad]

Open that cargo door once, and all the advantage is lost. From that point on (early morning, probably) you will never recover the temperature difference to any meaningful amount; it's a large volume space to heat or cool. Heat Stroke is due to many things and heat is certainly a factor, but as someone said dehydration is the key factor.

 

[Johnny2Bad]

Originally Posted by bdcardinal
I wonder if something like the cool suits for racecar drivers would work better. You wear a vest or shirt under your clothes that has cooled water running through it. There is a remote mounted AC unit where the water is cooled and then pumped back through the shirt. There are quick disconnects since they are used in endurance racing with multiple drivers in the same car.


The efficiency isn't that great ... ever see a race car driver after a race? They're sweating profusely, and that's with the cool suit operating the whole time. I forget the actual number but F1 drivers lose something like 10 pounds a race, and they are getting 220 MPH worth of air across the suit and helmet. They can handle it because they have in-car hydration. Water is the key to Heat Stroke.

If people can work in a commercial kitchen for 8~12 hour shifts, where the air temperature is about 120F and on a hot day, higher, and not get Heat Stroke, or deployed on a ship at sea where there may be no shelter from the sun during your duty time, you have to look at other reasons besides just the temperature.

When you are hot and stop sweating, start re-hydrating and get somewhere cool. If you don't recognize the symptoms, you will get heart irregularities even if you are a healthy young man. Failure to know what to do and when is probably the problem that needs addressing, not adding more air conditioning to a truck that is open and makes frequent stops opening the cargo hold.

 

[02SE]

I recall the days when I owned my own company, which could involve unloading 28' doubles or 53' dry vans in 110°+ F ambient temps, (which meant the temps in the trailer were far higher), or below 0° F temps in snow and ice. And the product was often far heavier than UPS will handle. This was rarely at any kind of loading dock. It almost always involved getting the product off the truck onto the ground, and into a building, which could then involve lots of stairs. With the added stress of keeping the company a viable concern.

This reminds me of a phrase: Suck it up, buttercup.

Barring that, there's always the option of finding other employment.

 

[SeaJay]

I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for UPS to retrofit A/C units on all of its fleet.

 

[Mr Nice]

Hydration is responsibility of the driver.

Its a tough job even if they had A/C to cool off.

 

[HemiHawk]

I'm in pretty good shape, went for a 4 mile trail run yesterday with the heat index around 100. But these drivers going 8+ hours in that heat or worse depending on location is pretty rough. Of course the drivers should do everything they can to help themselves such as eat right and hydrate...but at a certain point if something can be done by the company to keep them safer and healthier it should be done. This isn't the 1800s.

 

[Yah-Tah-Hey]

Perhaps find indoor employment where A/C is a given.

 

[javacontour]

Originally Posted by Silverado12
Anyone in their fifties needs to slow down in their day to day activities. I was feeling bad out in the heat today and went inside, drank a liter of H2O and started feeling better. These guys can't really do that.


Huh?

Maybe some guys in their 50s...

 

[PandaBear]

Originally Posted by bdcardinal
I wonder if something like the cool suits for racecar drivers would work better. You wear a vest or shirt under your clothes that has cooled water running through it. There is a remote mounted AC unit where the water is cooled and then pumped back through the shirt. There are quick disconnects since they are used in endurance racing with multiple drivers in the same car.


Quick disconnect is the wrong solution to this. What they should do is to have a small freezer to keep a second one in there, and let the driver swap between 2 suits as the ice melt. Wearing the suit while walking outside the truck is beneficial as well.

 

[SatinSilver]

The drivers prob don't want to hydrate so they don't have to go to the bathroom all the time. Where do they go anyway? They probably have a can that they go in. Pack a cooler full of ice to dip hands in and splash the face to cool down.

 

[Mr Nice]

Most businesses they can ask to use the restroom.

I've seen some surgeons wear a cool vest that circulates cold water. Usually worn during long surgical procedures 4+ hours.

 

[bunnspecial]

Originally Posted by SatinSilver
The drivers prob don't want to hydrate so they don't have to go to the bathroom all the time.


We have the same "regulars" who come to work every day for all the big carriers(UPS ground, UPS express, UPS freight, Fedex Ground, Express, Freight).

They all know where the restroom is in our building and use it from time to time, although admittedly not that often as it's a decent distance away from where they come to drop off deliveries.

I'd imagine that, in general, the guys(or ladies) on business-heavy routes don't have of an issue. It's rare that we DON'T have at least UPS and Fed-Ex ground on a given day(express and freight are somewhat less frequent, but express from both carriers is still probably 3x a week and freight maybe once a week) and for most larger business I'd say this is common. It's also USUALLY the same drivers and those of us who regularly receive packages are on a first name basis with the regular drivers. I don't think our situation is terribly uncommon.

I can imagine that finding a bathroom on a more residential-heavy route could definitely be a problem, though.