Mistakes to look for in Orion

Orion is the software program created to calculate the most efficient delivery path for a route. Unfortunately it is only as good as the information that it has to make its calculations. Every driver has experienced that "This doesn't make any sense whatsoever" or "There is no way I can do all these stops in that amount of time" moment on their route. It was the responsibility of the original Orion implementation team in your center to make sure the information entered into Orion was correct. You have been stuck with any mistakes made or situations they overlooked on your route since then. Finding these mistakes is a very time consuming task and you will probably never be able to find all of them. As drivers our days are long enough and it is our job is to deliver packages not fix managements mistakes, but if you don't take the time to fix the mistakes in Orion on your route it is you who ultimately suffers the constant frustration day after day. Make sure you have the support of your management team and are on the clock if you decide to fix any mistakes.

The following are some of the more common errors that we can find to fix Orion on our routes.

Wrong speed limit for road, parking lot or driveway.

• To check this hover the cursor over the road or driveway on the Orion map; the speed limit for that road will show up at the bottom of the screen. Most rural roads in Orion were given a 25 mph speed value when the system was implemented, many driveways connected to these roads have the same value. Change the travel speed of the road to the posted speed limit. If not posted use a speed that is appropriate for safe and courteous travel in a package car. If there are speed bumps or road conditions that cause you to stop or significantly slow down this will drop the average driving speed for that road. When checking and changing the main roads speeds make sure the long driveways connected to these roads have the proper speeds for their conditions as well.

Orion shows the stop in the wrong location.

• • The Orion delivery point for a stop is called the "Snap." This is the delivery location Orion uses to calculate the travel of the package car. Sometimes long driveways used to access a stop are missing from the map and Orion shows the stop on the main road. Identify the missing driveways you must drive down to make the delivery and their travel speeds. Management can add these roads to the map.

• Snaps are often mistakenly made at gates or outbuildings on rural properties. If the stop is approved for delivery at the gate then the Snap should be at that location, if not the Snap should be at the main residence. Sometimes a new resident may want the package delivered to the house when the old resident wanted everything left at the gate.

• You may find snaps for stops located many miles away from an actual address. What could have happened here is that during the lead up to Orion's implementation management was collecting information on where drivers were actually leaving stops. If a driver gave that stop to a consignee at their work location on a regular basis that location became the snap point for that address. Management took advantage of that favor the consignee was doing for UPS and made it permanent. The trouble with that is people move, go on vacation, are sick, retire, change jobs, etc. or may no longer want or be able to receive their personal packages at their work. Also relief drivers may not have that same relationship with that consignee or have no idea that person works at that location. The snaps for these stops should be changed back to the location of the actual address. Favors consignees do for UPS should not be taken for granted.

Orion shows a travel path over blocked, impassable or nonexistent roads.

• The Orion system uses all available roads on its map to calculate the best driving path. Some of these roads go over private property and are blocked by gates or were never developed and are too bad to use. Management can block these roads on the Orion map so they will not be used to calculate the best travel path. These can be discovered when the Orion delivery order in the DIAD shows a stop in an order that does not make sense. To check this use the Orion computer to show the driving path the system selected from the prior stop to the stop that appears to be out of order.

Mobile home parks with space numbers, apartment complexes or shopping centers that have a single street address shows stop being made on the main street and not on the property.

• Sometimes mobile home parks ,apartment complexes and shopping centers that use a single street address with space or unit numbers will be snapped to the main road at the entrance of the property. The Snap should be located at the furthest unit back on the property to assure time is allotted for those stops. Also make sure the correct speed limit for the property is entered.

What you can't change.

• Orion will have you pass up stops only to have you make them on your way back down the same road. Many times these stops are right next door to the one it had you already deliver. What it is doing is leaving you bread crumbs so you will travel the path it wants you to travel. This is extremely inefficient and unnecessary because many times these are rural dead end roads and the house numbers are only facing in the direction you originally drove in, or maybe you would have only stopped the vehicle once for two delivery stops. Nevertheless it is written in to the algorithm and there is nothing you can do about it.

What you can do to coerce Orion to do the right thing

• Unfortunately the Orion algorithm will mix streets up and move them out of the DOL order even if there is no savings in miles. This will have you digging through your load and slow you down leaving you frustrated and needlessly distracted. If you have sections or loops that are best delivered in the established deliver order but Orion keeps needlessly mixing them up, consider making them one way streets in the Orion map. This will limit Orion's options and force it to put deliveries in the order of the DOL.

There are two forms that you can download at the bottom of this page to make your communication with management as quick and easy as possible.

• Orion Change Request: Use this for Orion errors.

• DOL DIAD Change Request: Use this to add or remove streets or notes to your DIAD and DOL