United Parcel Service : UPS Integrad Fact Sheet

UPS continually reviews, enhances and adjusts our employee programs to make sure they are serving the people who want to work for us. We realized that we needed to make an adjustment when our younger drivers began needing significantly more time to become proficient in the required skills, and more of them were leaving the company during their initial training period.

With the aid of a $1.8 million grant from the Department of Labor, we studied the way young people learn in a world of video games and smart phones. In collaboration with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Virginia Tech and the Institute for the Future, we built a high-tech, next-generation training facility called UPS Integrad. These facilities offer 3-D simulations and webcasts along with traditional classroom instruction. We use the approach of 'Teach me. Show me. Let me.' Allowing our trainees to experience and learn through a hands-on approach. We teach them to drive in a replica outdoor city called Clarkville that has real streets, street signs, sidewalks and simulated commercial and residential delivery and pickup sites.

After successful results with new driver service providers, we expanded the program to on-road supervisors, who manage drivers. The Managing Performance for On-Road Supervisors builds knowledge to teach supervisors to observe, apply and demonstrate skills in a controlled environment. By standardizing the supervisor training, it has proven to produce immediate results when participants return to their job. Supervisors who complete this course earn eight college credits through Thomas Edison University.

Number of sites: 12

Site Information:

Landover, MD opened in 2007
Franklin Park, IL opened in 2010
Phoenix, AZ opened in 2014
Portland, OR opened in 2014
Menlo Park, CA opened in 2015
Dallas, TX opened in 2015
Atlanta, GA opened in 2015
Cologne, Germany opened in 2016
West Boylston, MA opened in 2016
Burton on Trent, U.K. opened in 2017
Lake Mary, FL opened 2017
Columbus, OH opened in 2019

Size of classroom:12,000 square feet inside, 25,000 square feet outside

Learning Stations:11 distinct subject areas designed to enhance learning. They include safe work methods, safe driving methods, customer service methods, training in using the handheld computer (DIAD - acronym for Delivery Information Acquisition Device) for recording delivery information, proper package selection and UPS history.
Since 2007, UPS Integrad® has trained 12,766 drivers.*
*As of June 2018.

Awards

Alexander C. Williams Design Award from theHuman Factors and Ergonomics Society (2008)

Innovative Training Award fromOrganization Training Magazine (2008)