Fed-Ex/RPS security practices and Package Routing,            
                      by ACE ace@crashcentral.com

This article is for anyone who has ever lost a package or had one damanged through Fed-Ex/RPS, and also to explain some of the security problems at the worlds second biggest package carrying service.

	                     Package Routing

Packages start being picked up and delivered to a hub. There are hubs scattered across the us in major central locations. When packages arrive at a hub, they go into the belt system, get scanned via the automatic scanning system, or a SWAK'er (hand scanner which automatically uploads info to central pc), and are automatically routed to the proper trailer, where they are loaded. The alternative is that packages arrive from another hub, which is where 90% of the package flow comes from. When packages arrive from another hub, they are unloaded. This is where most packages get broken. When your coordinator is pressuring you to do 1000+ packages an hour, you tend to not pay any attention to fragile lables as you throw packages onto the rollers that are in the trailer and push them out to the belt. The only real pause is for Incompatible packages, or IC's. IC's are anything that is oddly shaped, oversized, overweight, or just not a normal box. Haz-Mat's are also considered IC's. All of these get thrown out of the trailer to the side of the conveyor belt, where they are collected and put onto one of the IC belts that circles the entire building. They travel around and around on the IC belt until someone decides to pick them off, scan them in and divert them to the proper truck thats being loaded. 

                    More on how packages are kept track of

When packages arrive they are put into the belt system and scanned automatically by the scanning system, or at a swakking station, which uses scanners similiar to your local Home Depot. Which sends them to the loading area, where they are then diverted to whatever truck is being loaded that is going to their destination. If packages are incompatible, or whatever, they are scanned with itty bitty hand scanners, which are not to be confused with SWAK'ers, because these things are about 4 inches long, and completely independent and handheld. All these scanners serve the purpose of getting package information into the computer system. This information can be accessed from the terminals that are scattered around the hub, that the coordinators use, or from the main office Id imagine. The Main office consists of one person, surrounded by video feed of all the major belts and such, as well as thousands of buttons for different control purposes. When belts jam up with packages, this person can radio to the coordinators on their radios, (which they all have) and have them unjam it or whatever. More about the radios - All the coordinators carry radios which they use to communicate with each other and the main office. Im not sure about the channels, although in the main yard outside, there is a sign for truckers that says to keep the cb tuned to Channel 2. So Id Imagine the really low channels would probably be the ones theyd be using.


		                    Security

Youd think it would be hard to maintain airtight security at a building that is basically open on all sides, is almost a mile long and wide, and has hundreds of people and trucks coming in and out constantly... Youd be right. There is a razor-wire topped fence surrounding the entire complex, and the yard is like daylight at night because of the insane amount of lights they have everywhere, but there are no cameras outside that I know of. The only cameras Ive seen are in the main office, and they monitor belts, not security. If one had some knowledge of the building, and were to come during the non-peak hours, a good deal of thieving might occur, especially since new people come and go constantly, so a new face wouldnt be a surprise to anyone. 
Other security measures include the two guards at the hub I work at, who basically just sit in their little guard shack, check incoming trucks to verify the metal seals on the doors arent broken and such, and pat down employees on the way out. They also occasionally use handheld metal detectors. Employees are kept track of via the keypads in the guard shack, there are two of them, one for on the way in, and one for on the way out, you basically just enter your SSN (which is your id tag - I strongly disagree with this practice, but oh well) when you come in, and when you leave. Visitors sign in and out via a paper system. Employees are also all issued timecards. The potential for abuse is great, as employees tend to use the bathroom for 15-20 minutes after they are done for the day. (night?) The company realises this, and to keep hundreds of employees from racking up 15 extra minutes of time every workday, loaders are required to bring there timecards to their coordinator after clocking in. Oddly enough though, unloaders do not have to do this. Possibly it depends on your coordinator.

Oh well, props to FED-EX, for 5 hours a day @ 11.00 an hour and all the free exercise I could want, its not really that bad, with a 100.00 bonus after your first 40 hours, and than another after 80 hours, 2 noshows every 30 days... being able to ask for a vacation anytime you want, and take basically unlimited sickdays is nice too.