UPS has opened its first European Integrad next-generation driver training facility in Cologne, Germany. The new training facility will further prepare UPS drivers on how to serve customers safely and efficiently, by using a ‘teach me, show me, let me’ approach.
Drivers will learn UPS’s driving and service methods, and will then practice them in a realistic, hands-on fashion. UPS Integrad training uses a mixture of 3D computer simulations, webcast learning modules, and traditional classroom teaching to complement activity in a controlled environment.
Frank Sportolari, president of UPS Germany, said, “UPS customers expect superior service from their driver. UPS Integrad teaches drivers safe and efficient work methods that are designed to enhance that service.”
One of the training site’s notable features is an outside course designed to mimic a small town called Neustadt, with real streets, traffic signs, sidewalks and simulated businesses as well as home delivery and collection points, providing drivers with realistic situations they would encounter in their daily routine.
The center also provides separate classes for supervisors that focus on ‘training-the-trainer’, providing senior staff with the necessary skills for imparting their knowledge on other drivers. UPS Integrad teaches the same methods used by UPS Circle of Honor members an elite group of more than 8,700 active UPS drivers who have driven without experiencing an avoidable accident for 25 years or more.
Joe Finamore, vice president of Global Leadership and Talent Development, UPS, said, “UPS drivers in Europe can now benefit from the proven success we continue to have in the USA. With UPS Integrad training we are building on an ongoing commitment to bring UPS drivers the very best training available and developing them into tomorrow’s Circle of Honor members.”
To date, more than 7,500 drivers and over 1,500 driver supervisors have completed UPS Integrad training at the seven existing US locations.
June 8, 2016