Job help! (working in a logistical warehouse?)

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Okay, I've just been given night shift at a new job. (8pm til 6am). Not only is working at night new to me, but the job was annoyingly vague.

It involves me working on computers as well as manual work I think, at a warehouse that deals with food and veg etc They mentioned something about getting up to scratch with the logistical system tonight, as well as duties involving giving routes to drivers etc.

Starts tonight and I'm panicking, it's not a job that I'd want to botch up. A marked step up from my current £5.93 job. (the pay is £7.50/hr).

So.

Any tips? Anything that such a job requires that I could brush up with now?
 
I was feeling confident enough about it til she asked me what I was doing. I said I was at university. She said doing what. I said Business. Her eyes lit up.

Problem is that as my other thread showed, I know bugger all haha.


Panicking in case they actually expect someone knowledgeable.

Also, how do you stay awake working for 10hrs through the night? :eek:
 
I really wouldnt worry, they will give you the training you need.
I doubt she expects you to use your degree much right away or you wouldnt have been given the job without knowing you had it ;)
 
Good luck working the graveyard shift. Your sleeping pattern will be all over the place for a while until you get used to it
 
Logistics warehouse, depends if its a manufacturing environment, but not by much.

Manufacturing, raw materials come in, goods made or in the case of veg its sorted and packed. Put in to pallets or hoppers and loaded on to lorries. If its a depot where already packed goods come in then: goods in, stored, picked from for other depots and loaded to go out.

Normal logistics jobs include:

Stock monitoring and rotation (for food to keep in date order)
Picking orders for other depots/customers
unloading and loading on to lorries
Planning loads of lorries and travel routes
Operating a weigh bridge if there is one
Sorting out old stock/out of date stock and any stock errors
Using Pallet trucks, ride on pallet trucks and forklift trucks
Cleaning (sucks ass, but is a big deal in a food environment)
Dealing with drivers (80% are know it all knobs in my experience ;) )


As your role will deal with computers and manual work, my money is on you doing a bit of everything above.

I started at the bottom and within 2 years I was running the warehouses, and went on to spend 4 years managing other ones. If you are logical and hard working you will be fine, although your body will ache for the first few days when picking orders :p

As for sleeping, you want black out curtains or a sleep mask, ear plugs if the area is noisy and a fan for the hot summer days. It's much easier sleeping in the winter months, but be prepared to not see too much sunlight :)
 
I really wouldnt worry, they will give you the training you need.
I doubt she expects you to use your degree much right away or you wouldnt have been given the job without knowing you had it ;)

True, but I think expectations are high. :(

Good luck working the graveyard shift. Your sleeping pattern will be all over the place for a while until you get used to it

:(


Logistics warehouse, depends if its a manufacturing environment, but not by much.

Manufacturing, raw materials come in, goods made or in the case of veg its sorted and packed. Put in to pallets or hoppers and loaded on to lorries. If its a depot where already packed goods come in then: goods in, stored, picked from for other depots and loaded to go out.

Normal logistics jobs include:

Stock monitoring and rotation (for food to keep in date order)
Picking orders for other depots/customers
unloading and loading on to lorries
Planning loads of lorries and travel routes
Operating a weigh bridge if there is one
Sorting out old stock/out of date stock and any stock errors
Using Pallet trucks, ride on pallet trucks and forklift trucks
Cleaning (sucks ass, but is a big deal in a food environment)
Dealing with drivers (80% are know it all knobs in my experience ;) )


As your role will deal with computers and manual work, my money is on you doing a bit of everything above.

I started at the bottom and within 2 years I was running the warehouses, and went on to spend 4 years managing other ones. If you are logical and hard working you will be fine, although your body will ache for the first few days when picking orders :p

As for sleeping, you want black out curtains or a sleep mask, ear plugs if the area is noisy and a fan for the hot summer days. It's much easier sleeping in the winter months, but be prepared to not see too much sunlight :)

First off, a very comprehensive post, thanks so much for taking the time to write all of that.

Secondly, sounds challenging, especially as all the equipment will be new to me and I have no background whatsoever in this department.

When they say computer stuff, is there anything in particular they mean? Anything I can quickly get up to scratch on?

Feeling nervous as hell!

you'll be fine.

sleep with her..

She is good looking........but it's not a route I'd like to follow. :p
 
I worked nights at Sainsbury's in the shop for a year.

It killed me, I lost about two stone in weight due to not eating as my body clock was messed up, and I had a real hard time sleeping sometimes, I worked 11pm until 7am, I struggled sometimes to sleep when I got home and would be ready for bed at about 9pm at night to then have to get ready for work at 10:30pm to go to work.

Towards the end as there was only two of us working at night and he was my mate we would take it in turns to have a couple of hours sleep at night whilst the other would hammer out the deliveries left over by the day staff. It was at this point it became a little more comfortable. Likewise there was days we would have very little to do from 11pm until about 3am when the first delivery came, we then stood around drinking tea and talking to the delivery drivers.
 
:eek:

Sounds tough! I'm going to go to bed in an hour or so. I reckon having a quick few hours sleep might help even a tiny bit.
 
You will probably find the first few days you will be ok on normal sleep patterns (as it will feel quite odd being up all night working), but you really want to sort out your routine as soon as possible when you get home from work in the morning as this feeling will wear off quickly, I always found myself falling asleep around 9pm watching the channel 5 film to wake at 10/10:30, then it was time to get ready and off too work.

The best part for me was getting home at 7am and being able to watch the World Cup when it was held in Japan. Everyone else was just going to work, I sat down with a beer to watch the football. :D

I also got to watch the live coverage of 9/11 on the news at happened.

Normally I would generally get to bed about 8:30/9am and sleep until about 2 or 3 in the afternoon.
 
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I have worked shifts for many years. Here are some free tips (at least, these are my rules!)

I stay up until 4-5am before the first shift, this helps sleep that little bit later.
Blackout blinds! A must (Although these days I just bury my head under the duvet)
A fan helps in the summer. Buy the quietest tower fan you can, preferably with a remote.
You do not want to get any light into your eyes, the trick is to fool your body into thinking its nighttime. A sudden burst of sunlight will quickly kill the trick!
Drinks! This is a pain, since no matter how little I drink after 6am, I nearly always need to piddle half way through the day! So no drinks after 6am (And I go to bed around 10am). Beware the sunlight if you do need to spend a few quid. These will be the longest of your life. Surely designed by your body to wake you up. Try not to open your eyes, to avoid having to 'aim'. Sit down!

Incidently, I have been up since quarter to 5 yesterday. 10 hour shift through the night, and have been on the go all day. I know that if I stop, im done for! I will just fall asleep where I sit. So 22 hours and counting. Will probably get to bed at 9 tonight.

You will find yourself lagging between the hours of 1-4. Might last awhile, might not.

Personally, I like nightshifts. You do not get much hassle, its nice and quiet, and you are left to get on with it. Oh, and I get paid more for doing it. I know some people who cannot sleep at all through the day, and others who can sleep for britain! I am somewhere in the middle.
 
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I don't reckon I'll have a problem sleeping, but staying awake sounds like it's going to be tough!

Here's to hoping I can. £7.50 an hour is a significant jump up for me, not to mention it's meant to be consistent work so could quickly pay off my student overdrafts!
 
I worked nights for about 20 years! Usually a 12 hour shift, from 7.30 to 7.30.
Loved it, always a great feeling to be going home when everyone else was just going to work ( have the feeling the day shift thought the same thing ;) )

Truthfully though I never slept well during the day, and quite often got by on 2-3 hours a day sleep.
Looking at the pay rates these days I think night jobs were better when I was doing it.
Good luck with it, and I hope it works out for you!
 
Meh, the pay could be better, but it's all good for me!

Thanks for the best wishes, going to go to bed now, wake up and nip off to work!
 
Chances are the computer systems will be custom stock control systems, just got to wait for them to train you. Its pretty easy stuff though, let us know how you get on :D
 
I was feeling confident enough about it til she asked me what I was doing. I said I was at university. She said doing what. I said Business. Her eyes lit up.

Problem is that as my other thread showed, I know bugger all haha.


Panicking in case they actually expect someone knowledgeable.

Also, how do you stay awake working for 10hrs through the night? :eek:

at that rate per hour (which is low for warehouse nights imo) they do not expect you to know what your doing at all

her eyes lit up at the mention of uni because it shows your not one of the agency wasters that they have probably sacked loads of

as for staying awake well its hard at first but your soon get used to it. its definitely easier if your kept busy !
 
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