Slow Day

 My fulfillment center has recently experienced a sharp decrease in volume. The Operations team explained that we were over capacity, and our replenishment department (operated at a corporate level) drastically reduced shipments into the building until inventory levels reset. 

The start of my shift was what I've come to expect in the Stow department: big carts were waiting in the assigned aisle, albeit non of them were stacked full. I stowed my items without issue. When I returned to pick up another cart, the aisle was empty. There was a group of associates gathered on one end; I walked over to join them. An Ops manager instructed us to stand to one side as we wait for work. 

After about a minute, I'm instructed to follow one of the associates to take on a new task; we will be applying new bands to assigned aisles. There's about ten of us. We turn in our scanners and wait in the Start Up area for further instructions. 

Soon we are relocated to our aisles. We're each shown how to apply the thick canvas bands across the bins. They stretch and hold the large items stacked in the upper rows. 

We get to work. I'm a little slow at first, but find my groove. It's tedious work. At break time, I see several colleagues have been re-assigned busywork. They're sweeping, dusting. There are groups scattered about chatting. I'm set to re-band for the rest of the day. I move closer to the back of the warehouse, band after band.

I take the Voluntary Time Off (VTO) available in my last two hours. This allows me to leave early without using any of my time off options. Tomorrow is another day!