LTB 569/2012 Packet Sort Solution

[Geezer]

Letter to Branches




No. 569/2012 Ref: 715.06 Date: 25th July 2012



To: All Postal Branches
CWU Divisional Representatives
Area Processing Representatives



Dear Colleague

Packet Sort Solution

Further to LTB 344/12 issued in May 2012 regarding the above subject, the department have been engaged in discussions with the business in order to address the concerns that had been raised by representatives, which in the main centred on the throughput rates/individual performance standards.

As a result of this dialogue a Joint Statement (attached as Annex A) has been concluded to support the re-launch of the Packet Simplified Sort Architecture (PSSA), along with a revised version of the Pack Sort (a guide to managing the process) (attached as Annex B). Both of these documents compliment the re-launch and clarify the following points:

 The full and timely involvement of the CWU in all activity associated with this initiative
 No predetermined sort rates or individual performance standards
 The support of the IR Framework to process any matters that may require resolution.

Representatives should now proceed with local discussions in line with the terms of the attached Joint Statement and guide.

Any enquiries in relation to this LTB should be addressed to Terry Pullinger, Assistant Secretary, e-mail dwyatt@cwu.org or lwright@cwu.org quoting reference number: 715.06

Yours sincerely


Terry Pullinger
Assistant Secretary

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JOINT STATEMENT BETWEEN ROYAL MAIL AND THE CWU COVERING THE RE-LAUNCH OF THE PACKET SIMPLIFIED SORT ARCHITECTURE (PSSA) IN THE MAIL CENTRE NETWORK


Background

The Business Transformation Agreement 2010 commits Royal Mail and the Communication Workers Union to work together at the development stage of key business policies which are best supported by transparency and good information share. This commitment is acknowledged as the key enabler for Royal Mail and the Union to engage and to develop mutual interest solutions that will aid/improve efficiency within the operation while responding to the needs of CWU represented grades.

An early development in this area was the introduction of the Packet Simplified Sort Architecture (PSSA) initiative in August 2010 which was deployed to aid improvements to the circulation/flow of packet traffic within Mail Centre work areas as well as improving efficiency, the overall working environment and safety.

Introduction

Subsequent activity has now identified the opportunity for further improvements in the design of the PSSA solution currently available for Mail Centres incorporating the use of both full and mini sized ALP/York Containers, improvement to the layout, work flow, equipment utilisation and dispatching. The objective of the upgraded solution is for it to operate in the same physical work area across the 24hour period subject to capacity and physical constraints.

Operational Process

In order to facilitate the introduction of the revised PSSA solution an updated deployment guide has been produced detailing how Royal Mail and the CWU should adopt a joint approach by working together to introduce the solution where locally it has been determined that improvements can be made in the areas referred to above.

It is noted that there is no pre determined sort rates or individual performance standards attributed to this process as these will be unique to each Mail Centre taking in to account the operational foot print and various traffic types.

Deployment

Local plans/performance expectations for any deployment to PSSA solutions will be the subject of discussion with the appropriate local/area CWU Representatives and any matter(s) that arise will be processed via the IR Framework


National Review

A joint review of the design capacity of the Packet Sort Operation will be undertaken using the Maynard Operation Sequence Technique (MOST). The details of the joint review will be the subject of separate discussion between Royal Mail and CWU, to determine locations and timelines; The CWU will be able to use their own qualified Industrial Engineer to support this exercise.






Terry Pullinger........................................ Mark Saunders
Assistant Secretary...................................Head of Design Packets
CWU.....................................................Royal Mail


Date: 19th July 2012


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Royal Mail Internal Information

Packet Sort

A guide to managing the process



Version 1.2– July 2012 – Updated


Mark Saunders – Head Packets Design


Packet Sort


Introduction
This guide is designed to help you set-up and manage the Packet Sort process at you your Plant. The aim is to create a process and layout that is the same across all 3 shifts, as this greatly simplifies the creation of dedicated movement routes, use and storage of containers.

The guide contains information covering:


• The layout
• Primary crash sorting
• Portering of mail
• Using the Kanban system
• Secondary Roads sorting
• Despatching of mail
• Performance display
• CWU Involvement



The layout
• You may need to make some minor adjustments to your layout depending on any local physical restrictions. However, the main distance between work stations, e.g. Primary crash and the Kanban and Kanban system and Sec roads must be 1.85 meters to allow for the safe movement and turning of Yorks






Primary Crash - ‘using Mini ALPs’

• The primary crash has 8 colour coded main selections plus additional selections for foreign items, oversize items and missorts
• There are 4 Primary crashes and each crash requires 4 people – one at each corner. However this may change subject to MC volumes
• Selections one to 8 use mini ALPs or ALTs.
• Foreign and Missorted items should be separate
• Large packets should be placed in a York.
• Colour coded Paddles (see picture) should be attached to each container to indicate the sortation for each selection.
• Please ensure that portering of mail is done by designated porters – not sorters.
• Sorters should be sorting only as time lost sorting is the same as a machine breaking down it is lost production that can not be recovered.
• It is important that Sorters do not become involved moving containers of mail as this has a negative impact on the sorting rate.





Portering

• A Porters responsibilities include; completing WLA recording, moving work between the holding area and Primary crash, Primary crash and the Kanban area, the Kanban area and Secondary roads, Secondary roads and the despatch lanes and making up additional ALPs.
• Porters carry out a vital role. They keep the mail flowing and enable sorters to continually sort mail.
• They are also your additional eyes and ears and can quickly identify bottlenecks within the process.


Kanban system

• The Kanban is a holding area for work between Primary Crash and Secondary Roads and is also used to monitor the flow of work and quickly identify any bottlenecks or shortages of work between Primary and Secondary.
• Once a selection from a Primary crash has filled a container the container should be moved to the corresponding lane by a porter.
• The porter should return with an empty container as a replacement.
• The same process should take place between the Kanban and Secondary roads. For instance, once a container has been emptied by the Secondary roads, a porter should take the empty container back to the appropriate lane and return with a full container for sorting.





• The Kanban lanes are colour coded; therefore, work from the RED Primary Crash selection would be taken to the RED Lane of the Kanban and eventually onto the RED Secondary Road for sorting.
• Monitoring the Kanban enables you to quickly identify bottlenecks or shortages of work between Primary and Secondary and re-align your resourcing accordingly.
• Floor signs for each lane should be placed at both ends of the appropriate lane.
• Lanes should be big enough to hold 5 containers (see diagram above).


Secondary roads
• There are 8 Secondary Roads.
• Each road requires 2 sorters.
• Each Secondary road contains between 8 and 12 selections and work is sorted into ALPs.
• Porters transfer full containers of packets from the corresponding Kanban lane to the appropriate Secondary Road for sorting.
• Ideally, there should be two containers of work at each Secondary Road, one awaiting sorting ‘A' and one being worked on ‘B’.
• Once the work in container ‘B’ has been sorted, the empty container should be pushed to position ‘C’. This is a signal for the porter to take the empty container away and bring more work.
• Colour coded Paddles (see picture) should be attached to each container to indicate the sortation for each selection.
• The top and middle of the paddle shows the sortation. The bottom of the paddle indicates the routing and Despatch lane.
• Secondary roads should be positioned based on traffic – i.e. Heaviest closest to Despatch bays
• It is important that Sorters do not become involved moving containers of mail as this has a negative impact on the sorting rate.




Despatch
• Once a Secondary Road selection is full, a porter should insert the correct routing York card into the York card holder and move the container to the corresponding despatch lane.
• Routing / Despatch destinations should defined using colour coded York labels






Performance display
• There are clear and well proven links between performance and levels of engagement and therefore it’s vital that you keep your people informed in terms of safety and performance via a performance dashboard. Additionally, it is important that you have a formal way for people to provide you with feedback.








CWU Involvement

The CWU will be fully involved in the project prior to and during deployment, with the appropriate union facilities provided.

This will include:
- ensuring understanding of the deployment pack;
- planning and deploying the changes
- local consultation on resourcing changes;
- construction of revised duties in line with the industrial relations framework;
- monitoring of deployment


In Summary
The Packet layout process has been developed to support the smooth flow of mail, minimise unnecessary movement of mail, maintain an acceptable sort rate and maintain good quality of service.

The keys points to achieving this are:
• ensuring you follow the First In First Out principle - FIFO
• ensuring that sorting and portering always remain separate,
• Using the Kanban system to identify any bottlenecks and quickly reallocating resource as appropriate.
• Timely engagement with local CWU Representatives

END