RMG/CWU BUSINESS RECOVERY, TRANSFORMATION AND GROWTH AGREEMENT:National Agreed Trial Indoor Delivery: Method change

[POSTMAN]

7. Royal Mail/CWU National Agreed Trial Indoor Delivery: Method change

Both parties recognise that mail profiles have changed significantly over recent years with
letter decline and the comparative increased growth of parcels. Accordingly, the joint
commitment within the Pathway to Change agreement was to put in place new solutions to
the current indoor operation. Royal Mail Delivery OPGs working in the delivery operation
currently spend up to 2 hours each day on ‘indoor work’, mainly this is the preparation of mail
for delivery using RM2000 frames. Many European postal networks have successfully reduced
this indoor preparation activity through method change, and this represents a significant
opportunity to achieve efficiency improvements
Royal Mail and CWU will jointly conduct numerous rapid trials commencing May 2023 in 8
jointly agreed units and seek active input from the CWU and frontline delivery employees in
order to examine if this time can be realised from indoor delivery operation. We will also jointly
work closely with delivery employees to test, trial, and feedback on, new methods for indoor
mail prep with the aim of providing alternative solutions which can assist in removing the need
for RM2000 prep fittings whilst improving performance.
Trial groups will also learn from past work, seek input from previous trials and other postal
operators, where appropriate. National parties will also visit other postal operators who have
successfully deployed alternative preparation methods to help inform a solution options and
determine its suitability.
It is agreed that we will jointly conduct trials with full involvement of CWU within the localities
which will conclude in time to facilitate national deployment from August 23. We commit to
also work closely with frontline delivery OPG’s to test, trial, and feedback on, new methods for
indoor mail prep – and to test if deploying those changes will allow for the reduction of indoor
prep time. Local input and joint problem solving will be an important to aspect of finding the
right solution.

The Trial will be set against the following success criteria:
• Reduction in the amount of indoor preparation work by circa 20-35 mins
• That any solution is rolled out and accruing benefits by August 2023. A reduction in
the amount of indoor preparation would result in significant savings when expanded
nationally.
• Trials will be unconstrained in their approach and may require upstream changes
from supplying mail centres and local distribution operations.
• Upstream presentation of all mails, including the levels of sequencing mail must be to
an agreed and consistent standard.
• There will be full compliance to health and safety, recognising that the environment
within the indoor operation provides the best opportunity for as many tasks to be
completed.
• No detrimental impact to quality, USO clearance and service, nor should any change
restrict future growth opportunities.
• The Door-to-Door product is important to customers and any new method should
seek to improve Q of S, stimulate growth, whilst ensuring clarity to cold/warm calling.
• Royal Mail remains committed to the shared ambition of maximising a full-time
employment model for its employees, whilst continuing to recognise the need for part
time working opportunities.
• Take into account the impact on attendance patterns & earnings levels, and the
introduction of seasonal variation impacts on indoor changes.
• The future job design and length of delivery span and what is achievable and
sustainable going forward.
• Better utilisation of space to allow further growth for all products and an improved
environment for all.

Delivery
Any reduction in the Air Network will seek to maintain the advantage Royal Mail has
leveraging the shared economics of delivering letters and parcels together on the core
delivery, conveying all traffic through the pipeline promptly and efficiently to limit the impact
on Delivery Start Times.
On deployment of the Network Window Change in March 2024 and to ensure that revised
Network Services connect as much as possible to the core delivery while reducing the
environmental impact, it is agreed that a revised published last letter specification of 16.30
hrs urban and rural will be introduced.
Last letter Delivery completion times will vary up to 16.30 hrs though the majority of
deliveries across the UK will be planned to complete before 15.30 hrs, with the vast majority
by 16.00 hrs. It is recognised that a small exceptional number of rural deliveries will continue
to completed later than 16.30 hrs.

[zz666]

The saved time then goes onto delivery, meaning longer outdoor duty spans.

[sindba]

And what exactly is this magical "new method"?

Surely not that bench merging madness?

[enzio1272]

Will we be looking at the long term effect on spending more time out on delivery ?
What concessions will be made for an ageing work force, if the company is forcing in longer deliveries then surely we need to address the new sickness as it is already a physical demanding job on deliveries more out door work in the winter will result in more sickness

[DGH]

And what exactly is this magical "new method"?

Surely not that bench merging madness?

Worse than that, I think.

The 'frameless office'. Your mail arrives sequenced and you insert the unsequenced material into it. Not quite sure how door to doors are meant to work with that. Or indeed how you're meant to know where a loop ends - but there may be a 'walk guide' that will tell you that (I'm guessing about that, knowing RM, they may just assume you'll be completely au fait with the duty. God only knows how missorts will work, or indeed how any delivery whose Route Manager data is incorrect will manage.

It's an idea with some limited merit if everything worked as RM senior managers delude themselves it does.

In reality it's an even worse disaster in the making than the last revisions - which were a total f***ing disaster.

[ted_e_bear]

And what exactly is this magical "new method"?

Surely not that bench merging madness?

That's what I thought, no way that would be better than using a fitting, fkin ridiculous idea that would never work unless all we received was a tray of mail in exact delivery order that we could just split up into loops and maybe insert small parcels, inserting the amount of manually sorted ips stuff we have would take ages longer than the current way of working, what about d2ds wtf are you supposed to do with them, I'm cringing even at the thought of this monumentally shite idea, ffs what's the point of trialling it surely anyone can see it's a stupid idea.

[CharlesSpooner]

"National parties will also visit other postal operators who have
successfully deployed alternative preparation methods to help inform a solution options and
determine its suitability."

I bet Dave and his buddies will be on those jollies. They certainly won't be doing the 7-8 hour outdoor delivery spans they are proposing with the indoor time saved.

[clashcityrocker]

Will there still be time for the Mail FA Cup?
viewtopic.php?f=1&t=35328&hilit=snooker

[1617mel]

They would be best keeping the walk sorting frames, because when this goes t..s up, they will be bringing them back out of storage! Most of our people are at the breaking threshold now, how do they reduce the indoor prep time, usually from previous revisions that are unachievable, everything reverts back, we only have two hands and two legs, we are not fkn octopuses!

[1617mel]

They would be best keeping the walk sorting frames, because when this goes t..s up, they will be bringing them back out of storage! Most of our people are at the breaking threshold now, how do they reduce the indoor prep time, usually from previous revisions that are unachievable, everything reverts back, we only have two hands and two legs, we are not fkn octopuses!

[SpacePhoenix]

• Trials will be unconstrained in their approach and may require upstream changes
from supplying mail centres and local distribution operations.
• Upstream presentation of all mails, including the levels of sequencing mail must be to
an agreed and consistent standard.

I wonder if they're thinking of bring back the sequencing of wave 2, you're still going to get some batches with loads of manual. To bring back sequencing of all of wave 2 we'd have to put our final dispatch times back which would likely result in start times being pushed back in deliveries

[yellowbelly]

• Trials will be unconstrained in their approach and may require upstream changes
from supplying mail centres and local distribution operations.
• Upstream presentation of all mails, including the levels of sequencing mail must be to
an agreed and consistent standard.

I wonder if they're thinking of bring back the sequencing of wave 2, you're still going to get some batches with loads of manual. To bring back sequencing of all of wave 2 we'd have to put our final dispatch times back which would likely result in start times being pushed back in deliveries

But if mail is down, down, down (and IIRC you've said it's down yourself) 'they' might dispense with a second wave and go nuclear - if it doesn't
make the final dispatch cut off - tough, it's kept at the MC....hidden somewhere, in the canteen, managers office, yard......like it is in DO's.....and then tomorrow's first wave is sequenced to the max DO's are not the only business element that are going to have changes inflicted on them!

[SpacePhoenix]

• Trials will be unconstrained in their approach and may require upstream changes
from supplying mail centres and local distribution operations.
• Upstream presentation of all mails, including the levels of sequencing mail must be to
an agreed and consistent standard.

I wonder if they're thinking of bring back the sequencing of wave 2, you're still going to get some batches with loads of manual. To bring back sequencing of all of wave 2 we'd have to put our final dispatch times back which would likely result in start times being pushed back in deliveries

But if mail is down, down, down (and IIRC you've said it's down yourself) 'they' might dispense with a second wave and go nuclear - if it doesn't
make the final dispatch cut off - tough, it's kept at the MC....hidden somewhere, in the canteen, managers office, yard......like it is in DO's.....and then tomorrow's first wave is sequenced to the max DO's are not the only business element that are going to have changes inflicted on them!

More likely anything not sequenced by dispatch time would just get sent out as manual.

[Cedar_Room]

Trials have already been done on this haven’t they?

Anyone any idea of how those trials went on this sham of an idea?

[Linden14]

I can't do more outside its already an endurance test