DM 26 questions

[thefox]

I love this talk of the driver has to plan the route as though its a really difficult thing to domost people will be doing familiar routes everyday its hardly rocket science.

[Pidleypoo]

Some of this is on the union and some on Royal Mail but the non-driver will not be doing all of the heavy bags every day.

Say there are 8 bags 4 will be all mail ( heavy ) and 4 will be 1c and tracked ( light ) and the non-drivers loops are meant to be slightly longer to accommodate any parcels that won’t go in your bag and on a lwt so that the driver can do them each loop.

That is how it is meant to work.

[norris9]

Having accidents in a van can get you in trouble, including being sacked, or maybe being in jail if you get distracted and run someone over.... you can't get in trouble sitting in the passenger seat doing nothing.

[thefox]

Having accidents in a van can get you in trouble, including being sacked, or maybe being in jail if you get distracted and run someone over.... you can't get in trouble sitting in the passenger seat doing nothing.

That's a good point norris but unless your a new contract then did you not make a choice to drive for r.mail.

[Perseus]

If people are walking loops with a sparse amount of 1C and tracked, over a far greater area than they would have with ODM, then how does that help with fatigue?

[zacattack]

If people are walking loops with a sparse amount of 1C and tracked, over a far greater area than they would have with ODM, then how does that help with fatigue?

On most rounds it's less fatiguing to walk the loop than make multiple stops in the van.
The more stops, the more chance of an accident, the more stress on joints etc.

[scotchy1962]

Having accidents in a van can get you in trouble, including being sacked, or maybe being in jail if you get distracted and run someone over.... you can't get in trouble sitting in the passenger seat doing nothing.

I read all this about drivers and non-drivers and how you want to be the passenger, do you not drive or do you just not drive for RM?
Whichever it is does make a difference, one is just plain selfish the other means you can't drive.
I was on two different van shares and both times the partner didn't drive, as in had no licence.
Both times they understood as non drivers that they had to do more loops of mail than me to allow the parcels to be delivered.
It's not rocket science, you lot are talking like as the passenger you will be sitting in the passenger seat doing nought.

[Chelseablue]

As a driver myself, most non drivers have always helped out fairly and worked hard. There is more responsibility though

[Mr Rush]

If people are walking loops with a sparse amount of 1C and tracked, over a far greater area than they would have with ODM, then how does that help with fatigue?

From prolonged experience, 1C and Tracked only saves about 25% of the time taken to do a whole loop (I often think if they just took off the bit added to our duty in 2021, we'd have the time to clear almost every day). That time you save walking past most doors on the light side under DM26 enables you to, essentially, lapse another duty. Regardless of whether your bag is light or heavy, that's more ground to traverse with your legs.

Walks that were recklessly removed in 2021 could, and should, be reinstated yesterday. But then, who would do them? That's why I'm convinced the ODM and DM26 are primarily motivated by the inability to recruit and retain the necessary number of people to man all waks every day. All the reasoning for change presented by the company is secondary to this.

[Perseus]

If people are walking loops with a sparse amount of 1C and tracked, over a far greater area than they would have with ODM, then how does that help with fatigue?

From prolonged experience, 1C and Tracked only saves about 25% of the time taken to do a whole loop (I often think if they just took off the bit added to our duty in 2021, we'd have the time to clear almost every day). That time you save walking past most doors on the light side under DM26 enables you to, essentially, lapse another duty. Regardless of whether your bag is light or heavy, that's more ground to traverse with your legs.

Walks that were recklessly removed in 2021 could, and should, be reinstated yesterday. But then, who would do them? That's why I'm convinced the ODM and DM26 are primarily motivated by the inability to recruit and retain the necessary number of people to man all waks every day. All the reasoning for change presented by the company is secondary to this.

Aren't people going to walking MORE on DM26 vs ODM if not using a van to shuttle between points, especially when you consider the extra area covered on the extra 1/3 duty per person on the heavy and light? Less fatigue was supposed to be one of the 'benefits'.
You're right though on the desire to get the duties staffed within offices - in theory an office with around 15-20% vacancies becomes level the instant DM26 kicks in (no laughing at the back). 3 doing 4, how long then until 2 doing 4...... wait a minute, that's happening already

[goneaway]

From prolonged experience, 1C and Tracked only saves about 25% of the time taken to do a whole loop...

So if you assumed that each loop takes 30 minutes with just one day's mail (under the current delivery methods) and 6 loops, that would be 45 minutes saved. But then you have to consider it would take much longer to do the heavy loops, which will have either 2 or 3 days mail at least, surely that 45 minutes saved would be more than wiped out and some, because your call rate will increase massively over just delivering an existing one day's mail? And that's before you add in doing a third of the loops on another job altogether, which probably won't seamlessly lie directly adjacent to the other loops. How can that possibly add up to "less fatigue"? Far more time, far more steps covered (or fatigue from repeatedly getting in and out of a van on the light loops if they are not walked). The whole thing seems to be flawed.

Not to mention posties clambering over each other and getting in the way on the the third and fourth frames in a pod when prepping and bundling. What could go wrong?

[Mr Rush]

Not to mention posties clambering over each other and getting in the way on the the third and fourth frames in a pod when prepping and bundling. What could go wrong?

That's where the wonderful vertical frames shine!

[DGH]

There's no special reason for posties to get in each others' way. Let's say you're in a shared van. You tie up your frame, your oppo ties up their frame. Meanwhile, the solo artiste ties up their frame except for the two loops you're taking from it. They begin to tie up their second frame. You tie your pair's loops from the solo frame and your oppo ties the two from the 'vacant' frame.
At worst you'll have two posties at one frame for the time it takes to tie two loops - and those four loops (two for your oppo, two for Ms/Mr Solo) will be at opposite ends of the frame.

Quite enough can go wrong with DM26 without panicking about things that won't be much of an issue.

[raXor]

The driver is being shafted with a big stick. We have quite a few people who have been told they're going to be the driver in the van share part of the pod who are getting ready to go on the sick once DM26 goes ahead.

Why would being the driver make you go sick?
You get paid to work whatever your contracted hours are.

Because of the added responsibility of operating a vehicle whilst being accompanied by a passenger who in today's RM environment is often lazy. Basically more work for the driver. Who's doing the parcels whilst the driver is on foot with their heavy and a passenger is sat stationary in the van playing on their phone?

[postslippete]

Not to mention posties clambering over each other and getting in the way on the the third and fourth frames in a pod when prepping and bundling. What could go wrong?

Lapsing on steroids

Don't forget the additional post-boxes, customer pick-ups and Specials. At least with the lapsing of the past, it was just an extra loop or so if we had time after we completed our own rounds. Relying entirely on leaving work behind may work perfect on paper but when today's deferred mail also becomes tomorrow's deferred mail while the Tracked, 1c, collections and Specials keep coming regardless is a recipe for disaster.

If the plan doesn't work for whatever reason on a particular day - who absorbs the failure?

A More overtime?
B More mail left behind?
C Managers going out delivering?
D More pressure on the 3 or 2 people left in the pod?

Answers please