PDA trouble North London

[k979aaa]

Some of the driver's in our office are hassled by the management over scaning postboxes 1 minute early and are threated with being taken off driveing!. Ps not condoneing scaning boxes early but threatening someone where will it all end we all come to work and do our best not to be downtroden by those at the top!. :cfo & :lfo

[pickaname]

What was wrong with Pen and Paper? Ok so the system gets updated a little later, but so what? Most people are at work till then anyway...

Seems like a total waste of money.

[trythat]

It's not PDA's themselves I dislike, it's the way RM bring these things in, and then try to justify saving where there are none. I'm not looking forward to being quizzed as to say 'why 1 day the van was stood at a certain point for a couple of minutes, and why on another day it was there for 10 mins'. Why should I have to give a reason, one day is much like another, I don't remember how many recorded and specials, I get or if the packets are really heavy, I just deliver the stuff. Also don't these PDA's have a mobile phone as part of the kit? I don't ant calls when I trying to work (then again, it will be nice to ignore them the same as when we call the managers office )

[somerset]

I'm not looking forward to being quizzed as to say 'why 1 day the van was stood at a certain point for a couple of minutes, and why on another day it was there for 10 mins'. As far as i am aware a PDA tracks the parcel not the postie!!! Feel free to correct me if i am wrong? REPEAT tracks the parcel not the postie.

[trythat]

I thought they had GPS built in, so they track where ever the PDA goes. Plus they're not supposed to be used for disciplinary action, but I've heard that before. Perhaps the CWU could give us a bit more info on what they are capable of doing or not doing, because I assume the 'training' will be something like 'Here is the on/off switch, off to go'

[k979aaa]

I'm not looking forward to being quizzed as to say 'why 1 day the van was stood at a certain point for a couple of minutes, and why on another day it was there for 10 mins'. As far as i am aware a PDA tracks the parcel not the postie!!! Feel free to correct me if i am wrong? REPEAT tracks the parcel not the postie.

It has a phone built in it and all phone's can be tracked although only if the owner wishes it to be so since royalmail are the owner's of the device!. And we only operate it you can take a guess these thing's when small enough will be issued to all staff!.

[Broxi51]

Its a fcuking PDA for heavens sake. It means that special deliveries can be ditigally signed off and therefore the system can be updated immediately for the benefit of customers. Jesus, you would have thought these PDA's are some toxic chemical that posties are being asked to transport. Every other company has them, yet you think that these untrustworthy things should be treated with suspicion.

Grow-up, and realise that RM needs to be brought into the 20th century (not a is-spelling). No point trying to get into the 21st century when you are so far behind. Why should I wait hours before I can confirm my special delivery has arrived when I am paying loads of money for it.

Okay I agree with you now just tell me what happens if i drop one? Do i get a slap on the wrist? What? Until I know what happens should I drop one I am not prepared to use a PDA. Until RM puts in a f**king code of practise it is not up to me to determine whether it is beneficial or not to us posties. The only thing on my mind is not getting sacked for dropping the thing.

[norbert]

I appreciate the trust issue, but it comes from both sides. It is clear you do not trust management (in general) not to stab you in the back and take you for a ride. However, the same in considered from management (in general) that posties are out to do as little as possible for maximum gain. This perception is what causes much of the school playground behavior, and possibly why RM management feels the need to monitor frontline employees work.

As for PDA's one could argue that they are a spying device as the unions argued when telemetry was first trialled on vehicles. My only argument is that these gadgets have been used on other vehicles for years. With the massive improvements in the use of GPS it makes sense to use this for the advantage it can give to customers, but also allow RM to possible run it's resources more efficiently. By resources I mean both people, the mail itself and vehicles. Hundreds of millions is spent on fuel every year so it makes sense to try and find the more efficient routes.

Unfortunately I have some sympathy with frontline employees as management have a record of screwing things up and your mistrust of any change they want to implement is understandable, but in these times more work needs to be done between unions and management to create an air of trust so that you can compete against the boys in yellow.

One side point of interest is the relative IR harmony at the moment. Is this because Tony McCarthy left and Jon Millidge has temporary taken his place (former IR director?) one for another thread I believe

That's a interesting point about Tony McCarthy Fozzie , it's a " interesting coincidence " there was a lot of "the only language they understand " strikes at BAE with his involvement .

There's another well known one with 478 Tribunals against him to his name at Bombardier Shorts after he wanted 250 redundancies , by fair or foul means .

I agree about RM's "old soldiers " , there's people on both sides who could be classed as instuitionalized , many were former cadets , then there's the CMA v CWU , a rep in a suit who crossed the line to the other side against Reps and bar- room reps .

There's a fair few in white shirts that were the laziest OPG's going the dumpers , the duckers , the drunks etc .

The mistrust is directed at Senior & Area management and the underhandedness of everything which works it's way down the food chain .

I'm used to a industry when reps were seconded to do duties , rosters etc

As for "Dinosaurs " - who is calling whom a Dinosaur .

[General Mannerheim]

These PDA`s are pretty unreliable things,I`ve used the Saturn system with Parceline and UPS track and tracer and both units have the same faults,the unit is fine when it is new because the battery is also new,but as it gets older the battery does not hold a decent charge,my Parceline one would only do 30 mins the UPS 45mins before it had to be constantly recharged in the van cradle so how will a foot delivery postie go on for 3.5 hrs?
They also freeze alot particularly if it rains and they get water in them and you then have to take out the friggin battery,put it back in,press the reset button and pray that it would come back to life,half the time it wouldn`t work again that day so back to paper.
Sometimes when it froze and you`d reset the unit the whole data would disappear,my mate got sacked because his unit did this and the manger at Parceline said he did it because he had missed a `timed`parcel and was trying to cover it up.
For once I`m glad the CWU are on the case.

[genesis]

With the pda,s I ve been led to believe they are just for van jobs? walking men could drop them at any time,therefore are the van jobs the only ones to take specials or recordeds?

[k979aaa]

I appreciate the trust issue, but it comes from both sides. It is clear you do not trust management (in general) not to stab you in the back and take you for a ride. However, the same in considered from management (in general) that posties are out to do as little as possible for maximum gain. This perception is what causes much of the school playground behavior, and possibly why RM management feels the need to monitor frontline employees work.

As for PDA's one could argue that they are a spying device as the unions argued when telemetry was first trialled on vehicles. My only argument is that these gadgets have been used on other vehicles for years. With the massive improvements in the use of GPS it makes sense to use this for the advantage it can give to customers, but also allow RM to possible run it's resources more efficiently. By resources I mean both people, the mail itself and vehicles. Hundreds of millions is spent on fuel every year so it makes sense to try and find the more efficient routes.

Unfortunately I have some sympathy with frontline employees as management have a record of screwing things up and your mistrust of any change they want to implement is understandable, but in these times more work needs to be done between unions and management to create an air of trust so that you can compete against the boys in yellow.

One side point of interest is the relative IR harmony at the moment. Is this because Tony McCarthy left and Jon Millidge has temporary taken his place (former IR director?) one for another thread I believe

That's a interesting point about Tony McCarthy Fozzie , it's a " interesting coincidence " there was a lot of "the only language they understand " strikes at BAE with his involvement .

There's another well known one with 478 Tribunals against him to his name at Bombardier Shorts after he wanted 250 redundancies , by fair or foul means .

I agree about RM's "old soldiers " , there's people on both sides who could be classed as instuitionalized , many were former cadets , then there's the CMA v CWU , a rep in a suit who crossed the line to the other side against Reps and bar- room reps .

The mistrust is directed at Senior & Area management and the underhandedness of everything which works it's way down the food chain .

I'm used to a industry when reps were seconded to do duties , rosters etc

As for "Dinosaurs " - who is calling whom a Dinosaur .

We are not dinosaur's for wanting our basic right of negotiation through our union as most working people do! However if you "fozzie" choose to negotiate your monthly pay cheque with these two :cfo & :lfo you are welcome to contribute to thier :cfo & :lfo vast wage demand's at you own cost!. But as a fellow human i urge you to take a step back and think!. For if anyone think's that :cfo & :lfo are here to improve royalmail they are deluded to the point of delirium!. Service what service is a point i hear daily, It is a service no more but a buisness!. And you can stick your head in a lion's mouth only once to often before one's head has gone i wish you well in your negotiation's of your concern's IN SELF REPRESNTATION!.

[norbert]

To be fair to Fozzie , he left WalmartAsdamail ; as did a lot of RM managers and joined other parcel firms . Some that stayed were not exactly headhunter's material .

There was a culling of middle management as a hangover from jobs for the boys in the 90's with :lfo 's axe , there was also an unheard of elsewhere 17 layers of management until comparatively recently . :lfo favours the Walmart system of 3

Fozzie has been forthcoming and enlightening , better that than the saloon bar/ golf club / Con club bores on the Internet Daily Mail meets the Sun selective postal news site ?

[k979aaa]

These PDA`s are pretty unreliable things,I`ve used the Saturn system with Parceline and UPS track and tracer and both units have the same faults,the unit is fine when it is new because the battery is also new,but as it gets older the battery does not hold a decent charge,my Parceline one would only do 30 mins the UPS 45mins before it had to be constantly recharged in the van cradle so how will a foot delivery postie go on for 3.5 hrs?
They also freeze alot particularly if it rains and they get water in them and you then have to take out the friggin battery,put it back in,press the reset button and pray that it would come back to life,half the time it wouldn`t work again that day so back to paper.
Sometimes when it froze and you`d reset the unit the whole data would disappear,my mate got sacked because his unit did this and the manger at Parceline said he did it because he had missed a `timed`parcel and was trying to cover it up.
For once I`m glad the CWU are on the case.

Are they though we needed to think of this age's ago signing up to this FAILED "agreement" has opened the door's of ambiguity to us all!. JUST IN GOD'S NAME WHERE DO WE ALL STAND!.

[Night Tonic]

God has nowt to do with it and we need better technology or we'll be losing even more jobs in my view. Unless you're up to no good I can't see what there is to fear from PDAs. Bring em on.

[DGP1]

God has nowt to do with it and we need better technology or we'll be losing even more jobs in my view. Unless you're up to no good I can't see what there is to fear from PDAs. Bring em on.

Not a fear issue but a trust one ie. I DO NOT TRUST RM MANAGEMENT.