just joined royal mail..

[scousehouse]

hey RMC,

i am due to start in a large mail processing centre workin nights. does anyone have some advice to offer?, im not real sure what to expect. i start next week on a 20hr contract

all advice is welcomed, i hope my first week goes okay!

freya, 26 uk.

[baldrick]

Hi and welcome to rmc (and RM) scousehouse

If you're working in a MC you will be mainly facing, culling and sorting mail.
Facing and culling is seperating the mail cxollections, which have been tipped
onto a facing table, into flats (large letters), packets, and machinable and
non-machinable first/second class letters.
Sorting can be standing up on the drop bag frames sorting packets, or
sitting down sorting flats or letters.
You will be on your feet a lot of the time, so wear comfortable shoes.
I find facing particularly boring, but after a while you can just switch off
and do it without thinking about it too much.
In my MC we are allowed to wear personal stereos or Ipods (though not
if you are moving wheeled containers for Health & Safety reasons) which
helps to pass the time.
I would suggest you go to the Union Room and join the Communication
Workers Union, and the Reps will be able to give you any help or advice you need.
Good Luck!

[scousehouse]

thnx baldrick that's most helpful! when i went for the interview, we walked threw the place where the machines are. looks very industrial, i take it the machines i saw were for sorting. conveyor belts and cages & coke machines! so the mail is all bundled onto tables, then i sort threw for packets, large letters, machinable & non?

sounds riveting but should be okay! tar for the heads up balders', anything else i might need to know in prep? i have an induction soon so i suppose i will find out everyting i need to know from my line manager. but i kinda wanted an insiders view from people with the experience..

http://www.cwu.org.uk/home/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
just visited the CWU, & have requested an information pack.

[Tman]

If you're working in a MC you will be mainly facing, culling and sorting mail.
Facing and culling is seperating the mail cxollections, which have been tipped
onto a facing table, into flats (large letters), packets, and machinable and
non-machinable first/second class letters.

Can't be many MCs doing that anymore. Most will just tip the collection mail onto the CFC infeed.

[scousehouse]

tman, whats the cfc infeed? as long as its not chelsea fc its all good..

[Tman]

The CFC is the first stage of mail automation,and looks like a huge rotating drum with conveyors coming out the back.

The mail is tipped onto the conveyor, and ends up at the other end sorted into 1st and 2nd clas mail, C5, PoP, unstamped etc and all faced the same way.

Nothing to do with Chelsea though..

[TrueBlueTerrier]

CFC Culler Facer Canceller - A machine that separates machinable mail, cancels the stamp and faces it up for the next machine, usually 5 staff per CFC

RM language cab be strange and to help we have a Glossary which we are trying to keep up to date. http://www.royalmailchat.co.uk/communit ... 05#p131005" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; if you come across a new one the please tell us and will put it in.

[scousehouse]

all sounds very technical im sure i will get the hang ov it. a new language barrier! what happens after the mail has gone threw the CFC and is sorted into piles?

how does the process work from unsorted to the mail man picking up the bag to be delivered?

btw, thanks for the info.

[baldrick]

"How does the process work...?"

In my MC the Part Time (evening) staff are usually on the culling, facing and sorting.

The mail is collected from firms, pillar boxes and Post Offices by drivers.
Brought into loading bays/platforms where it is unloaded then taken into the processing area by platform staff.
The mainly stamped letter mail from pillar boxes and Post Offices will to to the CFCs for facing and cancelling.
Stamps on packets and flats are cancelled by staff with hand stamps.
The meter mail (mail from firms that has been through a franking/meter machine) is tipped onto facing tables.
Staff on the facing tables seperate it into first and second class.
They also seperate out the flats (large envelopes) and packets.
The flats can be sorted on large flat sorting machines, or by hand.
The packets are mainly sorted into bags on drop bag frames (dbf's).
The letters are seperated into those which can be sorted on the letter sorting machines (lsm's),
and non-machinable which will be sorted manually.
The manual letters (and flats/packets) then go to primary sorting.
Some can be despatched directly from primary sorting to the Mail Centres or Delivery Offices from where
they will be delivered.
The rest will go to secondary sorting areas for different parts of the country (Scotland, Wales, N. Ireland,etc)
where they will be sorted to cities or mail centres covering different areas, where they will be sorted and
sent to local Delivery Offices.
The machinable mail is sorted on Optical Character Recognition machines which can read addresses and
postcodes and imprints the letter with a series of blue phosphor dots which can be read by the Letter
Sorting Machines (LSM's).
The coded mail is then loaded onto a LSM which sorts the mail into boxes for the local Delivery Office.
The sorted mail is tied up in bundles and thrown into bags for despatch to the Delivery Offices, or
Mail Centres covering that area.

There are now newer machines - IMPs and MTTs which I don't know much about as it's over 20 years
since I worked in the Mech Area, but I expect TMan or some of the mech guys on here might tell you
about those.

The bags are tied up and taken out in wheeled containers (Yorkies) to the despatching bays/platforms,
where they are loaded onto lorries to be taken to the Mail Centres/Delivery Offices from which the
mail; is to be delivered (But that's another story!).

[Tman]

A good resume there. Those "blue dots" are now orange fluorescent four-state code marks, and there are now many items with CBC (Customer Bar Codes) already printed on by the sender (NOT TNT, DHL, etc) which are the black four-state code marks.

[baldrick]

Oh yeah - I forgot it's now orange dots, must be losing my short term memory with age.

Also forgot that the sorted letters and flats are now mainly put into plastic box/trays called
pods before being put onto Yorkies for despatch to other offices, not tied in bundles.

[scousehouse]

ty baldrick that was a great post!

i have a better understandin of how it works before seeing with my own eyes. which is great!, i will post back how i get along on my first day soon.

is there a uniform to ware? are black trainees & jog pants okay ?

[saintsnut]

ty baldrick that was a great post!

i have a better understandin of how it works before seeing with my own eyes. which is great!, i will post back how i get along on my first day soon.

is there a uniform to ware? are black trainees & jog pants okay ?

Yep!!!!! Slippers, jim jams,dressing gown and a night cap!!!!!!! By the way (ware) is in Hertfordshire

[baldrick]

You will be given a hi-vis vest to wear until your uniform arrives
which might take a few weeks.

[scousehouse]

is there a uniform to ware? are black trainees & jog pants okay ?

Yep!!!!! Slippers, jim jams,dressing gown and a night cap!!!!!!! By the way (ware) is in Hertfordshire

what do you mean hertfordshire? mmm

is right, casual clothes it is.