Understanding the level of change

[Martin Walsh]

I can fully understand that a lot of posters on here are confused about the transformation which is going to happen not just in deliveries but in mail centres.

Instead a lot of people do not understand that the whole workplan which is driving the whole strategy is not fully in place.

Royal Mail studied a lot of countires in terms of walk sequencing for example TPG have 75% walk sequencing and deliver to 5pm and The German post office 80% of sequencing and delivery to 6pm. Royal Mail at that time had just 0.56 of total mail being sequenced.

Royal Mail then decided that they wanted to sequenced mail. Remember sequencing is a method change and not a productivity increase.

Royal Mail then had to adopt what mahcines they were going to pruchase. In the USA they do all their walk sequencing using large machines where in France they sequence mail solely on the CSS machines.

Each large machines ILSM or IMP costs between 800K and £1.2 million. Whereas the CSS machines cost 125 000. So the rule of thumb is that Royal Mail can buy 10 CSS machines for every large machine.

This is the principal reason why Royal Mail decided to go with the plan which meant they would do 17% of sequencing on either the iLSMs or the upgraded IMPs and the remaining 83% on CSS machines of which appoxmately 25% of these will be in mail centres.

So Royal Mail have ordered 570 CSS machines to go into 240 sites.

The CSS machines has 19 trays which means that on 3 passes each CSS machine can sequence mail to 6859 addresses in 45 mins. ( 19 x19 x19 )

Royal Mail have decided to adopt a 60% first wave and then 40% second wave strategy in terms of walk sequencing. The Dutch have only one wave which ensures more efferiency . In fact TNT in Holland have just announced that they are now going to get rid of all full time jobs and replace them with part time.

The 60 /40 policy requires Royal Mail to go to just one out ward pass which allows each mail centre to just break down to the current 70 mail centres. So for example an imp has 244 boxes which means they can have just 70 for the mail centres and some for enignieer puroposes and then 142 for sequencing.

Royal Mail want just one inward pass which allows them to close more mail centres.

Currently where sequencing has been deployed these are the following splits currently :

Gatwick 70% on first wave 30% on second
Bristol 60 on first 40 on second
Covertry 55 on first 45 second
Manchester 60 on first and 40 on second

The workplan for seqeucning plan is for the mail centre to clear their intra , M2 , M3 , DSA on the first wave and get it into the MPU for Midnight to be sequenced expected to be about 60% of the mail.

The remaining 40% is your neignbouring and distant mail which clears a mail centre about 5 in the morning. That then gets processed in the MPU and then arrives in your delivery offices in batches from as early as 6.45 to as late as 10 in the morning.

Remember the plan is for the MPU to sequence the firms , and the office further away from the MPU first. The batch system is appoxmately 12 walks but depend on the size of the walks can be more or less. But not all walks within your office will get their second batch at the same time.

So with the theory of saving 19 mins on every 1000 items but the change to the workplan is the biggest change as some will not get their work until after 0900 and not before 0600.

These are some of the reason why the union has agreed the option of a longer span , it is an option. That is why the union has agreed door to door into workload to plug the gap on the loss of work to mech and that is why the union should be given credit for maintaining the percentage of full time jobs and improving attendances when most other postal adminstrations have adopted automation and in one fair swoop gone to mainly a part time industry.

This agreement will be measured not on the here and now but when the sequencing plan has been fully introduced.

[POSTMAN]

In fact TNT in Holland have just announced that they are now going to get rid of all full time jobs and replace them with part time...

http://www.royalmailchat.co.uk/communit ... 6&p=288273" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Only 174 views on that link,in fact is anybody interested in how our colleagues are getting on around the world?
It's like a ghost town in the competitors forum.

[Straight4ward]

Thanks for the info.

We’ve been receiving WSM since July last year from Gatwick (and your figures match our experience) so my fears are not about WSM but are about what happens next with regard to more mechanized sorting from the mail centres?

What are the plans and the timescales? How soon before IPS is reduced to a trickle or dries up completely? Any light you can shed on this?

[noncwumember]

Dingo, thanks for the information.
For me though, I and many others in my delivery office are just desperate for info relating to how the revision will impact on full time jobs.
We are keen to get out on VR's.
Is this something we can hope for in the near future, as all communications I have sent to all levels of CWU have been ignored, and therefore we are totally in the dark over what is happening and when.
I hope you may be able to offer a glimmer of hope.

Thanks.

[music4essex]

In fact TNT in Holland have just announced that they are now going to get rid of all full time jobs and replace them with part time...

viewtopic.php?f=40&t=28036&p=288273


I always go to the other links to see what is happening , maybe that is why i spend a lot of time on here instead of doing the housework lol,

Must admit what TNT are doing is frightening as you know RM will try this within the next 5 yrs

Essex mum

[Cut Off King]

\dingo wrote:

"These are some of the reason why the union has agreed the option of a longer span , it is an option. That is why the union has agreed door to door into workload to plug the gap on the loss of work to mech and that is why the union should be given credit for maintaining the percentage of full time jobs and improving attendances when most other postal adminstrations have adopted automation and in one fair swoop gone to mainly a part time industry."

You live in a very different world to the front line staff......

[dvbuk55]

How are they going to maintain full time jobs?

How are they going to police the 75/25 split, which in any case is pie in the sky, if the the workload doesn't justify it then you cannot possibly defend maintaining it, you cannot now so what is going to change that will alter the part time scenario?

One hour off the working week is a start but it is too little and too late.

[pickaname]

Here we go again...matching the UK to Holland.

That comparison is a joke.

[jessicarabbit]

Yes the dutch have a good football team!!!!!!

[mazza111]

They mostly all have external mail boxes at the end of their driveways too (when it comes to deliveries)

[fishtank]

The CSS machines has 19 trays which means that on 3 passes each CSS machine can sequence mail to 6859 addresses in 45 mins. ( 19 x19 x19 )

Is it true that Royal Mail are trialing a new software package for the CSS machines that enables full sequencing on a single pass.?

[BELIAL]

Here we go again...matching the UK to Holland.

That comparison is a joke.

Spot on, it's flat ,and they've only got three cities ; but RM did develop the delivery model for them to trial
Oh, and the three cities do all merge

[BELIAL]

Cheers Dingo ,much appreciated , but to be honest, in view of events ,eight f***ing months too late. Knowledge is power ,someone is hogging it

[Martin Walsh]

Fishtank I am not aware of any software which can mean they do just one pass but you never know.

As for the usual comments that we are not Holland , well where do you think they got their delivery plans from , including sequencing , CDVs , Geo route and dare I say it delivery spans.

Remember TNTs announcement is frightening in that all those with contracts above 25 hours will made redundant some forced . Remember Europe have got better employment laws then us.

So you have to look in the round , and without doubt this agreement provides the basis of protecting all postal workers going forward. Did the union get everything they wanted no , did Royal Mail get everything they want no. But I personally believe when you see the level of change which is going to happen in your office then including door to door into workload is a no brainer and the agreement provides for the protection of employees.

Yes that does mean change but anyone who did not expect change then clearly have not been working in Royal Mail for the last few years.

[genesis]

Dingo ,with tnt and cvc a possible combination in the 49% selloff ,do you honestly believe they will stick to the agreement? this needs to be scrutinised carefully, even robert peston of the bbc refers to cvc private equity firm in a chapter on royal mail in his book" who runs britain ". They seem to be following the dutch model to the letter. And as you refer the employment laws there are better than ours.Or is the concession wrangled out of them is that anyone fulltime can remain so,because I dont see anybody being taken on fulltime in my office ,far from it eg 20hours a week.