LETTER COUNTS

[DGP1]

The way we've been getting our mail recently I dont see how they calculate the amount accurately.We're getting flats and letters mixed up in the same trays,absolute pain in the arse!

Welcome to the club - it's the way of the future (I think it's something to do with the FSM but I'm sure one of the MC posties can give an explanation).

If the barcode printed (either direct onto the item or onto a white label) is in black in then it's an item that has gone through a FSM. MCs which have them even put small packets through them which still have to get sorted manually as packets at the other end. For inward MCs any letter even if mechable that has been through an FSM has to be sorted manually or go through a machine on "image lift" mode as LSMs and MTTs can't read the barcodes from FSMs. I don't know if iLSMs or IMPs can read the barcodes from FSMs

It serves me right for asking anyway, all the letters that we get in our flat trays have the white barcode labels on them (pain in the arse because they're usually over the addresses).

[landrover]

The FSM is designed to put babels on polywrap and items that cant accept direct printing and apply abels to the rest. Yes they do end up over addresses as the position of the print head is static and as the mail travels through the input line there is a good chance the label will hit the address. On a letter this is more likely as the surface area is smaller than a flat. Yes we do rotate staff between lanes feeding and loading. Gneerally on a lane you willl be on throughout the shift the 3 input line will rotate at each break so you feed twice and load once. The failure of the system is the level of competence of the team. That is to say that a manager will want his best people on the input lines. I work the lanes rarely and also we have operators who have medical issues.

[BELIAL]

How come mail weight is not used instead? It's a damn sight easier to quantify quickly and accurately, rather than counting individual letters into the thousands!

Yes we did weigh the mail ,but when our figures conflicted with our area mangeycurs propaganda we were told to cease and desist, stop weighing the mail immediately "it does not fit the modernisation profile"

[IloveMYredTROLLEY!]

This week is a great reason to have been weighing, rather than counting...

All those Sainsburys catologues
All those 24studio.co.uk Xmas door wedges
All those Tool Station catologues

My standard mail count visually looked very low, but this week has been the heaviest to deliver for me since the financial year end (and consequently done just short of 10 hours delivering over the last two days)!