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1st week The Pro's and cons of park and loop

Postal workers discussion forum. Discuss the day to day life in a Blue Shirt.
twobags
Posts: 299
Joined: 09 Dec 2009, 18:49
Gender: Male

Re: 1st week The Pro's and cons of park and loop

Post by twobags »

19times wrote:
twobags wrote: our times changed drastically we moved from 7 start to 9 , the p&l mech is sequenced causing the later start, the times on sorting are very tight an hour fifteen to throw every thing off. your frames should be marked up for loops driver/walker once thrown off redirections done specials collected pdas scanned bag up take bags and oversize packets load up van and your away [1hr 20m] then youll see how good the frames are ,if timings are good and your buddy is equal to you ,you meet back up at van to next loop , some days we do big packets that match loop other days after mail del depends on size and where and how much you have loops can and will be imbalanced if you got a good partner you help each other, trackers also have to be done and scanned ,times havent changed on specials so you have to factor that in .the trolleys are a pain and slow you down but see how you get on hope this helps let us know if need anything else :wave good luck
Cheers twobags that's helpful.

Nobody has explained how this works to me in person as of yet and i'm not sure anyone will the way our office is! seems everyone is just doing it their way and that's that!

I'm looking at it like, drop my buddy off where he wants, agree on where's best to park up then go and do my walk like normal but on foot! no idea if it's as simple as that though!!

Training is non existent these days.
Nobody has explained how this works to me in person as of yet and i'm not sure anyone will the way our office is! seems everyone is just doing it their way and that's that!

I'm looking at it like, drop my buddy off where he wants, agree on where's best to park up then go and do my walk like normal but on foot! no idea if it's as simple as that though!!
doh :d'oh! you throw one round off the other throws his off, but each delivery is split into loops usually 1/6 per round you will do three of these loops while your buddy does three so you deliver 1/2 of each round,ill be suprised if they let you do any different,when your frames are set up it should indicate where each loop starts and by who.then let the fun begin
19times
Posts: 339
Joined: 11 Aug 2011, 13:36
Gender: Female

Re: 1st week The Pro's and cons of park and loop

Post by 19times »

twobags wrote: doh :d'oh! you throw one round off the other throws his off, but each delivery is split into loops usually 1/6 per round you will do three of these loops while your buddy does three so you deliver 1/2 of each round,ill be suprised if they let you do any different,when your frames are set up it should indicate where each loop starts and by who.then let the fun begin
Makes sense! Union Rep went on to mention the loops on my delivery are cocked up which is nice to know!!

I don't really care to be honest, i'll work my time then call it quits simples :chuckle
twobags
Posts: 299
Joined: 09 Dec 2009, 18:49
Gender: Male

Re: 1st week The Pro's and cons of park and loop

Post by twobags »

definate pro for me is the 9 day fortnight now i understand it ,a long weekend once a month to catch up on all the rest im gonna need to work the rest of the month :nana woo hoo !!
19times
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Gender: Female

Re: 1st week The Pro's and cons of park and loop

Post by 19times »

Jesus that was bad! First day doing it and it was absolute pants!! We did all of my buddies walk no problems - his is quite good, 45 mins or so each loop but mine is terrible!

We ended up leaving half in and the other half we took out we brought most of that back too :shock: gaffers face was :mad :Very Happy
halfull
EX ROYAL MAIL
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Joined: 22 Jan 2011, 13:37
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Re: 1st week The Pro's and cons of park and loop

Post by halfull »

19times wrote:Jesus that was bad! First day doing it and it was absolute pants!! We did all of my buddies walk no problems - his is quite good, 45 mins or so each loop but mine is terrible!

We ended up leaving half in and the other half we took out we brought most of that back too :shock: gaffers face was :mad :Very Happy
get used to it! ive been doing it 13 days today & ive took back mail all 13 days! sometimes half a walk-plus sometimes a couple of bundles! but still cannot get done! the jobs are WAY too big! :crazy:
19times
Posts: 339
Joined: 11 Aug 2011, 13:36
Gender: Female

Re: 1st week The Pro's and cons of park and loop

Post by 19times »

halfull wrote:
19times wrote:Jesus that was bad! First day doing it and it was absolute pants!! We did all of my buddies walk no problems - his is quite good, 45 mins or so each loop but mine is terrible!

We ended up leaving half in and the other half we took out we brought most of that back too :shock: gaffers face was :mad :Very Happy
get used to it! ive been doing it 13 days today & ive took back mail all 13 days! sometimes half a walk-plus sometimes a couple of bundles! but still cannot get done! the jobs are WAY too big! :crazy:
I will, don't bother me too much it's the gaffers that i feel for :left:

He looked at us in amazement when i told him we'd brought 3 bags back! I felt a bit sorry for him as we discussed the issue and said my :wave b :Very Happy
daveyctvr
Posts: 23
Joined: 12 Mar 2010, 18:33
Gender: Male

Re: 1st week The Pro's and cons of park and loop

Post by daveyctvr »

On my 4th week of P&L.

Worked out my own loops and new frame layout months ago. Was the 1st member of Staff to get frame changed.

Pros are...

Being able to take van home so I save wear and tear and fuel on my own car.

During the Winter being able to get a quick warm

Not having to wait for useless, bone-idle drivers to drop my bags off

Sometime carrying just 1 bundle rather than a huge sack

Cons are...

The sheer volume of work.

Having to run round like an idiot constantly for 5 hours

Having to extend everyday and being confronted by Management.

If the duties were tweaked a little to allow us to go at a steady pace it would be fine but they've simply paired two duties, gave you a cage full of parcels and wonder how it's taking longer.
Hitcher
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Joined: 20 Sep 2009, 09:59
Gender: Male

Re: 1st week The Pro's and cons of park and loop

Post by Hitcher »

1. You don't have to run around anymore - use the trolley
2. You don't have to extend - work to your time and let the managers decide what to do with the excess (that's what they're paid for after all).
3. It's based on a model week so most of the year it's not possible.
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POSTMAN
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Re: 1st week The Pro's and cons of park and loop

Post by POSTMAN »

Davey,man up ffs,i've just read your other post in the fatigue thread as well.Let them confront you,you've got a gate at your place aint you!
I Wrote-During Covid-Which is still relevant now
It's good to get these types of threads, the ridiculous my manager said bollox, so we can reassure ourselves that while the world is falling apart, Royal Mail managers are still being the low-life C***S they have always been.
My BFF Clash
The daily grind of having to argue your case with an intellectual pigmy of a line manager is physically and emotionally draining.
randompostman
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Joined: 22 Apr 2009, 21:24
Gender: Male

Re: 1st week The Pro's and cons of park and loop

Post by randompostman »

POSTMAN wrote:Davey,man up ffs,i've just read your other post in the fatigue thread as well.Let them confront you,you've got a gate at your place aint you!
WARNING! The POSTMAN is an Anarchist! ;-) Good advice though.
Blue29
Posts: 223
Joined: 22 Jun 2011, 10:24
Gender: Male

Re: 1st week The Pro's and cons of park and loop

Post by Blue29 »

Just finished a week of unexpected park and loop. Verdict is it's chronically bad and doomed to failure, but you know that. What you don't know is that halfway through the second day two fully groan postmen sat in a van spontaneously giggling over how s**t it was. Nothing was spoken just a recognition of the appalling situation with boxes and upon boxes of mail waiting to be delivered and no way through except to keep bailing. By the third morning the laughing stopped.

Cons no need to mention just think about what the thing is - Park and Loop
Pros only doing it for a week, at least thats what I'm told. Fully braced for this now to be the permanent.
randompostman
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Joined: 22 Apr 2009, 21:24
Gender: Male

Re: 1st week The Pro's and cons of park and loop

Post by randompostman »

It is not called Park and LOOPY for nothing!
twobags
Posts: 299
Joined: 09 Dec 2009, 18:49
Gender: Male

Re: 1st week The Pro's and cons of park and loop

Post by twobags »

a con ...............today the trolley must have tipped over half a dozen times which meant the bags unhooked caused by excessive flats in bag and the local council turning at least 1/5 of my duty into an assault course of digging and other works in some places i spent more time on the road than the footpath due to safety barriers holes etc ,,, :arrrghhh
twobags
Posts: 299
Joined: 09 Dec 2009, 18:49
Gender: Male

Re: 1st week The Pro's and cons of park and loop

Post by twobags »

twobags wrote:a con ...............today the trolley must have tipped over half a dozen times which meant the bags unhooked caused by excessive flats in bag and the local council turning at least 1/5 of my duty into an assault course of digging and other works in some places i spent more time on the road than the footpath due to safety barriers holes etc ,,, :arrrghhh
those barriers done for me this week ,its not actually the council but some specialist firm changing all the street lighting to a cheaper alternative,ANYWAY ONE PARTICULAR ROAD IN MY LOOP WAS A MAZE OF THEM AND IN PARTS TO NARROW FOR THE TROLLEY WHICH MEANT GOING DOWN CURB INTO ROAD AND DOUBLING BACK, UNFORTUNATELY SLIPPED DOWN CURB AND LATER TRIPPED UP A CURB NOW BEEN OFF PAST FEW DAYS WITH LOWER BACK PAIN REALLY PAINFUL SPASMING,IM USING THE TROLLEY AND AM OFF WITH A BACK PROBLEM IRONIC EH!! OW :arrrghhh :Applause
scooby
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Re: 1st week The Pro's and cons of park and loop

Post by scooby »

i am 3 weeks in to my van share failing most days 3 to 4 bags taken back most days some times they get taken by the late part timers we have coming in at 2 to 6 or they just sit there till the next day i just work my hours like they wanted us to do :roll: