Absorbing Delivery Duties

[Budfrog]

Can someone explain what calculations are used and what process is followed when deciding how many delivery duties a unit can absorb.

I come from a mail centre background where scheduled duties are built up by running a workload calculation using forecast traffic taking into account target EP. If the office has Vacs then it is possible to lapse some of them if there is a seasonal downturn in traffic but this should be done at a weekly resourcing meeting in full co-operation with CWU.

Back to my original question, if a revision has just taken place in delivery unit one would assume that there is a correct(ish) alignment of workload to duties and therefore absorption should in theory not take place without risking the performance of the unit >>> is this a fair assessment ? Only units who have not undergone a recent revision and are deemed to be overstaffed should be subject to this process and it should be undertaken in conjunction with CWU using recognised tools and techniques with planner input if required >>> am I on the right track here ?

I have talked to colleagues who have suggested that absorption is more budget driven, if so it is a process that is inherently inaccurate as it is not based on sound planning techniques and is unfair on the staff who are subjected to it.

Like I said before, my knowledge of deliveries is sketchy at best.

[fishtank]

Back to my original question, if a revision has just taken place in delivery unit one would assume that there is a correct(ish) alignment of workload to duties and therefore absorption should in theory not take place without risking the performance of the unit

The main building block of the revision is the model traffic week.
If it's a low traffic week it is unlikely your traffic will dip below this so absorption is unlikely however you will have to plan contingency for the majority of the year when traffic is above this level.
If your office decides to use a higher model week obviously the scope for absorption increases.
All of this is reliant on accurate forecasting and realistic actual traffic figures.
Some offices create their own lapsing opportunities through bad practice.
At the end of the day though you're correct that it is mostly budget driven.

[silly suffolk]

where i work, the dly section who come in early , dont take their breaks, and rush about like maniacs absorb. the section who do the job properly , take their breaks, don't absorb. not really rocket science me thinks.

[oypostie]

Criteria for lapsing is simple. If there's a y in the day you lapse

[tiggle]

where i work, the dly section who come in early , dont take their breaks, and rush about like maniacs absorb. the section who do the job properly , take their breaks, don't absorb. not really rocket science me thinks.

exactly the same in my office.we even had a no confidence petition sent round because the union rep was trying to make the manager enforce delivery methods and of course using a trolley slows you down and who'd want that! at the end of the day being an idiot appears to be incurable so its best just to let them get on with it.

[Ahebban]

As ever, the office as a whole is screwed by the few who still believe 'job and finish' is there by right

[pokos27]

its based on you working too quick and getting penalised for it, just slow down.

[ewancurze]

In our office the runners with short walks hang about near the absorbtion frames to find out who is not doing theirs,then the managers give them....say 2 bits to do....pay them 1.5 hrs OT and the buggers are still finished before i get just my walk done.

[eastie]

In our office the runners with short walks hang about near the absorbtion frames to find out who is not doing theirs,then the managers give them....say 2 bits to do....pay them 1.5 hrs OT and the buggers are still finished before i get just my walk done.

Thing is sometimes these runners come in an hour early unpaid and thenrun round then do an hours overtime
If they started on time and went over by an hour they would be paid the same