MRM.COM:Immingham:Walking the walk

[POSTMAN]

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Courier joined postman Matt Watson to see the impact of new delivery methods at Immingham

Early start

It’s a 6.30am start for Matt, who starts by putting the first sequenced mail on to the frame.

‘By the time I’ve finished, the porter is usually here with the next box, so I’m barely away from the frame,’ says Matt. ‘This means I can concentrate on the job better and helps ensure I’m out of the door by 9.30am.’

Loading bay

‘Organisation’ is a watchword for Matt as he ensures the van he shares with his colleague is loaded in the most efficient way to make it easier out on the walk. New delivery methods can involve people going on deliveries in pairs, parking the van and going out with trolleys to deliver the mail in a loop.

‘Each of the loops is in a separate bag, and we load the van so the driver’s bags are on one side and the passenger’s are on the other. We’ll then put the parcels in between and as far as possible stack them in the order they need to be delivered on the walk.

‘The more organised you are at this stage, the easier it is when you’re out and about. It’s interesting working with a partner – you get to know about how they work and often there’s a bit of competition in getting the loops finished first.’

Lightweight loop

Matt’s first deliveries are to a number of local authority flats where using the lightweight trolleys is not appropriate due to the staircases.

‘On this walk, the first loops are generally smaller and we fit all the mail and parcels into the bag,’ he says. ‘We can’t really use the trolleys here as there are too many stairs and the bags are never too heavy. One of the issues we do have is that, now there are two of us, we need two sets of key fobs to get into the blocks of flats – we’re making do with one set at the moment.

‘This particular loop used to be at the end of the walk, but since the revision it’s at the start – customers have commented they’ve been receiving their mail earlier.’

Neighbourly assistance

Matt tries to deliver a parcel, but there is no one in the house, so he calls next door.

‘We don’t like to take anything back to the office with us, so being able to leave packets with neighbours is a real help. The only drawback is having to go back to the original place to deliver the P739 card, but it’s better than taking a parcel back with us.’

Trolley service

Matt and his partner’s next loops involve using the lightweight trolleys, with mails hung on one side and parcels on the other. This takes the weight off their shoulders and allows them to deliver more parcels at the same time as letters.

‘It’s a more efficient, safer and productive way of working,’ says Matt. ‘What used to be four separate rounds is now two shared ones.’

Indoor issue

For Matt, while much of the outdoor changes have taken some getting used to, it’s the indoor changes that need addressing.

‘I’m supposed to be released one day a week to work on the indoor revision, but that hasn’t happened,’ he says. ‘No matter how well we’ve implemented the new outdoor working methods, if we don’t get it right indoors we’ll struggle. There are still some things to iron out and one or two of the walks are too big, but we should be able to address this with better indoor planning.

‘That said, if you asked me hand on heart whether I’d go back to the old way given a choice, I wouldn’t.’

[bensonhedge]

Lovely heart-warming story.Thoroughly enjoyed it.

[TrueBlueTerrier]

[tigercat]

Obviously brainwashed by the management. I bet thay love him at that office. We have "drones" like him in my office. Id go "tooled up" if I had to deliver in Immingham, it not the end of the world but you can see it from there. I bet the courier wouldnt dare follow me around for the day and print the outcome.

[scoobydo79]

Well done Mat!!!!"competition to finish the loop first" We really need people like You

[obscurityknocks]

So from 6.30 - 9.30 he is barely away from his frame. In the real world your barely at your frame during those times at our place. Who does the IPS at their place? Would honestly love to be out the door at 9.30am and then it may give us a chance of completing on time.

[Budfrog]

Matt’s first deliveries are to a number of local authority flats where using the lightweight trolleys is not appropriate due to the staircases.

Personally I don't see where the problem is, maybe I need a graduate to explain it to me :)

[olilew]

i know the courier is RMs propaganda mag but this just takes it to the extreme!

[fishtank]

There are still some things to iron out and one or two of the walks are too big, but we should be able to address this with better indoor planning.

This is part of a new RM strategy in units that have had "Developed Revisions".
Rather than address what is an outdoor issue of a walk being too big they address it indoors.
They call it "moving the line".
Basically it means if a duty is 30 mins too big they use indoor resource to get you out 30 mins earlier.
It's something that the CWU were warned about when they kept saying that removing the limit on spans wouldn't mean ridiculously long deliveries.
Nobody listened.

[genesis]

I wonder when did he have his break?

[DB1100]

I would love 3 hours to prep,you don't even get that for double prep.

[DB1100]

‘It’s a more efficient, safer and productive way of working,’ says Matt. ‘What used to be four separate rounds is now two shared ones.’
Hmm,we got that plus a quarter of another round.

[DGP1]

A three hour prep...........I have 62 minutes to do mine which is a heavy rural (and 20 minutes to pull out and load the van), good job he has such a light duty to deliver......oh wait, he can't because he's spending so much time putting the mail in.......but then it should be a much heavier duty...........but they're using LWTs and going slower.............but then how can he spend so much time on a prep............I think I've confused myself

[fishtank]

A three hour prep........

To be fair it doesn't say he has a three hour prep,it just says he starts at 0630 and leaves at 0930.
He could be double prepping or doing IPS and part of that will be his break.

[DB1100]

It’s a 6.30am start for Matt, who starts by putting the first sequenced mail on to the frame.

‘By the time I’ve finished, the porter is usually here with the next box, so I’m barely away from the frame,’ says Matt. ‘This means I can concentrate on the job better and helps ensure I’m out of the door by 9.30am.’
Just says he is barely away from the frame,a tad confusing don't ya think Fishtank.