Delivery Planning Value – Validation Exercise

[TrueBlueTerrier]

To: Branches with POSTAL Members

Dear Colleague

Delivery Planning Value – Validation Exercise

We were recently approached by Royal Mail seeking our support for a validation exercise of existing planning values used in delivery using fully trained Industrial Engineers. The main reason for this is due to the efficiency review that is taking place on behalf of Ofcom the regulator. Whilst there was a similar exercise carried out by Scott Grant a couple of years ago nothing came out of that particular exercise that would have affected any existing Planning Values.

Since then there are a number of tasks carried out in delivery offices that did not exist at the time and the last time any real study work or measurement took place was in the late 80s and early to mid 90s where the operation was much more manually orientated than it is now, add to this the fact that the historic study data is now not universally available and there would appear to be a sound reason to carry this validation exercise out. We agreed to support the exercise on the proviso we had an agreed Terms of reference, which is attached and has been ratified by the Postal Executive today and is self explanatory.

The intention is to identify and study the standard Methods, review these and the tasks carried out in delivery offices and benchmark them against the current national planning values. In some instances this will involve formulating new planning values and refreshing some existing values where appropriate. It will also provide an opportunity to review the methods currently used and identify if there are flaws in the system and process.

The objective of the exercise is to provide more reliable and accurate reporting and enable us to establish a revised baseline for efficiency reporting.

We will have full access to all information/data generated and the CWU will be involved at all sites and at national level. The list of sites to be included is attached (Annex A) and also attached is a bullet point list of further agreed points of clarification (Annex B).

The exercise which is due to commence w/c 16th June 2014 has already been deferred twice hence the reason for the timing of this LTB.

Any enquiries to Bob Gibson’s Office, quoting reference 230.03
Email address: hnutley@cwu.org

Yours sincerely

Bob Gibson
CWU Assistant Secretary – Outdoor

[TrueBlueTerrier]

National Terms of Reference - Industrial Engineer Observations
Delivery office Planning Values Validation

Introduction

Industrial Engineers (IE’s) will be visiting a number of Delivery Offices between June and August 2014. (The initial list off offices is attached at annex A)
The purpose of this exercise is to carry out checks on the national planning values which are being used for product costing purposes and efficiency. The industrial engineers will carry out work studies to collect data on the operational tasks, including measuring distances, times for tasks, container fills and other flows of work to ensure the Royal Mail figures used for traffic weighting and product costing is reliable. This exercise will enable Royal Mail to confirm that the approach taken by them is valid and that work measurement has been accredited by trained experts, which will help demonstrate to the regulator that products are priced appropriately relative to cost and that the operation is working efficiently. This is not necessarily about producing revised planning values it is about validating the existing ones and to also identify if there is a need for new planning values due to operational changes. This underpins the work on regulatory and commercial pricing.
This activity may also involve filming, and employees will be asked in advance if they don’t mind, if they decline they will not be filmed. The information and data is primarily designed for national use.  Local feedback on the methods, layout, equipment etc. (not individuals), may be discussed with the DOM and the CWU representative where there are opportunities for improvement. Where this is the case then the full terms of existing national agreements, joint statement and guidelines will apply including the IR Framework.

Operation & Scope
 
Prior to the Industrial Engineers visiting an Office all employees will be briefed to make them aware of the visit and the purpose. That they are not being monitored as individuals, it is about working out what the workload is for different tasks/activities.

When the Industrial Engineer(s) arrive they will be met by the DOM who will introduce them to the CWU Representative and other managers where applicable. They will then be shown round the office to familiarise them with the layout and processes at the unit concerned.

All IE’s will wear Royal Mail ID and PPE appropriate to the work area at all times.

Examples of the things to be looked at include:-
Distances between work areas
Container fills, traffic flows and percentages
Times to carry out all associated tasks

All observations will be made on compliant processes and, the Industrial Engineers will be issued with a checklist of common non-compliances that might save time, which needs to be included in the time allowed to do the job to the required method and standards. People should follow the Standard Operating Procedures and Safe System of Work and that is what will be observed and accounted for. Checklists are being provided to the IEs in case some people do cut corners so that the results are not distorted.

This is not about checking the performance of individuals against standards or assessing the performance of units against standards or other units. This is about assessing how long the task takes, not how well individuals are working.

Involvement

Local CWU reps will be allowed to observe Industrial Engineers carrying out their work and to also ask questions. Adequate release will be provided for this to be done.

All information/data will be shared with the CWU during and following the exercise.

Following the exercise there will be a joint review and the information/data will be jointly analysed to see what affect if any this may have on current standards, which may in turn require further discussions about the use and application of the information/data. This will take place prior to any sharing with the regulator.




Signed……………………………………………….. Signed………………………………………………………..


Date 6th June 2014

[TrueBlueTerrier]

Annex A



Dates For Site Visits

Unit From To
Chesterfield 16/06/2014 28/06/2014
Darlington 16/06/2014 28/06/2014
Lincoln 30/06/2014 12/07/2014
Carlisle 30/06/2014 12/07/2014
Hull City 30/06/2014 19/07/2014
Tonbridge 30/06/2014 12/07/2014
Newcastle U Lyme 01/07/2014 12/07/2014
Coalville 14/07/2014 26/07/2014
Kilmarnock 14/07/2014 26/07/2014
Shrewsbury 14/07/2014 26/07/2014
Bath 14/07/2014 26/07/2014
Docklands 14/07/2014 26/07/2014
Ely 28/07/2014 09/08/2014
Lancaster 28/07/2014 09/08/2014
Sutton Coldfield 28/07/2014 09/08/2014
Bromley 28/07/2014 09/08/2014
Dorcan 28/07/2014 09/08/2014
Bicester 11/08/2014 23/08/2014
Manchester South 11/08/2014 23/08/2014
Llandudno 11/08/2014 23/08/2014


* Dates subject to slight amendment depending upon length of time required at each unit to study all processes
   to be established during setup and study at initial units

[TrueBlueTerrier]

Annex B

Further agreed points

The IE will note any other methods used or tasks missed.
Staff studied will follow SOP or the observation will not be a part of the study.
I have been assured that all IE in this exercise are experienced within and outside of RM on industrial engineering study work.
The data bank format for the makeup of the PV’s within IWT will stay the same.
A method will be established for the sorting of large parcels as there is currently a temporary value and not a standard method (mini York’s sorting etc).
The IE will be asked to note if at any time during the morning indoor operation there is space problems within the office that impact on achieving performance. This is because they could study someone at a moment in time during the morning and get a representative value, however, at a different time the office may have space problems because of the volumes on wave arrivals etc.
The study of an individual will be stopped if the study becomes inefficient, i.e.; too many people descend on the IPS frame.
The time to manoeuvre the porter trolley will be studied.
The final PV list that is agreed will continue to be a working document.
If SSOW not applied the study will be discounted.
Each individual wave on the impact on Prep will be studied.
The studied clear down time on Parcel Prep, frequencies, and tie up will be revisited in the autumn as the volumes will be reduced during the summer when the study is undertaken to make sure that the increased volumes do not impact on the PV.
Establish new PV for Parcels separated at the bench for two walks sorted into Mini-Yorks.
Going forward put a section in the IWT guidelines to explain what PV is included to make up a task or tasks.
IWT only credits one trip from bench to loading bay. This will be noted to see if the frequencies need updating.
No one will be studied who has to pick up any summer absorption on another prep frame.
Have agreed that we will review the progress of the validation exercise with the CWU every 2 weeks either by phone or a meeting if necessary.
Study the effect of D2D in the frame when prepping 1st wave sequenced mail.
The Platform PV will be validated across all arrivals.
Commitment to resample tray fill data during and after this exercise.

 

[adb2aber]

Annex A



Dates For Site Visits

Unit From To
Dorcan 28/07/2014 09/08/2014


* Dates subject to slight amendment depending upon length of time required at each unit to study all processes
   to be established during setup and study at initial units

Good luck with that, Dorcan DO shuts its doors around the end of this month

[fishtank]

Would seem silly to do this without also reassesing the planning values relating to the outdoor element of the delivery function.

I would have thought Ofcom would also have been very interested in the efficiency of the outdoor operation, especially with regards to something like lapsing/absorption which to my untrained eye seems to be the most inefficient waste of resources i've ever laid eyes on, let's send 20 guys in 10 vans off to deliver 1 duty...just saying.

[General Mannerheim]

Annex A



Dates For Site Visits

Unit From To
Dorcan 28/07/2014 09/08/2014


* Dates subject to slight amendment depending upon length of time required at each unit to study all processes
   to be established during setup and study at initial units

Good luck with that, Dorcan DO shuts its doors around the end of this month

Do you think this is a con then?

[PhilthyPhil]

Do you think this is a con then?

No. Its just being moved next door and merged with another DO.

[Budfrog]

Maintaining accurate standard times that cover as much of the workload as possible are essential within Royal Mail and their maintenance is an area that has been neglected. Whilst their primary use from a CWU/OPG perspective is for planning/revision activity they are also fundamental to product costing.

It is important that CWU reps who are involved in this process have a reasonably good understanding of the work measurement techniques that will be used and are allowed to look at the study data and how it is used to compile standard times (or PVs to you and me). It is essential that the DOM/CWU rep only allow the study of competent staff who feel comfortable being observed over a period of time and avoid people who are either very fast or very slow. They must at all times follow standard methods, use the appropriate equipment and follow SSOW, the area should also represent normal working conditions in respect of lighting/temperature/ventilation. A flow chart and brief method description should accompany the study both of which are important components of the standard time’s audit trail.

Whilst the actual measurement of time in itself is reasonably straightforward it will be the IEs’ rating which will have the most significant effect on the final SMV (Standard Minute Value). If for instance an operator is mistakenly rated at 70Bs when in fact he was working at 80Bs this will result in a final value which is 12.5% tighter than is should be with a knock on effect that staffing levels may be set too low by a similar percentage (the slower that the operator is working the more pronounced the effect of any inaccuracy in the rating !!) . It is also important to make sure that every element of work is covered which will include occasional elements and contingency time. Contingency time (e.g. talking with manager or other legitimate interruptions) within RM is covered by a 2% allowance but still needs to be measured, occasional elements are essential to the task and as their name suggest occur infrequently. Each element of work needs to be individually assessed for relaxation allowance using a table of agreed allowances, the resultant percentages together with the contingency allowance will be added to the basic time (observed time x rating/100) to give a final SMV (or PV) for that element of work (usually per 1000 items).

Frequencies within RM can be quite complex by comparison to other industries and are made more difficult by fluctuations between samples and local variations. That said most SMVs (PVs) rely upon accurate frequencies, distances, fills, % splits and it is important that those used are statistically sound. Whilst tray fills for letter/large letters are now reasonably robust there can still be wild fluctuations in packet, selection and hand fills and these will have an impact upon SMVs (PVs) and workload, this will be more pronounced where task times are issued rather than element times.