What does scanning boxes achieve?

[jamwell]

Last week I did an afternoon collection for what must be the first time in 15 years (guy in the locker was desperate as somebody hadn't turned up) and after doing it I'm still trying to work out why we scan the boxes and for who's benefit. I will start by saying that im old enough to remember just going out on collections with just a bunch of keys and doing each box at the allotted time and being TRUSTED that the box was not being done early. This scanning of boxes now just seems to be an exercise in keeping somebody in a nice cushy office job watching the figures and a way of spying on the poor postie doing the job. Surely the most important thing is the customers mail is collected and boxes are done (not early though). That and the fact that half the time the route wont load on the PDA or disappears did my head in.......never again am I doing another collection.....

[Postie45]

because too many posties dont collect at the right time, or some dont empty the boxes at all. We had a guy sacked from our office for doing something along these lines even with the barcodes in place, so who knows how bad it was before they were introduced.

[Mr_Pink]

Part of the reason, was collection drivers of old (I've heard the tales from the horses mouth) used to sit around playing cards and only do the final sweep but its mainly to do with QoS figures, also a manager is supposed to regular post test letters and "yellow peril" cards to check the process is being done correctly.

Its better now that the routes are downloaded onto PDAs A) You can't miss any boxes B)Its impossible to accidentally scan early. With the old Opticon scanners most of us got caught out scanning a box a minute early, and some new to a route would miss a box - easy to do when you can have 45 collection points, you wouldn't know until you got back to the office and checked the CMD, then you have to go back out and rescan, otherwise it shows as a failed collection.

[Mr_Pink]

because too many posties dont collect at the right time, or some dont empty the boxes at all. We had a guy sacked from our office for doing something along these lines even with the barcodes in place, so who knows how bad it was before they were introduced.

I know a guy who, copied all the barcodes on his route, used to go home and just scan the copies at the right time, didn't last long when the PDAs came online and the GPS showed them all scanned at the same place

[Lounge Lizard]

because too many posties dont collect at the right time, or some dont empty the boxes at all. We had a guy sacked from our office for doing something along these lines even with the barcodes in place, so who knows how bad it was before they were introduced.

I know a guy who, copied all the barcodes on his route, used to go home and just scan the copies at the right time, didn't last long when the PDAs came online and the GPS showed them all scanned at the same place

[plaguelift]

Scanning boxes isn't a bad thing. I'm long enough in the job to remember when you were trusted to do it right, so it is only the fault of the bone idle that this has been brought in. You have to remember though, scanning a box only proves when and where you scanned the box. It doesn't prove that you took any mail out of it! Test letters/ yellow cards are needed too. It's the same old story. If you're doing the job properly, you've nothing to worry about.

[redneck]

Yes, do the job properly and nothing to worry about. Must tell that to the several guys in our office who are collecting a couple of businesses early on collections after copying the barcodes with their mobile phone. The staff seem blissfully unaware of the correct time of collection on the PDA, and of course the guys joke about how quickly they can do the round compared to the likes of me who potter round keeping to the book. It'll all change soon when the new ways of working come in with a lot of boxes collected by the local roundsperson.

[arnold cheshire]

i always thought scanning was to keep postcomm happy to stop them fineing RM

[Postie45]

Yes, do the job properly and nothing to worry about. Must tell that to the several guys in our office who are collecting a couple of businesses early on collections after copying the barcodes with their mobile phone. The staff seem blissfully unaware of the correct time of collection on the PDA, and of course the guys joke about how quickly they can do the round compared to the likes of me who potter round keeping to the book. It'll all change soon when the new ways of working come in with a lot of boxes collected by the local roundsperson.

that fact that people still do that when others on this thread have talked about how others have been sacked for doing the same just goes to show how stupid some postmen are

[simply_the_best]

Scanning boxes isn't a bad thing. I'm long enough in the job to remember when you were trusted to do it right, so it is only the fault of the bone idle that this has been brought in. You have to remember though, scanning a box only proves when and where you scanned the box. It doesn't prove that you took any mail out of it! Test letters/ yellow cards are needed too. It's the same old story. If you're doing the job properly, you've nothing to worry about.

I remember doing a rural collection years ago when the opticom scanners came in, went to my first box and scanned it then drove about 5 miles along a single track road to the next one and realised i hadn't taken the mail out the first one