Spare wheel

[Burghboy]

The spare wheel has a storage area under the back of the van but so many of them just get lumped in the back of the vans, it gets right on my nerves and clearly is a health safety issue, who is responsible for putting them away under the back of the vans?

Have asked my Lino and he was gonna look i to it and find out but still waiting...


Thanks in advance.

[bluealbert]

You can't be on a rural then mate, because if you stored your spare under the back of the van you would have a hell of a job to get it out because it would be caked in mud and s**t

[IcanthelpthewayIam]

The spare wheel has a storage area under the back of the van but so many of them just get lumped in the back of the vans, it gets right on my nerves and clearly is a health safety issue, who is responsible for putting them away under the back of the vans?

Have asked my Lino and he was gonna look i to it and find out but still waiting...


Thanks in advance.

what is the clear health and safety issue about storing a spare wheel in the back of the van?

[spen]

All spare wheels are taken off ours vans to stop us changing the wheel ourselves

[97gaz]

5

[IcanthelpthewayIam]

Myself and a couple of other staff have been trained to change wheels. We have to have cones and warning signs out etc. However they won't let us use trolley jacks or torque wrenches as we're not trained to use them. It really makes a mockery of the health and safety aspect since I'm sure that using the crappy vehicle jacks constantly is much more dangerous than a trolley jack.

Sorry, but I'm changing a wheel if I get a puncture. I am RM trained to change them but I'd change it if I wasn't.

Change it anyway? that would be a mockery on the health and safety aspect on your part

We were also told that it had to go to the workshop or call in the RAC to check the torque. I've made the fleet management aware that we are doing neither. We don't have the time to send a member of staff 50 miles to check and there'll be hell to pay if we spend £100 a time for the RAC to check it. Ball's in their court but it looks like they're ignoring it.

Balls in your court as well, everyone is responsible for health and safety

we had a lad lose a wheel a couple of years ago after forgetting to tighten the wheel nuts after a change.

So the reason why your not following a health and safety instruction is that you dont think its worth the time or money to do so, has that instruction not to do so came from a manager or someone higher up the chain than yourself?

So, you know the correct procedure thats been put in place, not only that there has also been an accident in your area whilst not following these procedure which you are completely aware of, you are wilfully choosing to ignore them and in your own words due to the time involved and cost involved to follow them, neither of which should matter to an ordinary postie and in fact to the people that do matter have decided that these costs and time are acceptable hence the rules, that would be a pretty short corporate manslaughter case and it wouldnt just be RM management in the dock for that one

[UnhappyGremlin]

Sorry, but I'm changing a wheel if I get a puncture. I am RM trained to change them but I'd change it if I wasn't. In my opinion everyone in charge of a motor vehicle should be able to change a wheel. I would refuse to take out a vehicle without a spare.

Taking spares out of the vans causes more problems than it solves. The RAC don't repair tyres. They take them off and then take them to the nearest tyre depot. If the original tyre is not repairable there is then no spare to put on the vehicle and no way to recover it. The tyre companies that are called to attend take way longer than the RAC and in my experience regularly don't even turn up. We had one recently who rang us three hours after the original call out to say they couldn't find that size tyre in the whole area and wouldn't therefore be turning up. A lie, because I phoned our nearest ATS who had 12 tyres that size in stock.

Regarding tyres in the back of the van. I have experienced on more than one occasion not being able to get the tyre out of the holder underneath because after a while they seize solid. I even had to call the RAC out once to get the tyre out and he had to snap the bolt to get it out.

My office is "very" deep rural mind and we get a lot of punctures.

Anyone who has had RM training to change wheels can do so.
Though, without permission, doing it at the roadside may be considered a breach of H&S/business standards, both possible dismissal offenses.
This is also the case for anyone who has not had training.

I don't change tyres for this reason.

[Jpro747]

You can't be on a rural then mate, because if you stored your spare under the back of the van you would have a hell of a job to get it out because it would be caked in mud and s**t

Yeah i found that out the hard way

[GRS]

It's pathetic that grown adults aren't allowed to change a wheel. Why they don't just train everybody (not that most need it) in team brief instead of having to watch noddy staff and managers on a tv show that relates jack s**t to the job.

[ganda]

Modern wheels need to be torqued to the correct parameters. Even people who are trained in the art have to make sure the van goes up to the garage within 24 hours to have the wheel nuts torqued up. There has to be guide lines otherwise someone who thinks they can change a wheel but in reality makes a hash of it, can cause a serious accident. Changing a wheel without the proper training can be classed as deliberate disregard for H&S procedures and that is classed as gross misconduct. That is a sacking offence.

[97gaz]

f

[IcanthelpthewayIam]

Myself and a couple of other staff have been trained to change wheels. We have to have cones and warning signs out etc. However they won't let us use trolley jacks or torque wrenches as we're not trained to use them. It really makes a mockery of the health and safety aspect since I'm sure that using the crappy vehicle jacks constantly is much more dangerous than a trolley jack.

Sorry, but I'm changing a wheel if I get a puncture. I am RM trained to change them but I'd change it if I wasn't.

Change it anyway? that would be a mockery on the health and safety aspect on your part

We were also told that it had to go to the workshop or call in the RAC to check the torque. I've made the fleet management aware that we are doing neither. We don't have the time to send a member of staff 50 miles to check and there'll be hell to pay if we spend £100 a time for the RAC to check it. Ball's in their court but it looks like they're ignoring it.

Balls in your court as well, everyone is responsible for health and safety

we had a lad lose a wheel a couple of years ago after forgetting to tighten the wheel nuts after a change.

So the reason why your not following a health and safety instruction is that you dont think its worth the time or money to do so, has that instruction not to do so came from a manager or someone higher up the chain than yourself?

So, you know the correct procedure thats been put in place, not only that there has also been an accident in your area whilst not following these procedure which you are completely aware of, you are wilfully choosing to ignore them and in your own words due to the time involved and cost involved to follow them, neither of which should matter to an ordinary postie and in fact to the people that do matter have decided that these costs and time are acceptable hence the rules, that would be a pretty short corporate manslaughter case and it wouldnt just be RM management in the dock for that one

Seriously, you need to get yourself a hobby.

So should you, you might need one if you continue to blatantly disregard health and safety you may find yourself out of a job

[jetblack]

Myself and a couple of other staff have been trained to change wheels. We have to have cones and warning signs out etc. However they won't let us use trolley jacks or torque wrenches as we're not trained to use them. It really makes a mockery of the health and safety aspect since I'm sure that using the crappy vehicle jacks constantly is much more dangerous than a trolley jack.

Sorry, but I'm changing a wheel if I get a puncture. I am RM trained to change them but I'd change it if I wasn't.

Change it anyway? that would be a mockery on the health and safety aspect on your part

We were also told that it had to go to the workshop or call in the RAC to check the torque. I've made the fleet management aware that we are doing neither. We don't have the time to send a member of staff 50 miles to check and there'll be hell to pay if we spend £100 a time for the RAC to check it. Ball's in their court but it looks like they're ignoring it.

Balls in your court as well, everyone is responsible for health and safety

we had a lad lose a wheel a couple of years ago after forgetting to tighten the wheel nuts after a change.

So the reason why your not following a health and safety instruction is that you dont think its worth the time or money to do so, has that instruction not to do so came from a manager or someone higher up the chain than yourself?

So, you know the correct procedure thats been put in place, not only that there has also been an accident in your area whilst not following these procedure which you are completely aware of, you are wilfully choosing to ignore them and in your own words due to the time involved and cost involved to follow them, neither of which should matter to an ordinary postie and in fact to the people that do matter have decided that these costs and time are acceptable hence the rules, that would be a pretty short corporate manslaughter case and it wouldnt just be RM management in the dock for that one

Seriously, you need to get yourself a hobby.

So should you, you might need one if you continue to blatantly disregard health and safety you may find yourself out of a job

You have more chance of dying from being struck by a bolt of lightning whilst banging the Queen than dying from a poorly torqued wheel nut causing an accident in a RM vehicle.

Prove me wrong.

[ganda]

it's not about proving anyone wrong, thats the way it is, deliberate disregard for H&S protocols is deemed gross misconduct, the balls in your court.....

[priority102]

Even a trained person is only authorised to change wheels when the van is in the Royal Mail yard - you are NOT authorised to change them when out on the round at any time - RAC only. The yard will have already been risk assessed so that when you change a wheel it can only be done in a specific space. If you really think that risking your job, family income and everything else that goes with losing your job is worth it for the sake of saving a bit of time on a one off basis then you are absolutely daft. Even if you DO change a wheel in the yard you must take the van to the workshop within 60 miles or one week to have the nuts torqued - only then is the H&S procedure fully complied with. They are their vans, and they say what happens to them, nout we can do about that!