PDAS ACTUALS

postslippete · Post by **postslippete** » 20 Jun 2018, 17:10

Honestly,I can't see PDA actuals doing anything that will be FAIR to all its employees. Here is one example. You get a fast postie (postie A) who whizzes round and makes up an hour everyday because the PDA says they can. So you give them another loop to do to make up their hours everyday from the slow, lazy postie (postie B) who already has a cushy round. Where would the fairness be in postie A possibly doing 8 loops everyday whilst postie B takes only 6?? Where would the fairness also be in someone who has to do their duty on the fast posties day/week off?

Here is another example. According to PDA actuals, 10 posties are regularly finishing before their time in of a section of 18 staff, therefore there is apparent scope to lapse. So a duty gets lapsed and 14 posties take out their lapse, but 4 don't/refuse. Who's willing to do the other 4?? Would that be the managers responsibility - because as far as they are concerned all they want to do is get the duty covered regardless. 2 posties are willing to take the extra on overtime and still end up finishing within their hours. Manager is not bothered whether they have worked past their usual hours doing the overtime OR whether they have done it within their usual hours. How will ghost overtime ever be eradicated??

Another example. Postie finishes early but there is still work to do which other posties have left. The manager tries to send the runners back out again with this extra work to work their hours, but the posties decide to just potter about and maybe deliver half a bundle if that, and bring the rest back to the office. I have witnessed this happen at least twice and managers have been left red faced because they are out there now delivering on the streets when everyone else has finished.

All I'm saying is that I don't believe that PDA actuals nor AHDC is the answer to everything. Its a tool, and we got plenty of managers in the Royal Mail who are already tools to the job.

number one · Post by **number one** » 20 Jun 2018, 17:17

All PDA actuals will do is make people slower and do the bare minimum they can do. All RM is interested in is hours, not what you do in thouse hours. Lets stick it to them.

A2B · Post by **A2B** » 20 Jun 2018, 18:12

number one wrote:

You do realise that the data will only be available the following day? How will he know when yoj have taken your break on the day? He will only be able to tell you the previous days.

Are you sure about this? I thought the old PDA could be tracked live by an app (Blackbay ?) so while the PDA Actuals print out won't be available till the following day it doesn't mean you can't be tracked live. Also been told that once the delivery slot option for the customer is up and running everybody will have to have 20min break before they leave the office

Celgar · Post by **Celgar** » 20 Jun 2018, 18:29

Tomolo208 wrote:A few points on this:

"Some people are still finishing early" - good, the whole point of this procedure is that the company becomes more efficient and reduces the working week, for everyone, to 37hrs over two years. If people wise up and start intentionally going slower then surprise surprise we won't be getting our hourly pay increases.

"Our manager is letting x people get away with finishing an hour early" - This is also a good thing. This year PDA actuals need to show progress to achieve our 38hr reduction. But if the manager goes after ALL hours this year, it leaves no scope for improvement next year to achieve our 37hr reduction (also securing an agreement to further reductions towards 35hr FT agreement)
They are getting away with it now, but when there is nowhere else to save then I assure you it will be looked at to achieve targets.

Ghost overtime. This is an issue with the way the company was previously structured. It will be corrected when staff have to sign in and out digitally. You'll see that in the future, when workloads have been corrected, there will be little overtime on offer. A properly managed unit creates a hungry workforce for overtime, as part time contracts are hard to get by on without the top ups of regular overtime. Currently there are part timers prepping jobs, this has a very limited lifespan as the PDA actuals will take this prep off the part timers and onto the full timers finishing early. The conversations will go like this " PDA says you finish 40 mins early, would you like 40 mins of outdoor delivery or 40 mins of indoor prep". Nobody will take the outdoor.

PDA actuals are a good thing. They will back up your grievances for unachievable workloads. It works both ways, the manager can say "why haven't you taken your lapsing"? You can point to the screen which shows you haven't taken the mick. Or he can send you back out with it if you say you haven't taken a break and don't have time, he will point to where and when you took your break.

If we can get a 35hr week it'll mean a really, really good hourly wage. They'll make you work harder for it, but for 4 hours less of your time.

I still find it difficult to get my head around the motive for the SWW to be honest. There will likely be the same amount of work if not more over time but they want it done in less time. Our DOM has been told from higher up that if there isn't enough time to get the job done due to hours lost on the SWW then more hours will be added to the office budget to compensate. We all know RM love to get the job done on the cheap and the large contingent of part time Postie's never seem to have enough paid hours to get the job done. There is an extreme reluctance to update Postie's from part time to full time status even when that is often required. There are some reports of DOMs sending staff to other offices to enable lapsing to happen which if true is crazy and is another indication of not enough Postie's being employed or being updated to full time status. I think the data from PDA actuals can be used to fix problems. Whether they will fix problems that will result in increased costs remains to be seen.

number one · Post by **number one** » 20 Jun 2018, 18:46

A2B wrote:
number one wrote:

You do realise that the data will only be available the following day? How will he know when yoj have taken your break on the day? He will only be able to tell you the previous days.

Are you sure about this? I thought the old PDA could be tracked live by an app (Blackbay ?) so while the PDA Actuals print out won't be available till the following day it doesn't mean you can't be tracked live. Also been told that once the delivery slot option for the customer is up and running everybody will have to have 20min break before they leave the office

Yes I am sure.

Celgar · Post by **Celgar** » 20 Jun 2018, 18:46

A2B wrote:
number one wrote:

You do realise that the data will only be available the following day? How will he know when yoj have taken your break on the day? He will only be able to tell you the previous days.

Are you sure about this? I thought the old PDA could be tracked live by an app (Blackbay ?) so while the PDA Actuals print out won't be available till the following day it doesn't mean you can't be tracked live. Also been told that once the delivery slot option for the customer is up and running everybody will have to have 20min break before they leave the office

The data likely won't be acted on daily. It will instead be collated over a period of time to get a clearer picture of what is happening in 'inefficiently run' DOs. I expect offices will still differ as to how and when they take their break times. There is still a reluctance by Postie's to take their break times for various reasons. Maybe it is a good idea to enforce break times to make sure that paid duty time is matched to how long it takes to deliver walks.

Post by **IloveMYredTROLLEY!** » 20 Jun 2018, 19:15

While those cutting corners might be "making time" in the lighter months, those same OPGs will save a mountain of overtime and/or cut-offs during heavier periods, if they are allowed to the continue what they have been doing for years.

If suddenly those "making time" start being sent back out with more work, not only will they slow down now in the summer, but they will cause chaos with office budgets going through the roof near Xmas by wanting masses of overtime to complete and/or cutting off what they cannot do by doing the job "more properly."

Besides not using meal relief, many duties can "make" approximately 20-60mins (depending on how busy day is) by not using LWTs/HCTs correctly; not standing still to get mail for next address from working bundle etc.

PDA actual figures for when England (or other teams you like to watch) are due to play near contract finish times over the next few weeks will make good reading!

Phantom · Post by **Phantom** » 20 Jun 2018, 20:48

Just need the final piece of the puzzle to be allocated ie: electronic clocking in and out and the job will be spot on for people doing it right. Do it wrong and you'll be f****d!

Seymour Buts · Post by **Seymour Buts** » 20 Jun 2018, 20:57

I fail to see how this is gonna make much difference to be honest. So, there's one duty regularly going over and one duty done an hour early; easy then, early guys take work off late guys. Seems simple but we all know exactly how that's gonna go: the very first day the early guys take the additional they're gonna be late, then they're gonna turn round the next day and say stick that boss we ain't got time. Where do you go from there?

Post by **TrueBlueTerrier** » 21 Jun 2018, 13:59

Celgar wrote: I still find it difficult to get my head around the motive for the SWW to be honest.

In simple terms, the Union are trying to agree a phased drawdown where we will be doing the current 40 hours work (as it was before the drop to 39) within the eventual 35 hours we will have. They and RM believe (I don't) that this can be done entirely by improving efficiency.

My honest opinion if we didn't have a plan to go down to 35 hours Royal Mail would be planning on the efficiency savings meaning eventually we would have been working 40 hours but doing the current work load equivalent of 50 hours.

Seymour Buts · Post by **Seymour Buts** » 21 Jun 2018, 14:49

TrueBlueTerrier wrote:
Celgar wrote: I still find it difficult to get my head around the motive for the SWW to be honest.
In simple terms, the Union are trying to agree a phased drawdown where we will be doing the current 40 hours work (as it was before the drop to 39) within the eventual 35 hours we will have. They and RM believe (I don't) that this can be done entirely by improving efficiency.

Wasn't the reason the Union were pushing for this was to protect jobs as eventually most indoor work would be disapearing do to automation? That was always my belief.

Post by **TrueBlueTerrier** » 21 Jun 2018, 16:07

postietom wrote:
TrueBlueTerrier wrote:
Celgar wrote: I still find it difficult to get my head around the motive for the SWW to be honest.
In simple terms, the Union are trying to agree a phased drawdown where we will be doing the current 40 hours work (as it was before the drop to 39) within the eventual 35 hours we will have. They and RM believe (I don't) that this can be done entirely by improving efficiency.
Wasn't the reason the Union were pushing for this was to protect jobs as eventually most indoor work would be disapearing do to automation? That was always my belief.

Yes. We've said the same thing albeit in a different way.

More efficiency indoors means more time to do work outdoors.

Post by **rambo1** » 24 Jun 2018, 19:12

panch1989 wrote:
LaggyBand wrote:Got the brief today that actuals are in, half of you are making time, job and knock is dead (they say it’s for real this time).

Wish it was true. I seen a regular ride past me on his bike today at 12. Same as the day before and the weeks before that. Job and jack is still going for a selected few

What about ghost overtime, if they ask you in early for ips for say an hr, but you finish your duty an hr early will they not pay you your morning docket. If so, I think that's brilliant. I work my full hrs and more every day, why should someone else effectively bump up their hr rate of pay by finishing early? Management for too long have seen people claiming to get the walk finished,as the problem ones and don't see an hrs overtime to cost the business the same as someone finishing an hr early. News flash. It is!

Post by **rambo1** » 24 Jun 2018, 19:15

postietom wrote:I fail to see how this is gonna make much difference to be honest. So, there's one duty regularly going over and one duty done an hour early; easy then, early guys take work off late guys. Seems simple but we all know exactly how that's gonna go: the very first day the early guys take the additional they're gonna be late, then they're gonna turn round the next day and say stick that boss we ain't got time. Where do you go from there?

Don't you get it? You can't just start stringing it out, unless you were cutting so many corners that you can go an hr slower and still be working at acceptable standards speed. Big brother is watching from now on.

Celgar · Post by **Celgar** » 24 Jun 2018, 19:43

I think on face value there are a lot of office wide 'slowdowns' starting to happen. In actual fact it's the union reps encouraging posties to do the job 'properly' by not coming in early and taking all their break time. For too long we have been working our arses off trying to get the job done within duty hours. RM don't respect this and just dump more absorption/lapsing etc on us.