themailman wrote:I've heard a few offices having the packets sorted and loaded into van in some sort of order for part time staff coming in. But whose order? If it's 'duty' order, fair enough, but most people I know want to be in control of how much they can take out and in what order. Could very easily lead to being stitched up with unmanageable workload. how can you count/judge a van full of packets when you can't even see the bottom of the van for packets.
That’s the main issue for me, I always like to tie up myself because some of the frames are absolutely awful - there’s one round here which has you delivering to half of those boxes at the bottom of apartment blocks in the foyer, leaving the building, walking quarter of a mile, doing another street then coming back into the same apartment block and doing the other boxes which are inches from the ones you did earlier! What’s more it’s a training round so any new starter gets chucked on it and pulls it out to the frame. The planner comes in once a year and waddles around with a clipboard for a few days. I’ve no idea why a competent member of staff or line manager (!!) can’t be trained to work the computer and be given a few hours OT to sort all those stupid frame cock ups out.
But back on point, like you say it can lead to being stitched up. If you’re a PTer not familiar with the area you’re not going to work at the same rate as the duty holder who can drive to each address blindfolded!
The day is gonna come when we’re all gonna have to testify.
themailman wrote:I've heard a few offices having the packets sorted and loaded into van in some sort of order for part time staff coming in. But whose order? If it's 'duty' order, fair enough, but most people I know want to be in control of how much they can take out and in what order. Could very easily lead to being stitched up with unmanageable workload. how can you count/judge a van full of packets when you can't even see the bottom of the van for packets.
Makes you realise what a stupid bloody idea the "One Wave" proposal was, remember? All the mail was meant to arrive pre-sorted and you merely had to put it in your van! I hope whatever Whizz kid suggested that got taken around the back and given a good talking to.
Like all Wage Slaves, he had two crosses to bear: The people he worked for and the people he worked with! (Stephen Vizinczey.)
HTPostman wrote:
That’s the main issue for me, I always like to tie up myself because some of the frames are absolutely awful - there’s one round here which has you delivering to half of those boxes at the bottom of apartment blocks in the foyer, leaving the building, walking quarter of a mile, doing another street then coming back into the same apartment block and doing the other boxes which are inches from the ones you did earlier! What’s more it’s a training round so any new starter gets chucked on it and pulls it out to the frame. The planner comes in once a year and waddles around with a clipboard for a few days. I’ve no idea why a competent member of staff or line manager (!!) can’t be trained to work the computer and be given a few hours OT to sort all those stupid frame cock ups out.
I know hindsight is a wonderful thing but these sort of problems really need sorting out in any DO. You'd just got to keep nagging the Management (and it's normally left to the Reserves who only cover the Duty occasionally). I agree someone needs to be trained. We're lucky and have someone in the Office that can do it, however with the level of skill at IT most teenagers have it's not too much to ask for someone to be trained up is it?.
Unfortunately all these problems come home to roost at the most unfortunate times. Normally it's Christmas! It just goes to emphasise the incredibly low standard of Management that some Delivery Offices have to endure. The lazy buggers are sat on their arses for most of the day, I don't think it's too much to ask for them to get these sort of problems sorted?
Like all Wage Slaves, he had two crosses to bear: The people he worked for and the people he worked with! (Stephen Vizinczey.)
HTPostman wrote:
That’s the main issue for me, I always like to tie up myself because some of the frames are absolutely awful - there’s one round here which has you delivering to half of those boxes at the bottom of apartment blocks in the foyer, leaving the building, walking quarter of a mile, doing another street then coming back into the same apartment block and doing the other boxes which are inches from the ones you did earlier! What’s more it’s a training round so any new starter gets chucked on it and pulls it out to the frame. The planner comes in once a year and waddles around with a clipboard for a few days. I’ve no idea why a competent member of staff or line manager (!!) can’t be trained to work the computer and be given a few hours OT to sort all those stupid frame cock ups out.
I know hindsight is a wonderful thing but these sort of problems really need sorting out in any DO. You'd just got to keep nagging the Management (and it's normally left to the Reserves who only cover the Duty occasionally). I agree someone needs to be trained. We're lucky and have someone in the Office that can do it, however with the level of skill at IT most teenagers have it's not too much to ask for someone to be trained up is it?.
Unfortunately all these problems come home to roost at the most unfortunate times. Normally it's Christmas! It just goes to emphasise the incredibly low standard of Management that some Delivery Offices have to endure. The lazy buggers are sat on their arses for most of the day, I don't think it's too much to ask for them to get these sort of problems sorted?
Oh these things have been mentioned but nothing gets done. Like van share rounds only having 1 key, so each day it’s wasting about 20mins, that’s what, just short of £4 in wages. In a month (24 business days) that’s nearly £100 which would more than cover the cost of getting a spare key done. But the policy is not to replace a spare key when it goes missing. There’s rounds where people don’t know the codes to get into buildings, I’ve suggested the duty holder (who’s off sick) is contacted and asked then the codes for his round can be written on paper and taped to his frame. Instead we’ve had tracked parcels building up for one particular building where the buzzer doesn’t work, we don’t know the code and so no one can get access.
I sometimes think as a business we’d be better off closing just for 1 day (post coronavirus), get everyone indoors, get frames updated with everything in correct order (and clearly marked where loops are), codes printed out, send someone to timsons or wherever to get keys done. Sort all the crap out that wastes time every single day. There are so many things within the sorting office which wastes time every single day it’s unbelievable. If I was an area manager (thank god im not) looking to save money I’d be looking at the indoor systems first.
The day is gonna come when we’re all gonna have to testify.
Id be looking to get rid of the freebie that is work place coach money. Getting money for doing nothing for months on end . Thats about £2000 per ,,, coach a year , monumental amount of money wasted. Not havin a go at them , but surely it should be paid only if training someone etc.. weve 5 in our office , work out the cost to the company.
Chelseablue wrote:Id be looking to get rid of the freebie that is work place coach money. Getting money for doing nothing for months on end . Thats about £2000 per ,,, coach a year , monumental amount of money wasted. Not havin a go at them , but surely it should be paid only if training someone etc.. weve 5 in our office , work out the cost to the company.
I posted the best system to clear duties at the beginning of this whole mess.
Prep up both deliveries, deliver walk A one day, walk B the next. Sure, it'll be heavier than usual on that part of the delivery but it's way more efficient and most people could clear this way. But no RM want to carry on with other crazy ideas and most offices are a total mess.
Postie45 wrote:I posted the best system to clear duties at the beginning of this whole mess.
Prep up both deliveries, deliver walk A one day, walk B the next. Sure, it'll be heavier than usual on that part of the delivery but it's way more efficient and most people could clear this way. But no RM want to carry on with other crazy ideas and most offices are a total mess.
They are doing that already in places
If you tolerate this, then your paid break will be next
Chelseablue wrote:Id be looking to get rid of the freebie that is work place coach money. Getting money for doing nothing for months on end . Thats about £2000 per ,,, coach a year , monumental amount of money wasted. Not havin a go at them , but surely it should be paid only if training someone etc.. weve 5 in our office , work out the cost to the company.
It is bizarre isn't it and SO typical of Royal Mail... managers arguing and haggling with you over 20 minutes overtime, yet quite happy to pay £30 a week, week in week out, to people for doing nothing extra whatsoever.
Our rep is off sick so for clarification if we are currently a 2 in 6 office , so a four day week every 6 weeks, if I volunteered for a straight Mon to Friday 38 hour week I would lose that extra day off over the 6 weeks.
I did see a template schedule on the site but cant find it now.Thanks
HTPostman wrote:I had a sneak preview of what to expect. Not going to give too many specific details away so as not to identify me.
Yesterday I was on a 2 person/van share round. Obviously due to social distancing I was on the round on my own. I took EVERY packet bigger than letterbox size for both sides, all tracked including those tiny tracked parcels that will go through the letterbox and any letters that needed signing for. Plus specials, emptied boxes etc.
It’s one thing having say 100 oversized parcels then your normal mail bags in the back of the van, they can be organised in the back of the van fairly easily. When you have loose 250-300 tiny packets all stacked up and about 20 little recorded letters it’s impossible to organise them. You spend ages trying to find them in the back of the van. I eventually took 10 mins to put everything in sacks and bags based on area/street. In hindsight I should’ve done that indoors.
I like to do a parcel list so I know where they are for (I’ve a terrible memory!). You can’t do a packet list with that many parcels. I ended up putting them into bundles like you would with the mail and delivering using a bag. I still parked in the same spot you park for the loops, still walked the same loops, only difference was I was delivering packets not letters. Anything too big I delivered afterwards from the van, just like you do on park and loops.
It took 6hrs 30mins. I wasted about 5mins a loop putting everything in order (again in hindsight I should’ve prepped them into the frame and bundled up indoors). Take off that hour wasted ‘outdoor prep’ time and that’s about a 5hr 30 delivery for all packets for both sides.
If I’d have done the mail as well it would ‘only’ have added about 5mins a loop because I was still delivering tiny packets to # 1, 3, 7, 13, 15, 21...etc.
I don’t think it’s workable. Just think about it - on a normal residential park and loop I nstead of doing your 7 or 8 usual bags, you’re now expected to do the equivalent of 14/16 bags of packets - I reckon mail only accounts for 30% of what we deliver atm. So your bag might be 30% lighter, but you’re doing twice as many bags. Absolute madness!
And to think all that mail must then go a following day. It will be impossible for PTers on 5 hour days (assuming no OT allowed) to get done even if everything is prepped and loaded into the van ready for them which it won’t be. Plus most PTers don’t have their own round so can be dropped onto any round, they are clearly going to be slower.
Maybe if we ever get to normal quieter summer levels it might just be workable.
It took me nearly 3 hours to do one walk of just packets so I will be cutting off when I have to do 2 walks plus lapsing, I mean how the hell is this helping us as they say! Plus double on Monday and I finished 1 hour late so no more from me
we haven't done lapsing since all this started. we have duties not going out for days on end, even parts of our own duties not going out because quite simply there is just too many packets. we get told off the DOM to concentrate on 'specials' 'tracked' and large packets before small packets and letters, so in some cases whole duties of letters and small packets are left in. lapsing you say?
It just goes to emphasise the incredibly low standard of Management that some Delivery Offices have to endure. 
The lazy buggers are sat on their arses for most of the day, I don't think it's too much to ask for them to get these sort of problems sorted? 