Update on the USO Pilot Units bulletin 1

[Sean06]

We are a pilot office and one of the problems we are seeing is the mail centre mixing first class in with the second, even in a tray clearly marked second class, resulting in us having to check each tray manually - we also see this regularly in a tray full of missorts...

Mistakes will always happen..missorts will always happen unfortunately.

[SpacePhoenix]

We are a pilot office and one of the problems we are seeing is the mail centre mixing first class in with the second, even in a tray clearly marked second class, resulting in us having to check each tray manually - we also see this regularly in a tray full of missorts...

Has it been sorted by machine?

There doesn't seem to be any consensus as to if the non-Tracked/SD foreign items are meant to be classed as 1C or 2C.

[jbo5066]

I presume so, but as I don't work in a mc ....

[SpacePhoenix]

I presume so, but as I don't work in a mc ....

What is the main colour of the label? We don't have a flat sorting machine, but if they stick with the same colour scheme as letter sorting machines then the main colour of the label will be yellow.

[GRS]

The pipe line has to change otherwise the new method will not work. The days of everything being deliveries problem are well and truly over.

Apart from the 1C and 2C being in separate trays, there are NO changes to the pipeline.

Even if it's too hard for the work shy in the MC's to put the trays in to separate Yorks, is it really that hard to put two completely different colours on the tray labels?

Having two sets of yorks will never happen, it takes up too much space both on the floor and in the lorries. Having white labels with green stripes was the standard years ago back when 1st and 2nd used to be in separate trays, there's no reason why it can't be used now.

Too right, I fully understand the reason for the dts system but I know for a fact that quite a high proportion of the addresses that get bombarded with letters always on a Friday or Saturday have had mail or parcels most days previously so I suspect it's flawed in that it's not communicating with anything that isn't coming in the sequence trays, maybe that will change, maybe under the new owner they'll put a stop to it possibly by increasing prices as it's obviously a product they don't really want as it requires lots more staff

Where an item has a 2D barcode with the address encoded into it, I suspect that eventually that data will feed into the DTS system. The algorithm that generates the DTS data that the CSS machines use gets run at 22:00, they've improved the efficiency of it so our machines now get the data earlier, enabling us to start the machines earlier. If RM ever manage to get all parcels to have 2D barcodes with the delivery address encoded into them then the % of mail deferred by the DTS will change.

The reason that the places get hit with loads of mail on a Friday or Saturday is that mail has hit the 5 day limit and any other letters for them addresses automatically gets released as well.

But the last paragraph doesn’t make sense. How come the 5 day limit is always reached on those days? (Always Saturday at ours and neighbouring offices). Are we saying that every 2C letter is posted on Tuesday!!!!! Seems pretty unrealistic to me. If it was being held properly for 5 days then to be honest you wouldn’t be getting it in one lump as stuff is posted every day of the week thus delivery of it would be equally spread out.
IMO it seems that mail is being held - but FOR UP to 5 days. If Saturday falls before the time period is up it goes out regardless. Again it seems it’s done to demoralise the troops at the coalface.
If you’re on Delivery and you have a long hard week whether it be because of cold and wet weather or boiling hot weather or you’ve come back from A/L or day off to a full frame etc etc the last thing you want on the shortest and last day of the week is double the mail you’ve been receiving on any other day, week in week out.

[SpacePhoenix]

There's at least two types of DSA, one of them is DSA Economy.

Our busiest day on the CSS machines is normally Wednesday.

[Barnacle]

MCs feeding pilot offices were meant to cease holding back mail for the duration of the pilot.

Think we can add that to the list of things that are not what was sold by the pilot salesmen.

[SpacePhoenix]

MCs feeding pilot offices were meant to cease holding back mail for the duration of the pilot.

Think we can add that to the list of things that are not what was sold by the pilot salesmen.

The DTS was never going to be turned off. We have to get permission from higher up the food chain to ever turn the DTS off and that'll only be for something like corrupted DTS data coming through. If they were to cease holding back mail it would give false data for the pilot.

[TopperGas]

The pipe line has to change otherwise the new method will not work. The days of everything being deliveries problem are well and truly over.

Apart from the 1C and 2C being in separate trays, there are NO changes to the pipeline.

Even if it's too hard for the work shy in the MC's to put the trays in to separate Yorks, is it really that hard to put two completely different colours on the tray labels?

Having two sets of yorks will never happen, it takes up too much space both on the floor and in the lorries. Having white labels with green stripes was the standard years ago back when 1st and 2nd used to be in separate trays, there's no reason why it can't be used now.

Too right, I fully understand the reason for the dts system but I know for a fact that quite a high proportion of the addresses that get bombarded with letters always on a Friday or Saturday have had mail or parcels most days previously so I suspect it's flawed in that it's not communicating with anything that isn't coming in the sequence trays, maybe that will change, maybe under the new owner they'll put a stop to it possibly by increasing prices as it's obviously a product they don't really want as it requires lots more staff

Where an item has a 2D barcode with the address encoded into it, I suspect that eventually that data will feed into the DTS system. The algorithm that generates the DTS data that the CSS machines use gets run at 22:00, they've improved the efficiency of it so our machines now get the data earlier, enabling us to start the machines earlier. If RM ever manage to get all parcels to have 2D barcodes with the delivery address encoded into them then the % of mail deferred by the DTS will change.

The reason that the places get hit with loads of mail on a Friday or Saturday is that mail has hit the 5 day limit and any other letters for them addresses automatically gets released as well.

But the last paragraph doesn’t make sense. How come the 5 day limit is always reached on those days? (Always Saturday at ours and neighbouring offices). Are we saying that every 2C letter is posted on Tuesday!!!!! Seems pretty unrealistic to me. If it was being held properly for 5 days then to be honest you wouldn’t be getting it in one lump as stuff is posted every day of the week thus delivery of it would be equally spread out.
IMO it seems that mail is being held - but FOR UP to 5 days. If Saturday falls before the time period is up it goes out regardless. Again it seems it’s done to demoralise the troops at the coalface.
If you’re on Delivery and you have a long hard week whether it be because of cold and wet weather or boiling hot weather or you’ve come back from A/L or day off to a full frame etc etc the last thing you want on the shortest and last day of the week is double the mail you’ve been receiving on any other day, week in week out.

Does every week start on a Monday so day 5 is always Friday/Saturday rather than use a rolling week?

[SpacePhoenix]

Does every week start on a Monday so day 5 is always Friday/Saturday rather than use a rolling week?

It's from when it enters the system (passes through a IMP or iLSM for the first time). Don't know if it takes into account that Sundays no letters are delivered, so it could be releasing the mail to keep it within spec, if the 5 day limit would mean that technically the mail would be due for delivery on Sunday.

[Trumanity]

The pipe line has to change otherwise the new method will not work. The days of everything being deliveries problem are well and truly over.

Apart from the 1C and 2C being in separate trays, there are NO changes to the pipeline.

Even if it's too hard for the work shy in the MC's to put the trays in to separate Yorks, is it really that hard to put two completely different colours on the tray labels?

Having two sets of yorks will never happen, it takes up too much space both on the floor and in the lorries. Having white labels with green stripes was the standard years ago back when 1st and 2nd used to be in separate trays, there's no reason why it can't be used now.

Too right, I fully understand the reason for the dts system but I know for a fact that quite a high proportion of the addresses that get bombarded with letters always on a Friday or Saturday have had mail or parcels most days previously so I suspect it's flawed in that it's not communicating with anything that isn't coming in the sequence trays, maybe that will change, maybe under the new owner they'll put a stop to it possibly by increasing prices as it's obviously a product they don't really want as it requires lots more staff
[/qu

Where an item has a 2D barcode with the address encoded into it, I suspect that eventually that data will feed into the DTS system. The algorithm that generates the DTS data that the CSS machines use gets run at 22:00, they've improved the efficiency of it so our machines now get the data earlier, enabling us to start the machines earlier. If RM ever manage to get all parcels to have 2D barcodes with the delivery address encoded into them then the % of mail deferred by the DTS will change.

The reason that the places get hit with loads of mail on a Friday or Saturday is that mail has hit the 5 day limit and any other letters for them addresses automatically gets released as well.

But the last paragraph doesn’t make sense. How come the 5 day limit is always reached on those days? (Always Saturday at ours and neighbouring offices). Are we saying that every 2C letter is posted on Tuesday!!!!! Seems pretty unrealistic to me. If it was being held properly for 5 days then to be honest you wouldn’t be getting it in one lump as stuff is posted every day of the week thus delivery of it would be equally spread out.
IMO it seems that mail is being held - but FOR UP to 5 days. If Saturday falls before the time period is up it goes out regardless. Again it seems it’s done to demoralise the troops at the coalface.
If you’re on Delivery and you have a long hard week whether it be because of cold and wet weather or boiling hot weather or you’ve come back from A/L or day off to a full frame etc etc the last thing you want on the shortest and last day of the week is double the mail you’ve been receiving on any other day, week in week out.

Does every week start on a Monday so day 5 is always Friday/Saturday rather than use a rolling week?

get a life

[postslippete]

Duties put back in.
Agency workers being utilised.
Overtime available for cut offs.
Staff brought in from other offices.
Night shift staff brought in.
Postie jobs being advertised.
Plenty of savings then LOL.

Spot on. This isn't reform but a disorganised cycle of cutting corners, firefighting and then spending more to plaster over the cracks to show that these pilots "work". And what it often leads to apart from poor service is more fatigue and lower morale.

[Londonsburning]

Duties put back in.
Agency workers being utilised.
Overtime available for cut offs.
Staff brought in from other offices.
Night shift staff brought in.
Postie jobs being advertised.
Plenty of savings then LOL.

Spot on. This isn't reform but a disorganised cycle of cutting corners, firefighting and then spending more to plaster over the cracks to show that these pilots "work". And what it often leads to apart from poor service is more fatigue and lower morale.

It's using short term unskilled minimum wage labour for a short term profit. Until the assets are sold off. Then big profit and kicking the public service/UK jobs/UK taxation off the edge of a cliff is the name of the game.

[mr hil.]

But the last paragraph doesn’t make sense. How come the 5 day limit is always reached on those days? (Always Saturday at ours and neighbouring offices). Are we saying that every 2C letter is posted on Tuesday!!!!! Seems pretty unrealistic to me. If it was being held properly for 5 days then to be honest you wouldn’t be getting it in one lump as stuff is posted every day of the week thus delivery of it would be equally spread out.
IMO it seems that mail is being held - but FOR UP to 5 days. If Saturday falls before the time period is up it goes out regardless. Again it seems it’s done to demoralise the troops at the coalface.
If you’re on Delivery and you have a long hard week whether it be because of cold and wet weather or boiling hot weather or you’ve come back from A/L or day off to a full frame etc etc the last thing you want on the shortest and last day of the week is double the mail you’ve been receiving on any other day, week in week out.

The answer is that as soon as any letter hits the five day limit ALL held mail regardless of how many days held already for that address is released and the five day count begins again, don't forget that the held mail for each address is released as soon as a first class letter or five days is reached

[yellowbelly]

But the last paragraph doesn’t make sense. How come the 5 day limit is always reached on those days? (Always Saturday at ours and neighbouring offices). Are we saying that every 2C letter is posted on Tuesday!!!!! Seems pretty unrealistic to me. If it was being held properly for 5 days then to be honest you wouldn’t be getting it in one lump as stuff is posted every day of the week thus delivery of it would be equally spread out.
IMO it seems that mail is being held - but FOR UP to 5 days. If Saturday falls before the time period is up it goes out regardless. Again it seems it’s done to demoralise the troops at the coalface.
If you’re on Delivery and you have a long hard week whether it be because of cold and wet weather or boiling hot weather or you’ve come back from A/L or day off to a full frame etc etc the last thing you want on the shortest and last day of the week is double the mail you’ve been receiving on any other day, week in week out.

The answer is that as soon as any letter hits the five day limit ALL held mail regardless of how many days held already for that address is released and the five day count begins again, don't forget that the held mail for each address is released as soon as a first class letter or five days is reached

I get that bit, but I think someone else also mentioned it that you can definitely get a 'flat' - lets say Radio Times or some such other magazine that obviously doesn't come through in the sequenced and you deliver that on the Thursday for example but then you still get hit with the held five day day stuff on a Saturday.

I realise that the magazine is probably not first class either, but if it's been pushed through the system to deliver why not release the held DTS stuff too?

The reason I assume is that the DTS and flats sorting systems are not digitally connected (someone in MC processing will know but it's all acronyms to me) at this time.