Door to Door – Delivery Method Change Trial & TOR 

Door to Door – Delivery Method Change Trial & TOR 

Further to LTB’s 531/15 and 560/15 we have been in ongoing discussions with Royal Mail regarding D2D, looking at ways to expand the product including revised ways of working and delivering the items. We have now modelled some different scenarios/methods and agreed that 3 of them will be trialled, of which 2 are CWU proposals.

 

The trial will initially commence in 2 Delivery Offices, Bath DO and Troon DO. We are still attempting to agree a third Delivery Office and this will be notified as soon as possible.

 

The postcodes have been chosen due to their above average levels of D2D. The intention of the trial is to identify a viable method to reduce the overall costs of the product which will enable Royal Mail to compete for more contracts, increasing volume/workload and revenue. The CWU proposals also provide more scope for ‘Bespoke’ contracts and growth in this particular area which is becoming more popular.

 

The following adjustments to the current delivery method describe the methods that will be trialled to determine an alternative delivery method to reduce the number of unaddressed ‘Cold Calls’ while remaining simple to operate, easy to control, within the current D2D Product Specification and producing good QofS results.

 

1. 16.7% (1/6th) Collate, Prep and Deliver Warm calls each day Monday to Saturday. Roll over pending calls remainder of the week until Saturday. (Troon)

 

2. 100% Collate, Prep and Deliver Warm calls Monday, Roll over pending calls remainder of the week until Saturday. (Pending)

 

3. 20% Collate, Prep and Deliver Warm calls Monday, 80% Collate, Prep and Deliver Warm calls Tuesday, roll over pending calls remainder of the week until Saturday.(Bath)

 

Note: There are several variations to the above that can be adopted to enhance flexibility in delivering new bespoke items and this will form part of the National discussions.

 

Alternative Control Methods will also be tested during the trial:

 

1. Pending D2D items (those left for delivery on a following day) left in the frame

 

2. Pending items not placed in the frame, but instead the DP noted on a sheet    

 

Both methods will be studied/measured by Industrial Engineers to establish time taken. Work aids will be produced for each delivery, detailing time required for each method.

 
COMMUNICATION WORKERS UNION 

URGENT INFORMATION FOR MEMBERS

 

 

 

 

Further discussions have also addressed our concerns regarding the complexity of the method for recording the delivery points that have not been delivered using the warm call method and with regard to this the trial will commence with a small number of routes in each site rather than the whole unit. This will allow both parties to fully understand the work involved, how people take to the change in methods, allows time to take in their views and see how managers are able to manage this. It should also help protect both the product and wider QofS by having a limited number of routes affected in the first phase.

 

It is anticipated that the trial and data gathering exercise will take approximately 6 weeks;  

 

The trial will commence on 21st September 2015 and will conclude on 31st October 2015. However during this period consideration will be given to extending the trial period if enough data/information is not available.

 

The trial will be jointly reviewed at the end of the agreed timescales (31st October 2015) to determine the viability of the alternative methods taking into account any H&S implications.

 

Consideration will also be given to extending the trial to other sites including the potential implications of changing current methods. The review will also discuss and consider any changes required going forward to support growth and employee reward.

 

In addition to the trial discussions have also taken place on the subject of the D2D product and the need to put more focus and activity into this area, and a meeting is being arranged with Market Reach and product managers to discuss this in more detail. The intention here is to re establish a National D2D Forum.

 

Some communications material has been produced that will be shared in due course to take CWU input, so that we can jointly position the work we are doing on D2D as a product and seek input from employees in the units.

 

A separate initiative will be jointly undertaken to understand and identify the declining volumes that some geographical locations are experiencing. This will be done by asking volunteers in those locations to count or collect the D2D items they receive so that the numbers can be recorded and investigate if they are new contracts or contracts previously handled by Royal Mail.

 

Whilst we have now agreed a trial and a number of methods to be trialled we would still like to identify any other suitable alternative methods being used in the field that deals with managing the delivery of D2D and also incorporates no ‘cold calling’. CWU representatives are therefore invited to send any alternative methods to the Outdoor Department for consideration.

 

The overall objective of this trial and our continuing engagement on this subject is to fully understand the wider unaddressed market so that we can jointly grow this product.

 Any enquiries to Bob Gibson’s Office, quoting reference 230.03

Email address: mstewart@cwu.org

                                                                                   

 

Yours Sincerely

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Bob Gibson

CWU Assistant Secretary – Outdoor

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