OMP – Terms of Reference – New Delivery Methods Trial (Small Pouch)

OMP – Terms of Reference – New Delivery Methods Trial (Small Pouch) 

Dear Colleague

 

Branches will be aware of the ongoing trial in Walsall DO and Royal Mails insistence on the use of a delivery vest to support the outdoor operation which the CWU did not agree with. As a consequence of this impasse the issue was taken to external mediation which we have now concluded, and subsequently agreed outside of the mediation that we will not pursue the Vest option but will instead trial the use of a small delivery pouch to supplement the multi bundle approach. The pouch in question is the ‘Starburst’ pouch which has an 8kg limit.

 

Discussions have continued with Royal Mail regarding the changes to existing Outdoor Delivery Methods and a Terms of Reference (attached) has now been agreed and subsequently ratified by the Postal Executive on the 2nd August 2016. However the CWU have been very clear in that we will not proceed beyond the existing 12 delivery routes until a number of issues within Walsall Do have been satisfactorily resolved. In return Royal Mail has already provided an update on the issues but this does not satisfy our requirements at this point in time although things have taken a positive and significant step forward. An action plan has been put in place and Tony Bouch PEC will be involved in the progress of this on a weekly basis, including providing the outdoor department with ongoing reports.

 

The TOR was agreed by the Postal Executive in principle and on the basis that the trial will be extended in Walsall DO when the issues are satisfactorily resolved.

 

Following deployment of the new methods trial to the 12 routes in Walsall and after taking feedback from the OPGs involved, including a jointly produced ergonomic assessment, both parties will meet to discuss the next steps which will include extending the trial to the whole delivery office utilising the existing TOR’s, and the removal of the bench merging tool.

 

Both parties also recognise that as a consequence of this trial, the removal of the indoor bench merging tool and introduction of the small delivery pouch there will be a change to the indoor merging workplan and full consultation will take place on this aspect. Also any new method will be subject to further work study/measurement and evaluation by Industrial Engineers.

 

All data/information generated will be jointly evaluated in line with the existing TOR’s and as part of the overall Walsall OMP trial evaluation.

 

Any enquiries to Bob Gibson’s Office, quoting reference 535

Email address:outdoorsecretary@cwu.org

 

Yours sincerely                                                            
Bob Gibson

CWU Assistant Secretary – Outdoor

Terms of Reference New Delivery Methods Trial
Introduction

 

The Agenda for Growth agreement and Integrated Delivery Programme commits both Royal Mail (RM) and the Communication Workers Union (CWU) to working together to positively transform business operations. Throughout the period of the BT 2010 agreement both parties worked to develop and establish improved, constructive working relationships, and effective interfaces with the aim of agreeing shared objectives to take the business forward and at the same time protecting jobs and terms and conditions at all levels within Royal Mail.

 

Both parties reaffirm a commitment to ensure that our operations are efficient, fair and manageable and meet the needs of the internal and external markets, employees and provide a platform for new products and services consistent with our growth agenda.

 

New Delivery Methods will be included in the outputs from the Optimised Mail Preparation (OMP) Project. The third strand of activity from this project is concerned with the delivery of mail outdoor using a multi-bundle approach. National Joint Terms of Reference agreed with the CWU in January 2016 govern this new delivery method trial and it has been active on twelve delivery routes in Brownhills, a small section within Walsall Delivery Office in the West Midlands.

 

The multi-bundle approach is being tested to determine if it can provide a more efficient means to deliver mail. A decline in letter volumes and the impact of increased automation is having an impact on the current delivery model and alternative outdoor methods need to be considered.

 

Royal Mail continues to face many challenges and to secure a joint vision for long term profitable growth and job security Royal Mail and the CWU must develop a joint vision for the future of delivery. We need practical solutions that support the growth agenda and these need to consider what is efficient, sensible, useful and safe. In addition we need to demonstrate how the operational pipeline is one operation that is designed to support the delivery operation, and as part of this trial we will still need to consider indoor methods that support the outdoor methods and the use of a pouch in a safe and effective way.

 

Trial of the Small Delivery Pouch, Electric Trolleys and Trolley Pouch

 

Royal Mail and the CWU are jointly developing, testing and measuring the effectiveness of an appropriate range of delivery methods and equipment for outdoor delivery at Walsall. The initial findings from the multi-bundle delivery approach under test indicate that the use of a small pouch may be beneficial and hence it should be included as part of the evaluation. Specifically the following reasons have been highlighted as potential benefits worth exploring further:-

 

• Delivery of larger quantities of Door-to-Door Mail (especially 4 or more)

• Collated and manual streamed Door-to-Door that has not been prepared by automation

• Delivery Points (DPs) that are not easily serviced using the standard delivery equipment such as blocks of flats and apartments, trading estates and small rural clusters

• Delivery of mail on low volume days where the carried weight does not exceed 8kg (Starburst pouch limit) and does not present any risk to personal health and well-being or safe delivery.

 

When compared to current equipment the small pouch, trolley pouch or electric trolley may improve the ease of delivery for safety, quality and efficiency as follows:-
Safety & Ergonomics
• Allows hands free movement

• Balanced/distributed weight on waist not shoulders

• May reduce reading whilst walking but needs to be tested

Quality:

• Clear line of sight of mail streams at the door step

• Segregated Streams

• Mail stream protected from the elements

• Storage of 739 cards

Organisation:

• Storage of delivery tools such as PDA and pen, can be included in the pouch

Efficiency:

• The small pouch may be more effective for small number of Delivery Points.

• Ability to pick Door-to-door items with minimum movement at the point of delivery – less twisting, turning and bending.

 

Small Delivery Pouch

 

• The small delivery pouch, trolley pouch and electric trolley will initially be included in the current testing of the twelve routes in Brownhills.

 

• Reducing weight on the shoulder will continue to be a key factor.

• The small delivery pouch will not contain a significant amount of weight by design and will be subject to a full ergonomic study and comprehensive feedback from delivery colleagues involved in the trial.

• The small delivery pouch should be tested by delivery colleagues of different height and stature to see the impact on posture backed up with an ergonomic assessment.

• Mail integrity and the security of our delivery colleagues are critical issues. The trial would be designed to include the evaluation of these factors to ensure both are at least neutral and wherever possible that they are improved.

• The small delivery pouch would need to be tested to observe the behaviour of our Delivery Colleagues to know if new safety hazards are introduced.

• In addition to delivering to different styles of letterboxes, due to the recent changes linked to Postbox Strategy and Collections performed on Delivery at the time the individual passes the Postbox the pouch would need to be tested to observe how it may interact with a Collection on Delivery. Again it needs to be included in the testing specification to fully understand the impact using ergonomic expertise and other subject matter experts and feedback from Delivery Colleagues involved in the trial. 

• The pouch would need to be tested in poor weather conditions to determine if the mail is more exposed to the elements in such a way that it will lead to a reduction in quality of service and an increase in customer complaints.

• The current discussions regarding D2D and the future strategy will need to be factored into these deliberations.

Next Steps / Review

 

Following deployment of the trial and after taking feedback from the OPGs involved, including a jointly produced ergonomic assessment, both parties will meet to discuss the next steps which will include extending the trial to the whole delivery office, utilising the existing TOR’s, and as an alternative approach to support the indoor methods trial and the removal of the indoor bench merging tool. As a consequence it is jointly envisaged that the removal of the indoor bench merging tool and introduction of the small delivery pouch will change the indoor merging workplan and to support any subsequent transition feedback will be taken from OPGs to establish the best method which will be subject to further work study/measurement and evaluation by Industrial Engineers. All data/information generated will be jointly evaluated in line with the existing TOR’s and as part of the overall Walsall trial evaluation.

 
 

 

         

Signed……………………………….. Signed ……………………………….          

Anton Harding – Royal Mail Bob Gibson – CWU​​                      

 

 
18th July 2016