USO pilots, can anyone on the trial give an honest appraisal

[Acca Dacca]

There are offices that not only clear daily - but lapse and clear daily!

[qwerty2]

There are offices that not only clear daily - but lapse and clear daily!

Yes forgot we do that as well
RM should sack their useless managers

[menditsa]

Not 3 years but the last 18 months my DO really got on top of things, no frames with mail left in every day, packets covered etc etc.
Since mid December it's gone back to a s**t show with all overtime cut.
Morning DPR drivers cut totally. Now covered by afternoon twats who dump parcels anywhere and everywhere.
Never seen so many good people now not giving a flying hoot and just working their hours and going home.

[Londonsburning]

There are offices that not only clear daily - but lapse and clear daily!

How did your DO cope without DPR drivers 2 and 3 years ago?

[Ozzvaldo]

I can't remember my DO clearing since about 2019, pre-Covid. We've had a massive recruitment and retention problem in this area for years due to local employment factors, and people just don't want to work for RM when there are higher paying and less physical jobs to be had.

Each day, several shared van duties are manned by one person and it's not uncommon to see whole duties fail entirely, including the much heralded Tracked packets/parcels. Rural duties are often failed in order to free up vans for other duties because we're often short of these essential pieces of equipment.

Most frames carry sections containing multiple days' worth of letters and it's not uncommon to see unprepped boxes of sequenced letters and flats under the bench that can't be fitted into a stuffed frame. This has been the reality in my office for years and it'll be interesting to see how USO/method changes will be implemented here. I get the impression that our Com is desperately praying that the assumed reduction in staff needed in the future will balance out the lack of numbers due to the recruitment/retention issues.

[Mr Rush]

The pilot doesn’t start until February.

Not what I'm hearing from my rep. It's live now, supposedly.

[Barnacle]

The pilot doesn’t start until February.

Not what I'm hearing from my rep. It's live now, supposedly.

Apparently so but I don’t know where? And ours has been delayed now but I don’t know why, could be because they have no idea how to implement it.

[SpacePhoenix]

I've heard, though don't know if it's true that we've got a realignment coming up. if true then we've got some major changes coming up for our work plan. It makes me think that it's going to come in anyway and the "trial" is just a box ticking exercise.

[toonshola]

I've heard, though don't know if it's true that we've got a realignment coming up. if true then we've got some major changes coming up for our work plan. It makes me think that it's going to come in anyway and the "trial" is just a box ticking exercise.

Absolutely, even if the 37 trial offices end up in flames it will still be shouted as a massive success by Rm, the union and the regulator. 0% chance these changes don’t get rolled out nationwide after this summers ofcom decision.
If it means some more Saturdays off and the chance to do a van duty every couple of weeks then I’m all for it.

[scotchy1962]

There are offices that not only clear daily - but lapse and clear daily!

While that all sounds like some sort of postperson utopia the question must be asked, are these offices clearing without going over there time?
If not then how can they be classed as clearing, o/t is not compulsory and if they are clearing by going over then it really shouldn't count.
The idea of this trial should be to be able to clear without going over and not to make it unmanageable as it is now.
I know some people love there o/t, but some of us have no interest.

[ted_e_bear]

I've heard, though don't know if it's true that we've got a realignment coming up. if true then we've got some major changes coming up for our work plan. It makes me think that it's going to come in anyway and the "trial" is just a box ticking exercise.

Yeah I bet you're correct, although when it comes in I suppose everywhere will have a realignment anyway so it'll be true, I just hope they've got robust plans how to implement it that the do management have to adhere to rather than their own interpretation of what to do.

[Barnacle]

I've heard, though don't know if it's true that we've got a realignment coming up. if true then we've got some major changes coming up for our work plan. It makes me think that it's going to come in anyway and the "trial" is just a box ticking exercise.

Absolutely, even if the 37 trial offices end up in flames it will still be shouted as a massive success by Rm, the union and the regulator. 0% chance these changes don’t get rolled out nationwide after this summers ofcom decision.
If it means some more Saturdays off and the chance to do a van duty every couple of weeks then I’m all for it.

Don’t know why you think the union would cheer the pilot as a massive success? The pilot if rolled out, means job losses and that ‘more Saturdays off’ carrot is a toxic carrot.

[SpacePhoenix]

I've heard, though don't know if it's true that we've got a realignment coming up. if true then we've got some major changes coming up for our work plan. It makes me think that it's going to come in anyway and the "trial" is just a box ticking exercise.

Yeah I bet you're correct, although when it comes in I suppose everywhere will have a realignment anyway so it'll be true, I just hope they've got robust plans how to implement it that the do management have to adhere to rather than their own interpretation of what to do.

Think it'll be down to what changes RM ultimately make in MCs to the processing of 2C, if they change the times that we process it at. From what I've heard very shortly 2C manual letters and flats will be sorted separately from 1C manual letters and flats but will go on the same yorks as the 1C. I don't know if they'll have MCs not touch any 2C until all the 1C is done. We used to have an early and a late 2C dispatch, during the last realignment they done away with the late dispatch

[Dexydog]

Curious to know- what do MC's do when a known bulk posting comes in- say March/April council tax stuff or an election?
Obviously they'll be cutting back as letters dwindle, but then that just creates more of a shock to the system when a massive posting comes through.
Do they just beg for people to come in on o/t?
I'm talking about known in advance ones, not ones that they may not get any advance warning of.

[SpacePhoenix]

Curious to know- what do MC's do when a known bulk posting comes in- say March/April council tax stuff or an election?
Obviously they'll be cutting back as letters dwindle, but then that just creates more of a shock to the system when a massive posting comes through.
Do they just beg for people to come in on o/t?
I'm talking about known in advance ones, not ones that they may not get any advance warning of.

With just about every bulk posting being DSA, we don't actually know what day it'll come through, it'll be down to what day the DSA company hands it over. It just means that wave 1 takes longer and we get more DTS come out.

If need be some can be run through an iLSM/IMP or the DTS could be turned off on the CSS machines to enable an earlier start