Delivery Problems

[Danelectro]

Anybody got any examples of deliveries that follow the 5kg bag weights when delivering predominantly upstairs?
For over two years ive been trying to get deliveries changed using this bag weight rule but with no success.Ive had a meeting with ASM and the Area rep and they couldnt agree what 'predominantly upstairs' meant! The Area Rep suggested if a delivery was 60% upstairs then it was predominantly the ASM said 80% - 90%! So therefore i havnt been able to sort out deliveries because there is no clear or agreed figure on what predominantly means!!

There has been posts on this before but nobody has given any clear examples.Also if anybody has got any success changing deliveries based on the 5kg rule upstairs then how was it resolved for example there is a delivery im looking at with the following spec;DELIVERY POINTS-694,45 of this total is delivered on the flat the rest is up and down stairs delivering to tenement flats.DELIVERY SPAN-3.5 hours based on pegasus with no time given for signatures and going to pouch box.AVERAGE AMOUNT OF BAGS-4 to 5 bags 16kg each bag and with a bit of bullying probably more.Locally ASM has said there will be no more money spent on pouch boxes so i will be arguing that postie will have to walk back and for to existing pouch boxes(2)to pick up and deliver 5 kg bags, this doubling back to pouch boxes means part of the delivery at the end will have to be taken off.

[Ahebban]

Multiple Pouch Weight Matrix – Agreed with Royal Mail

1st Pouch - 16kg
2nd Pouch - 16kg
3rd Pouch - 12kg
4th Pouch - 10kg
5th Pouch - 10kg
6th Pouch - 8kg
thereafter- 8kg

There was an alternative matrix stating that the 1st Pouch was 16kg, subsequent pouches 11kg .. not sure if that still applies now.

The below text was sent to me by Area Safety Rep .. not sure which Agreement it comes from, but i have highlighted in bold the text that will interest you.

However, the Max Pouch weights must be reduced if walking up slopes greater than 1 in 12 to 8kg and reduced to a Max of 5kg if walking up slopes greater than 1 in 8 or the delivery walk is one that predominantly goes up and down stairs etc. ... to be 'predominant' it implies more than 50 percent, so i would suggest that anything above 60 percent of a duty involving stairs is a fair conclusion to be drawn and qualifying for the 5kg max pouch weight.

For young people under 18 the maximum weight of a pouch must not exceed 10kg. Cycles can only carry one pouch of 16kg max. Cycle panniers can only carry 8kg max each side. (Note: Some Areas have introduced an alternative, simplified Pouch Weight arrangement as follows: - The maximum pouch weight is 16kg first pouch and the maximum weight of all following pouches must not weigh more than 11kg and such arrangements can continue with the same monitored and adequate controls to avoid excess weight being carried). REMEMBER/IMPORTANT: All weights are "Maximum Weights" not "Target Weights". Additionally, individual capability may also need to be considered in certain cases when carrying out a Walk Risk Assessment.

[POSTMAN]

The 5kg is for STAIRS, NOT for walks that have to have a certain amount of stairs,surely!

With that i mean,you can't carry a 16kg/12kg ect bag up and down sets of stairs and say it's ok because the amount of delivery points only equates to say 20% of your walk.
I hope i've written it right but do you get what i mean?

[rhino49]

Note the use of the word "MAXIMUM" and bear in mind that you are not obliged to carry the maximum amount. My DOM asked if I was utilising the maximum weight matrix to make sure that my bags were efficiently loaded to cut down on replenishments when I was continually going over my time. I replied that my bags were loaded within the matrix limits to suit what I could comfortably carry between fill up's and I was not going to fill a bag to the limit if it didn't work for me.

[BELIAL]

51% = predominantly by definition

[estelle]

I know this is an old post, but it's incredibly interesting to me.

The walk I do consists of around 100 tenement flats (all three up) and a handful of business premises thrown in. Until now I have been unaware of the pouch matrix or indeed the 5kg up and down stairs rule.

On a practical basis, how would this work if I were to raise the subject with my line manager I wonder?

Whilst unaware of the pouch matrix, I have always been of the belief that bags should be kept as light as possible with more frequent trips to drop box if required as it works out quicker in the long run (common sense to me unfortunately). The only issue here is that if I adopt the 5kg ish ruling, then there would be an issue regarding the fact there is only one drop box on said walk.

Not entirely sure what I'm asking here, but anyone got any solutions?