Intergrated Mail Processor Operators!

[postal_jedi]

I've just recently been transferred to a MC from a DO and I am amazed by the at the mechanisation side of the business. I really can't see the operation of these sections being allowed to happen any other business, anywhere at all. I recently was put on a duty where I had to stand by an IMP machine and put all the letters it rejected the right way up. Thats all I done for 4 hours, rotate letters and put them on a Kanban. Not to digress, while I done this mundane chore, I was able to gain a valuable insite into the IMP operators roll. The main tasks are as follows:

* Drink coffee, tea and pop.
* Do crosswords.
* Talk a lot on the sorter.
* Prop up sorter by leaning against it.
* Text and make phone calls.
* Eat crisps.
* Throw things.

Surely this can't be right, especially as these operators are getting paid more than the average postalworker. Coming from the D.O. environment I remember how just how hard and labourious the work was and, don't get me wrong, in the MC most of the work is mundane and boring if not labourious and you have a manager breathing down your neck constantly. However, surely this is no way to operate a business with staff just clowning around while other employees have to just look on. While these staff are on the sorting end of the machine, surely if they have time to lean on equiptment or against the machine talking or texting, they could utilised better. Or perhaps they could cull the mail on the tipping end or the machine better and sort it into perhaps 1st, 2nd, stamped, PPI or Meter. Several operators in my office won't even put their hands in the mail, refusing to cull the mail they tip on H&S grounds. I can't understand why their manager doesn't approach them, when members of staff from a manual sections are questioned if they so much as leave their work area for two minutes. If anything the staff on these machines should be approached on a H&S level for their behaviour.

[norbet colon]

I've just recently been transferred to a MC from a DO and I am amazed by the at the mechanisation side of the business. I really can't see the operation of these sections being allowed to happen any other business, anywhere at all. I recently was put on a duty where I had to stand by an IMP machine and put all the letters it rejected the right way up. Thats all I done for 4 hours, rotate letters and put them on a Kanban. Not to digress, while I done this mundane chore, I was able to gain a valuable insite into the IMP operators roll. The main tasks are as follows:

* Drink coffee, tea and pop.
* Do crosswords.
* Talk a lot on the sorter.
* Prop up sorter by leaning against it.
* Text and make phone calls.
* Eat crisps.
* Throw things.

Surely this can't be right, especially as these operators are getting paid more than the average postalworker. Coming from the D.O. environment I remember how just how hard and labourious the work was and, don't get me wrong, in the MC most of the work is mundane and boring if not labourious and you have a manager breathing down your neck constantly. However, surely this is no way to operate a business with staff just clowning around while other employees have to just look on. While these staff are on the sorting end of the machine, surely if they have time to lean on equiptment or against the machine talking or texting, they could utilised better. Or perhaps they could cull the mail on the tipping end or the machine better and sort it into perhaps 1st, 2nd, stamped, PPI or Meter. Several operators in my office won't even put their hands in the mail, refusing to cull the mail they tip on H&S grounds. I can't understand why their manager doesn't approach them, when members of staff from a manual sections are questioned if they so much as leave their work area for two minutes. If anything the staff on these machines should be approached on a H&S level for their behaviour.

There is something in that , it's the usual command & ignore with the lost causes and stick them by a IMP or on the CFC drum to get some work out of them. There's the influence of RM's PC Taliban , Snr Mgrs can't blame the CWU this time , for supposedly trying to defend the indefensible when people are bang to rights and RM want them potted . Compared to factories RM are a absolute joke .

Culling what's that !? LOL , EVERYTHING goes through the drums , if someone was doing tip & seg too dilgently , the managers would pull him/her , it's his little empire for his stampers .

LSM's is different , your'e dictated to by a machine and you might as well be organised and do everything sooner than later especially on tray up.

Welcome to the surreal world of MC's

[postal_jedi]

I don't see LSM or CFC staff, at my MC at least, as any better!

[oldrope]

Hello, i sent jedi a pm, but he or she wanted me to come on here!! that is the norm for I M P / L S M staff, we have got to do something or should we just stand and look into space? my PSP comes in verry handy.

[moon71]

An to rub insult into injury, they get whats called a tpm allowance, of at least £21 a week, could be more. These peeps got the cushiest duties, make the most time, their area is clear whilst many people on manual work, have to sort the rejects but all have the same finish time.
Fook me £21 a week for hoovering a machine at the start of a duty, you couldnt make it up.

[postal_jedi]

I understand you are trying to wind me up Star dust. Maybe you could tell me why you shouldn't be perhaps sorting or segregating rejects whilst you have nothing else to do. The task I was given could have easily been done by yourselves. In this age of competition I fail to see why only part of the workforce is utilised efficiently and it is acceptible for the other half to do as little as possible. You may think this is funny at present, but I'd like to see how funny you think it is when they decide they don't need so many IMP operators per IMP.

[oldrope]

Hello jedi, not trying to wind you up!! what makes you think that??? 4 ppl to a IMP if the drum is on 3 if not, at my mc we do not have someone faceing mail up (rejects) as the imp does it all anyway. i take it you were on the late shift doing out ward??? the night shift doing inward is diffrent a bit more bussy. as for tpm we have to put some belts back on when they come off/ change ink/ do a light beem test/clear jams i could go on and on but would care??

[postal_jedi]

I'm afraid your reply Star dust falls very short of any kind of answer. You have openly admitted on this very thread that you have additional free time on your hands

Hello, i sent jedi a pm, but he or she wanted me to come on here!! that is the norm for I M P / L S M staff, we have got to do something or should we just stand and look into space? my PSP comes in verry handy.

and now you somehow feel you can justify this by blaming the shift, as far as I can tell. You obviously have failed to grasp my point. If you have time to eat, drink, do crosswords, text or even play on a PSP (all of which Royal Mail do not pay you to do), you have time to do something more productive in your work area. I have already made suggestions such as segregation and better culling on the tipping bit and centre feed bit and perhaps a missort check on the sorter or some type of 1st/2nd class segregation of the rejects? The way I see it is that eventually management will catch on to this blatant abuse of Royal Mail time and ultimately penalise you for it by removing staff or introducing more work. As far as I know, I will be honest here and admit not much with regards to the workings of the system, the IMP rejects letters are all over the place. The ones I had to take care of were next to where the operator feeds in the mail and they were backward, upside down, bent and ripped etc....

[oldrope]

Hello jedi, You say you came from a D O right!!!!????... well did you have any spare time? ie finish your duty early then go home!! time that R M are paying for. The staff on your I M P must be pro s as our team is, to make the time to do what you say.PPL on the sorter do do checks ( looking for miss sorts/ 1st class in 2nd ect ) may be you were not looking at the time. ps a mp3 or a dab radio comes in handy it will stop you from getting M C brain deadness. another thing to learn is to switch off as soon as you set foot in a M C.

[postal_jedi]

I very rarely finished early in my DO days and certainly didn't at all once the 2nd delivery was scrapped. Unlike many of the postal workers in my DO, I didn't use my car or start early or skip my meal relief. I can understand your arguement, but I think finishing your delivery 30mins early, by starting early and not actually taking a break is hardly comparible to spending 80% (pure estimate) of your shift chatting and reading papers. This certainly doesn't go on to such a degree in any other section of the MC I am in. You say you do checks, I can't dispute this as I didn't spend my whole shift watching the IMP staff, I was of course working. However, from what I did see I didn't notice a single action that would of suggested checking was taking place. I am almost certain though and I will check this today at work, that there is nothing written into your 318 with regards to doing checking or additional culling or sorting. Just another issue you've brought up with the DAB and I may be wrong here but, surely there is a major health and safety risk wearing headphones whilst using machinery.

[oldrope]

hello jedi, sorry but i should have said only use dabs/mp3s only when on the opl/ipl/flats ect. i am trying to do 2 things at once today!!( need more hours in yhe day)

[postal_jedi]

hello jedi, sorry but i should have said only use dabs/mp3s only when on the opl/ipl/flats ect. i am trying to do 2 things at once today!!( need more hours in yhe day)

Apparently you will have plenty of free time when you start your shift.

[oldrope]

Hello jedi. I am going to put an end to this banter>>>> 2 things... 1st, have you had I M P training?? if not you should not be working on an I M P full stop, there should be a noteice on the cover at feed B and 1 on the SHS bit;; 2nd I can tell it is not in your make up just to sit back and that is good, the trick is not to let the gaffers know cos if you do you will become a willing horse and they will become a ruck sack ( allways on your back) wlcome to MC life. I bid you fair well jedi.

[L Tommo]

TPM ... Working on ANY MECH we all have to be TPM trained... Or as Star dust said.. YOU shouldnt be on there.. H&S.

In my MC when i worked on the CFC we had two cullers and took out packets flats and plastics... I know there should be 1 culler but we sent the CFC everything else and never stopped it until it Jammed. or we run out of worked.. In 2000 East London MC had the best figures for a cfc thruput... Working this way... But then RM wanted 1 culling and told to still get the same thruput with less amount of IPJ's.. It cant be done... The type of work coming thru a CFC from collections is so varied and the different amount of mail makes it hard to do if done properly with one person... Either that or it comes out the rejects or end of drum.. More work as Jedi says... It could be done better with the use of people on the culling.... CULL the work before the machine takes it in to the canceller.... The thru put should be over 30k ph....

In my mind i dont think a IMP is a good bit of kit as if one bit of it breaks down its fecked and manual handeling is then done... The CFC is much more reliable in my book and i learnt my TPM and the belt changes and minor tech faults us postman done... The enginners had the cushy jobs as we wanted the drum running back then so we cleared.. Now with the way the MC's are run now who cares..??? They want doughnuts and then cut every perk,,, we work to our 318... feck em.... Now you do get down time on all MECH and cleaning is a everyday effect.. Part of the 318... So to earn your £21 we all should do it.... Its a mundane job and we all need insentives to work... SHAME RM took this away... So now EAST LONDON MC hasnt even the same Thru put we had back then in 2000.... I wonder why???? And i wonder if any other MC has the same problems????

out

[postal_jedi]

I am afraid Star dust I am at a loss as to how you have put this to banter to an end. You seem to be under the impression I have worked on these machines. I haven't nor have I ever claimed to. The few experiences I have had with regards to the IMP have concerned the rejects it spits out. In these instances, the mail I handled was actually put into trays for me, I made a point of not taking any letters from the machine. I did collect the full trays myself from the area behind the monitor, which the operator usually stands infront of doing a crossword puzzle. I can only assume you are saying that untrained staff are restricted from going within a certain radius of the IMP (as I never touched it!). I find this very doubtful as I have seen members of the public, who I would pretty much guess as untrained, being shown around the IMPs at close range by senior management. It would be very foolish of RM to breech this safety practice when the general public are involved. However, if you are correct then it is a very valuable peice of info that I will certainly be looking into.
I would now like to address your next point about "not sitting back" and "becoming a willing horse". In my seven years (few by some standards, I know!) as a postal worker I have always done my job to the best of my ability. As they say, "A honest days work for a honest days pay." I can't see a problem with starting work when you're meant to. Doing what you're meant to, correctly and safely. Then going home when you're meant to. It isn't rocket science. I don't work exceptionally hard, nor do I work harder than the person next to me (unless I'm next to an IMP). To justify your lackadaisical, sloppy and down right unprofessional behaviour by critising mine and claiming "I can't sit back" and I'm a "willing horse" is frankly an insult. There is no excuse for the behaviour listed in my original post. If you want to believe that somehow any member of staff who basically does there job is some sort of soft touch who will be put on then, yeah you run with that idea and convince yourself that living of the backs of others is ok! I think this "banter" is far from at an end!