WCM December 2011 Insert.pdf - myroyalmail

DECEMBER 2011
World Class Mail
your monthly update on how colleagues are using the WCm programme to improve performance
RISK REDUCTION
ON THE CARDS
Card sharp...
John shows off one of the
risk prediction cards
entry level
New ideas... Sue and Fionn
track progress with WCM
Plymouth has just had
its first World Class Mail
audit – the first in any of our
manual data entry centres
(MDECs), scoring 13 points.
With WCM designed for
manufacturing, it wasn’t easy to
apply the pillars to this site, where
staff are desk-based, keying in
details of mail when the address
can’t be read on the envelope.
Plant manager Sue Higson
says: ‘We’ve launched seven of
the regular WCM pillars here, plus
another one – early equipment
management – that most sites
haven’t introduced, as it was
better suited to what we do.
‘For this pillar, we’re developing a
new system called Webdec. Once it’s
fully up and running, it will give us
better information about the mail and
we hope the software will be set up in
a more efficient format.’
Data keyer Fionn McCarthy is part
of the early equipment management
and focused improvement pillars.
He says: ‘I jumped at the chance to
get involved as WCM sounded like
something that could benefit the
business, and an opportunity to learn
more about where the organisation is
going and how we fit in.
‘I think we tried to apply some of
the principles too literally at first. But
it’s been great for me as I’m much more
involved in developing ideas and I feel
much more engaged with the business.’
Plymouth – our biggest MDEC – is
trialling WCM in preparation for
potential roll-out to our other two
MDECs in 2012.
Glasgow mail centre has gone more than 400
days without a lost time accident and has had
just four incidents needing first aid all year.
They’ve used the tools and processes in the safety
pillar of WCM to come up with some novel ideas to
achieve this success.
These include risk prediction cards for every job in
the plant.
John McPaul, deputy manager and former CWU health
and safety rep, says: ‘WCM is very visual, with the processes
explained using sketches and colour coding, rather than
complex charts or long words. The cards fit the bill.
‘They came about after we started investigating the root
causes of accidents much more quickly and thoroughly under
WCM, and found human error was a common cause. It wasn’t
intentional, but just people not knowing the safety risks of a
particular piece of machinery, or of doing a job a certain way,
especially if it’s not their regular job.’
Different cards cover anything from operating a complex
machine to moving a York and lifting a bag. Employees are
given the card before they start the relevant task.
The colours and language on the cards also match up to
a huge safety compliance chart the Glasgow team has put
together covering all areas of the plant, that’s since been
adopted by Fiat as part of its World Class programme.
Early Equipment Management
Safety
Each month, we’ll bring you the views
of employees involved in World Class
Mail. How has it changed their job?
What’s better under the new system?
Chris Hamilton, who
works on the outward
second class packet
operation at Northern Ireland mail
centre in Belfast, has seen his job
made easier by working from a
smaller frame. He says: ‘There’s
not as much stretching involved in
my daily routine now I’m working
in a neater, condensed space. The
new frames were designed by
frontline staff and make a massive
difference. Lots of people have
embraced World Class Mail and,
as a result, the environment we
work in is less cluttered.’
MAIL SHOTS
TOTALISERS
43
mail centres
have begun
World Class
Mail so far
126
delivery
offices are
now using
World Class
Mail
Safety
Commitment
Deployment
Quality Control/Customer Satisfaction
Cost Deployment
World Class
Mail in a
nutshell
Changing times…
Bryn (left) and Bob
all change in cardiff
Since becoming the first
delivery office in Wales
to adopt the World Class
Mail programme, the team
at Cardiff North has made
impressive changes.
They got the chance to show
those off to Mark Higson, MD for
Operations and Modernisation,
when he visited.
Work stations are tidier and the
quality of visuals and storage have
improved. Another big change is a
dog risk matrix (see Courier page 9).
The team has also come up with
the best ways to get around the
delivery office and on their walks
safely, with a series of one-point
practical lessons to cut down on
slips, trips and falls. These include
not reading while walking and
checking driveways before crossing.
Postman Bryn Bodman, who
has worked there 32 years, says:
‘It’s much tidier, and it makes
us think why we never worked
like this before. People are
questioning what we do and why
we do it that way much more.’
Postman Bob Ursell, who has
served 34 years, adds: ‘The WCM
processes seem quite long-winded
at first, but the place is definitely
cleaner and our jobs can be done
a lot quicker. It’s nice to come
into a pleasant environment
and start work.’
WORLD TW CLASS MAIL
GU RH
Focused I m p rovement
Involvement
Implementation
Autonomous Maintenance
World Class Mail (WCM) is a comprehensive
programme for continuous improvement.
It’s structured into 10 areas, called
pillars, covering all operational activity and, stepby-step,
it improves safety, customer service, quality and productivity.
It is achieved by involving all our employees in attacking waste and
losses caused by sub-standard operational processes and equipment.
Workplace Organisation
Communication
Evaluation
Professional Maintenance
Logistics
Understanding
Standardisation with Visibility
People Development
Environment
Measurement
Documentation

Widget works
wonders
Ingenious…
Karthick
with the new
‘widget’
Safety
A brand new ‘widget’ created at
Heathrow Worldwide Distribution
Centre is revolutionising the way
maintenance is done on IMPs
(integrated mail processors).
Focused Improvement (FI) pillar lead
Karthik Kannan developed the device.
He says: ‘Take one tiny piece of kit and
install it on every IMP in our business, and you’ll
save thousands of engineering hours.
‘Each time one of the blade diverters wore
out on the IMP, it would take 35 minutes to
change and had to be done by an engineer.’
As part of the FI process and using a
technique of error-proofing called ‘pokayoke’,
Karthik designed a tiny piece of kit that means
blades can be changed by operators in just 30
seconds.
‘The widget is a plate installed once by the
engineers under each blade, so a replacement
blade can only be installed in the correct way,
with just one screw and a spring for the operator
to adjust,’ he explains.
‘We calculated that 183,000 diverter blades
have been changed in the last five years, and
each one took an engineer 35 minutes – that’s a
lot of time saved in the future.
‘We worked with a local manufacturer that’s
now an approved supplier, and the component
is now available to all engineering teams.’
CARDIFF SEEKS
SILVER
Silver seekers… there’s no
stopping the Cardiff team
The team at Cardiff mail centre
is on the road to achieving silver
status as a World Class Mail
centre.
They were one of the first to introduce
the programme in 2008 and earned their
bronze award in October last year.
Currently on 50 points, the centre is
hoping to reach the required 60 for 2012
and be the first in the UK to make it.
Postman Shafiq Rehman says: ‘Many
people here make regular suggestions
for improvements as part of World Class
FOCUSED IMPROVEMENT
Mail. It makes the working environment
better for us and is good for the
company.’
Mail centre manager Rhian Edwards
says: ‘We’re immensely proud to have
already reached bronze status. It’s a great
achievement and means a lot to us, but
we don’t plan on stopping there.’
To achieve silver, they need to
increase the number of model areas and
how many people are actively involved,
reduce customer complaints and days
lost by accidents.
safety snapshot
Acting on feedback...
Avtar says the
results were valuable
Nearly three-quarters of International
Operations employees took part in a safety
climate survey, giving an excellent snapshot of
the perceived safety culture.
The paper-based survey, carried out during Work
Time Listening and Learning sessions, asked 43 detailed
questions covering nine different safety areas, including
management commitment, communications, whether the
working environment supports employee safety and how
involved employees are in safety issues.
The questions were based on a Health and Safety
Executive (HSE) approved Safety Climate Tool. It was
sponsored by International safety director James Radley
and approved by the CWU and CMA unions.
Avtar Soor, International Operations engineering safety
advisor, says: ‘We wanted to understand what the staff feel
the safety culture is like in International.
‘The 74% response rate was fantastic. It obviously
matters to people, and their answers were really valuable.
‘We’ve broken the results down by International
units, Heathrow Worldwide Distribution Centre units and
maintenance engineering, so each one can focus on the
action areas specific to them. They’ve all had a presentation
about their results, and they are being discussed in Work
Time Listening and Learning sessions, so teams can come
up with solutions together, and at the site safety committee
meetings. We want people to feel involved and their views
acted on.’
The survey will be repeated in two years to measure
progress.
Contact Avtar.Soor@royalmail.com to find out more
about how International Operations set up its survey.
CLEAN MACHINE
Mucking in...
the WCM team at Mount
Pleasant is up for a challenge
The World Class Mail team at
London’s Mount Pleasant mail
centre is pulling out all the
stops to keep machines and
workplaces tip-top, despite
being in the middle of the site’s
redevelopment work.
They’ve come up with a new
plastic hinge with an easy release
mechanism for the CFCs that makes it
easier to access a particular part of the
machine to get rid of ink spatter and
keep it clean.
‘Our target is to cut the time we
spend cleaning the machines by 90%.
Autonomous Maintenance
It’s hard to work on the machines
with the amount of building work
going on and the dust, but now the
ground floor is almost complete this
work can really take off,’ says machine
operator Zain Patel.
‘I’ve loved being part of WCM since
we started the journey in January,’
says machine operator Ruby Nidoy.
‘We’re learning new skills, and
coming up with our own ways to keep
the machines running better with
fewer minor stops. Our views are
listened to and it makes this a much
more satisfying job.’
OVER
TO
you
Got a World Class Mail
success story or suggestion
you’d like to share? Let us
know and you might be
featured next time.
Email worldclass@
abcomm.co.uk or call us
on 020 7922 5670