Courier September 2012 - myroyalmail

14 September 2012 email courier@abcomm.co.uk
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Follow us on @RM_COURIER September 2012 15
Grow a Tash
and raise some cash
Upload photos of your moustache
global fundraiser. Royal Mail will tickly feeling for a month, can’t you?
to myroyalmail.com during match every penny you raise – but But if not, you could take part in a
Movember and see if it’s ‘hot’ or only if you register via myroyalmail. sponsored run or organise a fundraising
not. Our employee website will com so we can track the money our
event instead.
stage ‘Tash of the Titans’ – a people raise.
Simply log on to myroyalmail.com by Lisa Mobley
game where we pit moustaches
Women can also get involved. for more info – then get growing your
against one another to see Become a Mo Sista and support the tash and raising your cash.
which ones people rate the best. men in your lives (they don’t have to If you don’t have access to the
It’s all in the name of raising work for us) by encouraging them to internet, you can request a paper
awareness and as much money take part and raising as much money registration form by calling a dedicated
as we can during the month-long as you can. You can put up with that phoneline: 0151 284 1221.
Modernisation watch
last but
not least
In the picture... Seaford’s John Hamlet loads up the van
by Ben Mccormick
PLANNING, attention to detail
and good communication
were key factors in Seaford’s
successful delivery revision.
The team there is now sharing
vans and using trolleys
to deliver more packets and
fewer letters. Many offices
have now introduced the new
delivery methods as we step
up the pace of change across
the business.
Being the last delivery office
in its sector to introduce
the changes, Seaford had the
benefit of learning from other
revisions in the area.
Delivery office manager
Tim Hill had seen the revision
deployed at nearby Eastbourne
delivery office, so knew what
worked well in ensuring as
smooth a transition as possible.
Tim spent a lot of time
checking the data to make
sure each walk was mapped
out correctly.
Postman John Hamlet thinks
this helped people at the office
adjust to the changes.
‘No one really likes change,
but we were told why it was
happening at team briefings and
most of us are reasonably happy
now the new methods have had
a chance to bed in,’ he says.
‘While there are still one or
two things to iron out, on the
whole, everyone’s adjusted to
the new way of working.’
Delivery revisions – the story so far
Number of vans
9,286 Number of PDAs
16,088
Fully
modernised units
667
and counting
Number of high
capacity trolleys
1,767 Number of
lightweight trolleys
27,569
(Figures from April 2009 to end of August 2012)
Close inspection... David Bryan, Anna Sargent, Cliff Callow, Chris Phoenix, Michael McNally, Vaughan Weller and John McKinley
Completely
sorted
by Ben Hall
‘We are currently dealing with a
lot of diversions from elsewhere and
OUR FINAL intelligent letter sorting
machine (iLSM) has been in-
says.
having the iLSMs really helps,’ she
stalled at South Midlands mail ‘It’s great to work in an environment
where we’re getting this
centre.
The 66th iLSM marks the end of kind of brilliant equipment to use.’
a £127m project that has seen all Anna Sargent, mail centre manager,
says: ‘The machine arriving
the machinery delivered and fitted
without incident.
was an integral part of the centre’s
Julie Barrett, iLSM-trained postwoman,
believes the new ma-
iLSMs are critical parts of the
development and all six of our
chine will be crucial to the centre’s ongoing transformation process here.
ongoing ability to handle high volumes
of mail.
about integration with
‘From day one this site has been all
technology,
Busy
bees
WORK IS almost complete
on the new
Beeston delivery office.
All colleagues, who previously
worked in a makeshift
area in Nottingham
mail centre, will move
into the purpose-built extension
from November.
CWU area rep Frank
Bolger says: ‘It’s great
for the centre and good
recognition for the hard
work of the staff whose
futures are now secured.’
Delivery office manager
Philip Rice is also
enthusiastic about the
change, which has been
in the works for two years.
‘For all of us covering
Beeston, this new office
will be amazing,’ he says.
‘Having a self-contained
unit will allow us to
keep it tidy, improve safety
and reduce accidents and
complaints.’
The delivery office will
have segregated parking,
space adequate for
future delivery revisions
Machine milestone... the final iLSM arrives
and these machines give us a
higher capability to process mail
while using less machinery.’
‘The final iLSM being installed at
South Midlands is a neat bookend to
mark the end of the project; the site
is home to the first fully operational
iLSM, and the last one,’ says iLSM
project manager Richard Stratford.
Groundbreaking... Doug Neil, Geoff Warburton,
Tony Sutton, Frank Bolger, Tariq Hussain, Ricky McAulay and Calvin Dipper
or flow changes, welfare
facilities and administration
accommodation.
Nottingham mail centre
will also undergo
extensions as part of the
project, scheduled to
be completed in March
2013.
80p x 52 weeks=
£100
Meet your match
Of course, we don’t just
limit our charitable support
to one month – we help our
people all year round.
Whether it’s for our Charity of
the Year programme or another
good cause close to your heart,
the company can help.
Here’s how...
Through our Charity of the Year
programme 2012-14, the company
is matching every penny employees
raise for Prostate Cancer
UK up to £1 million. Once we hit
the £2 million mark, the company
will match the money employees
raise – again up to £2 million – for
Alzheimer’s Society and Whizz-
Kidz.
Through the community support
scheme, staff can apply once
a year for up to £200 in matched
giving for any registered charity
or good cause. You can also apply
for grants up to £200 to help stage
a fundraising event.
You can also donate through
payroll giving. If you pledge £1
from your pay every week, it will
cost you 80p; or if you pledge
£4 from your salary each month,
it will cost you £3.60 (based on
those paying 20% tax).
The business will automatically
match any donation you make
The weight is over... Lee Briers (left) and Lee Campbell tone up in the gym
Gym and
tonic
by Ben Mccormick
Challenge Cup-winning Warrington
Wolves rugby league
player Lee Briers was guest
of honour at the opening of a
t
to Prostate Cancer UK. So, if you
pledge £1 a week, we will do
the same. This means that while
only 80p is deducted from your
pay, over the course of a year the
charity will receive more than
£100 from you.
And get
information
about payroll
giving by
scanning this
code
scaN
WITH YOUR
SMARTPHONE TO
See full details
of matched
giving at myroyal
mail.com
Arthur’s story
Arthur Spurling worked for
Royal Mail for 25 years, ending up
as motor transport auditor for
Scotland and Northern Ireland
before he retired in 1994. Two
years ago, he was diagnosed with
prostate cancer, and he has just
been given the all-clear...
‘I found out two days before my wife
and I were going to New York for a
wedding,’ says Arthur.
‘I’d had a bladder problem, which
turned out to be just an infection, but
they asked if I had any other problems,
so I mentioned the time it took me to
go to the loo (my waterworks). They
gave me a rectal examination. I then
had a blood test to check my PSA
levels (prostate specific antigen) – 5.5,
higher than normal. They booked me in
for a biopsy the next week.
‘I was concerned. Who thinks they
might get cancer? I certainly didn’t – to
me, cancer meant dying.
Treatments
‘Two days before the trip, the specialist
nurse told me they’d found cancer of the
prostate, but there are several
treatments available if it’s caught in time.
They said to enjoy the holiday and come
back to the hospital when I got back.
‘They gave me loads of pamphlets
about the treatment options. One I
disregarded immediately was
brachytherapy, where radioactive
isotopes are inserted into the affected
area. I’d done military training as a
nuclear, biological and chemical
warfare officer – I thought there’s no
way I am having that. But there were
plenty of other options to think about.
‘Our friends’ daughter, a doctor, was
new state-of-the-art gym at
Warrington mail centre.
Installed and run by contractor
Energy Fitness Professionals, the
fully equipped facility is open to
all mail centre employees and
colleagues from nearby delivery
offices.
For just £3.50 a week, members
have unlimited use of the gym, get
a full fitness assessment and personal
exercise programme. Fitness
classes and treatments will become
available.
marrying another doctor, so
nearly every guest at the wedding was a
doctor. I got chatting to an oncologist. I
asked which treatment he’d recommend
– he said brachytherapy. He said he
treated a former president who had
lived for more than 20 years since his
treatment and was still alive at 80. But
brachytherapy was still a no-no for me.
Coincidence
Have
you, or a loved
one, experienced
prostate cancer? If you’d be
willing to share your story
with readers, email courier@
abcomm.co.uk or call 020
7922 5670
‘Then my wife was leafing through the
in-flight magazine on the plane, and
there was a feature about brachytherapy.
This was all too much of a coincidence!
It made up my mind for me.
‘Back home, I had further
counselling with the excellent specialist
nurse. I asked him how common this
cancer is in men, and he said almost
every man over 60 will have prostate
cancer to some degree.
‘The brachytherapy involved staying
in hospital overnight with a general
anaesthetic and 132 beads of iodine
radioactive isotopes inserted into the
prostate.
‘On 18 August this year, I was told
my PSA is now down to 0.2 and there
is no sign of cancer. All other areas –
including the physical side of married
life! – are fine too.
‘It just takes one blood test to
determine prostate cancer. All of us
men can have a blood test at our GP or
Well Man clinic.
‘Prostate cancer is slow-growing and
has no pain – it’s definitely a secret
cancer. If you can’t pass water like you
used to, or you get out of bed more than
normal to go to the loo at night, just ask
to get your PSA levels tested. Do it before
it’s too late to treat. Please don’t be too
frightened. That one small question
could save your life.’
‘I’ve been pestering the site
manager about the gym for ages, so
I’m delighted it’s now open,’ says
distribution driver Lee Campbell.
’I’ve already had my assessment
and am looking forward to using
the free weights and the running
machines here to keep my fitness
levels up.’
Royal Mail is refurbishing gyms and renewing
equipment as part of an improvement
programme to encourage staff to stay active.
It will also be running national inter-gym
competitions, and the next one will be an
individual ‘Olympics’. We’ll keep you posted.