
November 8, 2017

Been working for the po for nine years ran a aux route 5 years and just went regular 2 months ago…My question is how do Carriers not mark their packages? We was told by the supervisor we cannot mark our packages any more we have to scan all of them out for delivery then the scanner will put them in order and then we load our vehicle..Any other office is doing this new thing with the packages??

April 16, 2017

I’m starting to get suspicious about some sort of new screw-job that the PO has planned for us concerning parcels at the next mail count… we’re starting to hear more and more about them wanting people to scan parcels in the AM before departing the PO… either AAU scans, or whatever this thing that specialm0313 is talking about…
Does anybody but me see some sort of wild conspiracy theory at work here…
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November 8, 2017

D.B.Cooper said
I’m starting to get suspicious about some sort of new screw-job that the PO has planned for us concerning parcels at the next mail count… we’re starting to hear more and more about them wanting people to scan parcels in the AM before departing the PO… either AAU scans, or whatever this thing that specialm0313 is talking about…Does anybody but me see some sort of wild conspiracy theory at work here…
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We had a stand up talk today for the rural and city carriers today and the supervisor told us that we have to start scanning every package out for delivery and then the scanner sort the packages and tell you which row the package is on..Like row 1,2,3,4,5 or 6 and that’s how you would load your vehicle..All the carriers were pissed it pretty much was a shit show in our office today..🤦♀️🤦♀️🤦♀️🤦♀️


September 23, 2014

specialm0313 said
Been working for the po for nine years ran a aux route 5 years and just went regular 2 months ago…My question is how do Carriers not mark their packages? We was told by the supervisor we cannot mark our packages any more we have to scan all of them out for delivery then the scanner will put them in order and then we load our vehicle..Any other office is doing this new thing with the packages??
Have you notified your DR?

June 25, 2014

This sounds like a terrible idea. I always have a ton of packages from China, large flats, or photographs etc. that don’t have a barcode on them to even scan.
Also how does the scanner magically put them in order after you scan them ? Wouldn’t you still have to go hunting through a million packages at every house to find the one you are looking for even if the scanner notifies you that you have one ?
And if you are taking the time to organize them at your case or in your truck so you know where they are that is going to take as much time as marking them.

October 31, 2017

I haven’t seen any changes in the 603, might have missed them because the NRLCA doesn’t give updates on anything but funeral arrangements for 8th stepcousins of past national officers and so forth.
PO 603 says
223.23 Flats and Odd-Size Pieces
Case flat mail and odd-size pieces that fit in the same separation as letter
mail. Generally, case these items after letter-size mail. If management
approves, such items may be cased before letter-size mail if this does not
delay the redistribution of missorted preferential mail or hinder the efficient
casing of letter mail. Place parcels or odd-size pieces that do not fit in the
separations on the case ledge and sort into sequence of delivery. A letter
may be reversed in the proper separation, or some other method may be
used, to alert you that there is a parcel or odd-size article that cannot be
cased for that address.

October 31, 2017

Didn’t want to make prior post long.
The reason we get 20 seconds office time for a parcel is because we are to line them up on our ledge and place them in the hamper in order. And when loading (check M 38 section 3 I believe) you place the parcels neatly in your vehicle keeping them in the order that you previously put them in.
None of that row x, BS. In order!!!! During Christmas OT, if that is what they want to do while you are in OT status, then fine. But otherwise file a grievance for actual time for sorting them out on the route or during loading. Also include time for retreating after you miss one unless they want you to bring it back and sort it into your vehicle again next day. LOL
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Oi veh.
October 31, 2017

here’s another………. PO 603 262 Loading Vehicle
262.1 General
Load all mail in the vehicle so that it is in sequence of delivery to ensure that
no time is lost on the route searching for the proper bundles and parcels or
containers.
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specialm0313, Oi veh.
April 16, 2017

We can hope this is just a localized fluke… but what if this is some sort of new thing coming out of the time study, and is to be implemented USPS-wide before the next mail count… or maybe something to deal with the avalanche of parcels we’re gonna have over the next couple of months…
We’ve heard from a few different people about this now… getting stand ups and so forth… sounds all half-baked… which is usually how they do stuff, so maybe it’s a real thing???

February 12, 2016

Special, for right now you should be able to file a grievance over the change in the way you are being “allowed” to place your parcels in order. Any changes , especially something as drastic as the one you mention are to be made after a pre-count conference in preparation for a soon to follow count.
The change of parcel marking is not something that has been discussed with our union and is not “inflictable” yet, and may never be. For the USPS to have carriers start using the scanners as you mention, they would have to be trained to do so and that training is paid training. File a grievance and get your DR involved. If you can think up a way that can make this new order “unsafe” you can explain to your supervisor that you will not be following that order because you believe it to be unsafe. You could use the fact mentioned in post # 6, by Jacob. Trying to find unmarked/non bar coded parcels while delivering mail would take your attention away from your driving and place you and others into danger, or cause you to be parked along busy streets while searching for those parcels. Tell them you refuse to follow this new order unless they can demonstrate/train you how it is supposed to be done without placing you in harms way.
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September 28, 2011

dumbolehickfromms said
I haven’t seen any changes in the 603, might have missed them because the NRLCA doesn’t give updates on anything but funeral arrangements for 8th stepcousins of past national officers and so forth.PO 603 says
223.23 Flats and Odd-Size Pieces
Case flat mail and odd-size pieces that fit in the same separation as letter
mail. Generally, case these items after letter-size mail. If management
approves, such items may be cased before letter-size mail if this does not
delay the redistribution of missorted preferential mail or hinder the efficient
casing of letter mail. Place parcels or odd-size pieces that do not fit in the
separations on the case ledge and sort into sequence of delivery. A letter
may be reversed in the proper separation, or some other method may be
used, to alert you that there is a parcel or odd-size article that cannot be
cased for that address
I have’nt figured out how to place 150 parcels the size of 50 lb dog food bags on the ledge of my case.
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September 4, 2016

I think I will self implement this new way starting Dec.1st. I don’t see why you couldn’t scan/load big parcels after casing, bring the scanner back with the parcels in order on screen and Mark them. I put my “fits in the mailbox” parcels in a tub, so I’d scan/Mark/case those at the case, pull and go.
My clerk showed me the new program they will be using to North Korea style track us. So there’s alot more coming, might as well roll with it. I will be buying a faraday signal blocker bag for my scanner tho.
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October 31, 2017

joggernot said
dumbolehickfromms said
I haven’t seen any changes in the 603, might have missed them because the NRLCA doesn’t give updates on anything but funeral arrangements for 8th stepcousins of past national officers and so forth.PO 603 says
223.23 Flats and Odd-Size Pieces
Case flat mail and odd-size pieces that fit in the same separation as letter
mail. Generally, case these items after letter-size mail. If management
approves, such items may be cased before letter-size mail if this does not
delay the redistribution of missorted preferential mail or hinder the efficient
casing of letter mail. Place parcels or odd-size pieces that do not fit in the
separations on the case ledge and sort into sequence of delivery. A letter
may be reversed in the proper separation, or some other method may be
used, to alert you that there is a parcel or odd-size article that cannot be
cased for that addressI have’nt figured out how to place 150 parcels the size of 50 lb dog food bags on the ledge of my case.
First off, how do you even deliver those? Do you have box van or do they allow you to use a 2 ton USPS truck?
Anyway, we all know the 603 was printed in 1991 and updated a few times for tech changes. Our union has failed since that time. Yes we got Striving for Excellence Together (SET) checks at the end of the year for “delivering parcels to the door” for a few years to offset the m37 to PO 603 change for parcel delivery- plus the 10 second additional route time for going to the door.
That was not too onerous for 90% of rural routes until the UPS strike. After that parcels that wouldn’t fit inside boxes have increased to the point where the 10 seconds isn’t anywhere close to the time needed for delivery.
Maybe the time study is going to show / make up for 20 years of rural carriers working for FREE!!!
Changing the subject If PO is going to implement this new duty as a result of the time study, shouldn’t a REAL UNION demand the time study data/time value be put into place immediately. Remember the MOU said nothing can be put in place until the FULL time study is implemented?
Oh wait funeral arrangements need to be posted for so and so’s great great stepgranddad.

July 27, 2008

Couple of comments. This, like most of the rest of the crap they come up with, is the result of 80% of management being former clerks…not carriers. Second, my scanner barely makes the day as it is without running out of juice. If I add an extra several hundred scans to the current daily battery drain, there is no way that thing is going to survive an average days usage without going dead on me, much less holiday volume/day after Monday holiday volume. But hey, more jobs for management right? That’s the only real point of this kind of BS.
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March 27, 2015

specialm0313 said
Been working for the po for nine years ran a aux route 5 years and just went regular 2 months ago…My question is how do Carriers not mark their packages? We was told by the supervisor we cannot mark our packages any more we have to scan all of them out for delivery then the scanner will put them in order and then we load our vehicle..Any other office is doing this new thing with the packages??
In the ARC Academy class, we teach the new ARC’s two ways to use the MDD scanner.
1) Dynamic Delivery has a pre-identified manifest. It is a way for the PO to know the routing flow of the parcels. A route and delivery sequence number may be hand written on each parcel so that you can load your truck in delivery order. Management sets up Static routes and can include variable street times. You would scan the parcel and it will give you a sequence number to help you load the vehicle.
2) Quadrant System
Using LIFO or Last in First out, typically lower numbers next to driver. Divide the back of the truck into sections that contain parcels of a similar number range.
When you are delivering a Static route, the delivery sequence may indicate delivery of parcel 45 at your first stop, parcel 3 at the next stop and parcel 53 and the third stop. If you load in numerical order, the scan order number can help you locate each parcel, even though they are not in delivery order.
As you can see from some of the basic material being taught, it is easier said than done. The MDD can show in color. As you scan a parcel, the number assigned to that parcel will turn green. If it is yellow, that indicates more than one parcel for that location. If you have any gray ones, that indicates missed scan.
Now as we all know, the battery life will not be able to handle all of this along with SPM’s.
The MDD’s also are equipped with GPS navigation for those unfamiliar with area.

May 29, 2014

D-O-H-F-MS et al — “Anyway, we all know the 603 was printed in 1991 “
— Actually September 1993 is the latest edition of the PO-603.
But other changes certainly will have to be updated, such as:
Section 262.1 Load all mail in the vehicle so that it is in sequence of delivery to ensure that no time is lost on the route searching for the proper bundles and parcels or containers. ( if one can not mark parcels, you will have to have great eyesight to read the tiny mailing labels — IMHO )
And don’t forget the PO-603’s page 120 Column 16 – Load Vehicle – The actual time shown for loading the vehicle MUST NOT include time for arranging parcels in delivery sequence; this is included in the [ generous 20 second ] time allowance for those in column 6 [ parcels ]. Ditto for the Mail Count Guide.
Maybe the M-38 ( Management of Rural Delivery Services ) will also be addressed with updates to Section 362 – Loading – The mail must be loaded in the vehicle in order of delivery. It is essential carriers maintain the delivery sequence of mail in the vehicle. [ no driving over bumpy roads or cutting turns too short resulting going over a curb or having to make sudden stops ]
As well as Section 363 – Mail Setup — in part – parcels must be aligned in delivery sequence in the vehicle convenient to the carrier.
I’m sure that works just great, especially in days after a holiday — as carriers posted of getting double digit trays of DPS letters and DPS flats with multiple GPC’s of parcels.
Hopefully the information ( thanx, btw ) by “Boston Red Sox 65” will filter down to the actual people who deliver parcels so they can better use the MDD.
At least Amazon had a print out for Sunday parcel deliverers.
“In the ARC Academy class, we teach the new ARC’s two ways to use the MDD scanner. “
— Apparently using the MDD as a wheel chock is not being presented as a third way.
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