I tend to favor the route adjustment and route protection aspects of the city craft. I spent two years on the TIAREAP team analyzing route data. One surprising trend my partner and I found was that routes evaluated short of eight hours due in large part to lack of office time. We saw several carriers’ percent to standard in the 70 percent range, and a few in the 60s. We even saw a route that the average office time was lower than their fixed office time. Blown away by this, I started focusing on my home office’s office times. Seeing most hit the street faster than standard, I distributed An Expanded Vehicle Safety Check to every case.
 

      One highly criticized MOU in the TA is the modification to fixed office time in a joint environment.

 

      This new MOU recognizes the need to modify methods for determining fixed office time in a joint process to fit office activities in the current work environment by recording most office activities other than casing mail and pulling down mail as either recurring or non-recurring. Activities previously recorded under Lines 8-13 and 15 would now be recorded under Line 21. When determining minimum line-item values in the modified method, the MOU would prohibit such values from being less than indicated values for the following items:

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Line 14 – Accountables – 2 minutes

 

Line 19 – Vehicle Inspection – 3 minutes

 

Line 20 – Personal needs – 5 minutes

 

Line 21 - Office work not covered - 10 minutes

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      THESE ARE MINIMUMS. The goal is to credit an appropriate fixed office time to every route. If you do your job correctly and thoroughly, your route should be credited with the right fixed office time, regardless of any changes to our National Agreement.

 

      One easy way to ensure safety and fixed office time is in your vehicle inspection.

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      An expanded vehicle safety check has 27 points of inspection on it, and if done completely and thoroughly, will almost always take longer than 3 minutes. Checking your vehicle with a buddy is the safest way, and normally takes around twice as long. It is essential on The Week of Count and Inspection to perform your job as usual. If you are interested in any kind of route protection, you should be doing a thorough expanded vehicle safety check every single day.

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      Office work for city carriers has evolved due to changing mail mix which has impacted caseable mail volume, parcel volume, and accountable mail. But the importance of performing all of our office duties, including the expanded vehicle safety check is unwavering.