The purpose of this post is to provide an update on the roll-out of Lean across DCPU Ops and the planned roll-out of Lean into the Support Unit and Helpline. PCS met with Senior Management on 13th October 2009 to discuss the issues and concerns we had and of those raised by members.
DCPU Ops
The final stages of the Lean roll-out are approaching and Senior Management state that all DCPU Ops areas should have ‘gone live’ by 30th November 2009. Senior Management stated that they were currently looking to share ‘good practices’ across the Units with a view to standardising the work flow. We advised that we had received reports of areas scrapping the Lean processes and reverting back to the ‘old’ ways of working. We have concerns that this implies that Lean is not working as well as the employer would have us believe.
We reiterated our concerns in respect of the Health & Safety implications of the low level racking used. Despite PCS continually raising this concern with Senior Management since the start of Lean approx 18 months ago, the matter has still to be resolved to our satisfaction. The Senior Manager responsible for Lean, stated that no member of staff should be forced to use low level racking if they had any concerns about doing so, and that alternative arrangements should be made. However PCS want to remove the Health & Safety risk for all members, not just individuals.
Given that low level racking has resulted in a number of serious accidents (some of which are being taken forward as legal claims), and is also No1 on the Employer’s Top 10 list for Health & Safety risks associated with Lean, we do not believe that this is an acceptable resolution.
We do not believe Senior Management are taking the matter of low level racking seriously. We will continue to pursue this matter through the appropriate Health & Safety channels, as PCS do not believe that Health & Safety risks should be purposely built into working practices. However if Senior Management’s suggestion of using alternative arrangements is helpful to you then you should speak to your line manager to establish what alternative arrangements you can utilise.
DCPU Support Units
We discussed Lean being rolled-out into the Support Unit, in respect of the intention to roll out the Lean processes at the same time as the Lean awareness sessions were being run. Obviously we were concerned by this. Senior Management assured us that Lean roll-out would not take place until after staff have had the Lean awareness sessions. Senior Management also agreed to meet with PCS again after those sessions had taken place so that we could discuss any proposals they had with them.
Helpline
Roll-out of Lean into Helpline is still in the planning stages but Senior Management expect it to take place sometime between now and March 2010. Senior Management explained that some Helpline staff had been assisting the Lean Core Team by giving details regarding the type of calls/work Helpline staff do on a day-to-day basis. They stated that they would also be involving turret staff in this process. Senior Management assured us that any Lean processes implemented in Helpline would not be about cutting the call length by being less helpful to customers/ claimants; but that Lean was about making processes more efficient and therefore could result in the call length being increased, if that did in fact increase efficiency.
I hope that the above is useful. If you have any issues or concerns about Lean then please do not hesitate to contact the Branch Office on ext 61186.
DCPU Ops
The final stages of the Lean roll-out are approaching and Senior Management state that all DCPU Ops areas should have ‘gone live’ by 30th November 2009. Senior Management stated that they were currently looking to share ‘good practices’ across the Units with a view to standardising the work flow. We advised that we had received reports of areas scrapping the Lean processes and reverting back to the ‘old’ ways of working. We have concerns that this implies that Lean is not working as well as the employer would have us believe.
We reiterated our concerns in respect of the Health & Safety implications of the low level racking used. Despite PCS continually raising this concern with Senior Management since the start of Lean approx 18 months ago, the matter has still to be resolved to our satisfaction. The Senior Manager responsible for Lean, stated that no member of staff should be forced to use low level racking if they had any concerns about doing so, and that alternative arrangements should be made. However PCS want to remove the Health & Safety risk for all members, not just individuals.
Given that low level racking has resulted in a number of serious accidents (some of which are being taken forward as legal claims), and is also No1 on the Employer’s Top 10 list for Health & Safety risks associated with Lean, we do not believe that this is an acceptable resolution.
We do not believe Senior Management are taking the matter of low level racking seriously. We will continue to pursue this matter through the appropriate Health & Safety channels, as PCS do not believe that Health & Safety risks should be purposely built into working practices. However if Senior Management’s suggestion of using alternative arrangements is helpful to you then you should speak to your line manager to establish what alternative arrangements you can utilise.
DCPU Support Units
We discussed Lean being rolled-out into the Support Unit, in respect of the intention to roll out the Lean processes at the same time as the Lean awareness sessions were being run. Obviously we were concerned by this. Senior Management assured us that Lean roll-out would not take place until after staff have had the Lean awareness sessions. Senior Management also agreed to meet with PCS again after those sessions had taken place so that we could discuss any proposals they had with them.
Helpline
Roll-out of Lean into Helpline is still in the planning stages but Senior Management expect it to take place sometime between now and March 2010. Senior Management explained that some Helpline staff had been assisting the Lean Core Team by giving details regarding the type of calls/work Helpline staff do on a day-to-day basis. They stated that they would also be involving turret staff in this process. Senior Management assured us that any Lean processes implemented in Helpline would not be about cutting the call length by being less helpful to customers/ claimants; but that Lean was about making processes more efficient and therefore could result in the call length being increased, if that did in fact increase efficiency.
I hope that the above is useful. If you have any issues or concerns about Lean then please do not hesitate to contact the Branch Office on ext 61186.
