Postal services - Quality of service - Damage to postal items

This Technical Report is an extension as a guide to the European Standard EN 14012 with regard to damage of postal items. EN 14012 recommends:
The continual improvement of the overall quality of service is an objective of the complaint handling system, and using the information from the complaint handling process to improve the overall quality of service should be a permanent objective of any postal organization.
Complaint handling processes should allow analysis of complaint causes.
However, it does not contain detailed guidelines to possible solutions. Damages are a rare event and a standard for measurement proved not to be feasible. This document contains a set of best practices dedicated to use by postal operators regardless of their size and users of postal services.

Postalische Dienstleistungen - Dienstqualität - Beschädigung von Postsendungen

Services postaux - Qualité de service - Dommages aux envois postaux

Poštne storitve - Kakovost storitev - Poškodbe poštnih pošiljk

To tehnično poročilo je razširitev smernic za uporabo evropskega standarda EN 14012 v zvezi s poškodbami poštnih pošiljk. Standard EN 14012 priporoča:
Nenehno izboljševanje splošne kakovosti storitev je cilj sistema za ravnanje s pritožbami, pri čemer naj bi bila uporaba informacij, pridobljenih med postopkom ravnanja s pritožbami, za izboljšanje splošne kakovosti storitev stalen cilj vsake poštne organizacije.
Postopki ravnanja s pritožbami naj bi omogočali analizo vzrokov pritožb.
Podrobne smernice za morebitne rešitve niso vključene. Odškodnine se izplačajo redko in izkazalo se je, da standard za merjenje ni izvedljiv. Ta dokument vsebuje dobro prakso, ki naj bi jo uporabljali poštni operaterji, ne glede na njihovo velikost in uporabnike poštnih storitev.

General Information

Status
Withdrawn
Public Enquiry End Date
29-Sep-2015
Publication Date
09-Dec-2015
Withdrawal Date
23-Nov-2020
Technical Committee
Current Stage
9900 - Withdrawal (Adopted Project)
Start Date
24-Nov-2020
Due Date
17-Dec-2020
Completion Date
24-Nov-2020

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SLOVENSKI STANDARD
SIST-TP CEN/TR 16915:2016
01-januar-2016
Poštne storitve - Kakovost storitev - Poškodbe poštnih pošiljk
Postal services - Quality of service - Damage to postal items
Postalische Dienstleistungen - Dienstqualität - Beschädigung von Postsendungen
Services postaux - Qualité de service - Dommages aux envois postaux
Ta slovenski standard je istoveten z: CEN/TR 16915:2015
ICS:
03.120.99 Drugi standardi v zvezi s Other standards related to
kakovostjo quality
03.240 Poštne storitve Postal services
SIST-TP CEN/TR 16915:2016 en,fr,de
2003-01.Slovenski inštitut za standardizacijo. Razmnoževanje celote ali delov tega standarda ni dovoljeno.

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SIST-TP CEN/TR 16915:2016

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SIST-TP CEN/TR 16915:2016


CEN/TR 16915
TECHNICAL REPORT

RAPPORT TECHNIQUE

November 2015
TECHNISCHER BERICHT
ICS 03.240
English Version

Postal Services - Quality of service - Damage to postal
items
Services postaux - Qualité de service - Dommages aux Postalische Dienstleistungen - Dienstqualität -
envois postaux Beschädigung von Postsendungen


This Technical Report was approved by CEN on 17 November 2015. It has been drawn up by the Technical Committee CEN/TC
331.

CEN members are the national standards bodies of Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia,
Finland, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania,
Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey and
United Kingdom.





EUROPEAN COMMITTEE FOR STANDARDIZATION
COMITÉ EUROPÉEN DE NORMALISATION

EUROPÄISCHES KOMITEE FÜR NORMUNG

CEN-CENELEC Management Centre: Avenue Marnix 17, B-1000 Brussels
© 2015 CEN All rights of exploitation in any form and by any means reserved Ref. No. CEN/TR 16915:2015 E
worldwide for CEN national Members.

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SIST-TP CEN/TR 16915:2016
CEN/TR 16915:2015 (E)
Contents Page
European foreword . 3
Introduction . 4
1 Scope . 5
2 Terms and definitions . 5
3 Main issues concerning the damages of postal items . 6
3.1 General . 6
3.2 Solutions applied by operators . 6
4 Prevention actions . 16
5 Measurements . 16
5.1 General . 16
5.2 Analysis of the database of complaints . 17
5.3 Reference to EN 14012 . 18
6 Activities to mitigate impact of damages . 19
7 Parameters of postal items affecting the number of damages . 19
Bibliography . 20
2

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SIST-TP CEN/TR 16915:2016
CEN/TR 16915:2015 (E)
European foreword
This document (CEN/TR 16915:2015) has been prepared by Technical Committee CEN/TC 331 “Postal
services”, the secretariat of which is held by NEN.
Attention is drawn to the possibility that some of the elements of this document may be the subject of
patent rights. CEN [and/or CENELEC] shall not be held responsible for identifying any or all such patent
rights.
This document has been prepared under a mandate given to CEN by the European Commission and the
European Free Trade Association.
3

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SIST-TP CEN/TR 16915:2016
CEN/TR 16915:2015 (E)
Introduction
The postal services sector offers an essential communication infrastructure of major economic and
social importance for commercial users and consumers. Postal services have a substantial effect on the
competitiveness of other sectors and European cohesion in general. In particular, the effectiveness of
postal services is crucial for the development of business to business and home delivery in Europe and
therefore is considered as a service of general economic interest (SGEI).
Directive 97/67, in particular its Article 20, recognizes the importance of the role of standardization
and also takes into account the wellness of users in particular. The European Commission has further
supported the process of technical standardization in the postal sector through mandates to the
European Committee for Standardization (CEN). A first standardization mandate (M/240) was issued in
March 1996. Based on the progress achieved within this mandate, a second CEN mandate (M/312) was
issued by the Commission in 2001.
The European Commission has recently issued another mandate to CEN (M/428) requesting CEN to
perform standardization activities in order to adjust the existing European Standards for postal services
in a multi-players environment, to develop new technical standards to improve the interoperability in
the postal sector and to study the feasibility of new standards in the area of quality of service (QoS).
This document was developed based on experiences of project team PT-I, in working group
CEN/TC 331/WG 1. A final result of PTI project was Feasibility study when the PT-I came to the
conclusion, that:
— the project as a European Standard (EN) is not feasible,
— it is feasible to develop a guide with the best practice/benchmark list,
— the guide can be published either as TR or attached as an informative annex to the EN 14012.
Finally, the TR as guide to EN 14012 related to best practice related to minimizing number of damages
and actions to mitigation effects of damages of postal items was chosen.
4

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SIST-TP CEN/TR 16915:2016
CEN/TR 16915:2015 (E)
1 Scope
This Technical Report is an extension as a guide to the European Standard EN 14012 with regard to
damage of postal items. EN 14012 recommends:
The continual improvement of the overall quality of service is an objective of the complaint handling
system, and using the information from the complaint handling process to improve the overall quality of
service should be a permanent objective of any postal organization.
Complaint handling processes should allow analysis of complaint causes.
However, it does not contain detailed guidelines to possible solutions. Damages are a rare event and a
standard for measurement proved not to be feasible. This document contains a set of best practices
dedicated to use by postal operators regardless of their size and users of postal services.
2 Terms and definitions
For the purposes of this document, the following terms and definitions apply.
2.1
CN43/BDV
verification note, i.e. a form to report an anomaly or a set of anomalies with a letter mail dispatch or a
consignment to a partner postal operator
Note 1 to entry: BDV - bulletin de vérification, the form in French.
2.2
CP78/BDV
verification note, i.e. a form to report an anomaly or a set of anomalies with a parcel dispatch or a
consignment to a partner postal operator
Note 1 to entry: BDV - bulletin de vérification, the form in French.
2.3
damaged postal item
postal item which is not in the same condition as the provider accepted it from the sender
Note 1 to entry: The term “damage to postal items” usually implies that the contents of postal items are partially
or completely damaged so that they became partly or whole unusable for their intended purposes, especially, for
the purpose which that content had for the sender when he sent it to the recipient.
2.4
postal item
item addressed in the final form in which it is to be carried by a postal service provider
Note 1 to entry: In addition to items of correspondence, such items also include for instance books, catalogues,
newspapers, periodicals or containing merchandise with or without commercial value.
2.5
postal services
services involving the clearance, sorting, transport and delivery of postal items
5

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SIST-TP CEN/TR 16915:2016
CEN/TR 16915:2015 (E)
3 Main issues concerning the damages of postal items
3.1 General

Figure 1 — Damage of postal item
The definition from EN 14012:2008, 3.16 item damage complaint also includes damage to the wrapping
/ envelope. From the technical point of view, the wrapping protects the contents from the damage
during the whole technological process and, if the wrapping had been damaged before the delivery to
the addressee, that event would likely lead to the damage of the content. Therefore, analysis of causes of
damage to the wrapping may also be relevant.
It should be taken under consideration that only damages covering loss or damages of contents will be
complained about. What's more, the client cannot raise the complaint if item was damaged and repaired
without damage or loss content. Therefore complaint database can be source of information only for
postal items damaged in big degree.
3.2 Solutions applied by operators
All participated parties that are the sender, the addressee and the operator are interested in delivery of
letter / parcel in good condition. There are two cases that should be considered:
a) E-commerce. The sender sells things generally in factory made, good quality packaging, which is
resistant to typical events related to transportation. Usually the shop adds corporate packaging,
which is a next layer of wrapping and make packaging more safe.
b) Private sender, who hasn't experienced in packaging and in this case support of operator is
expected.
6

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SIST-TP CEN/TR 16915:2016
CEN/TR 16915:2015 (E)
Tables 1 to 11 contain information collected from 11 European operators in PT-I project related to
number of damages in postal services, activities to decrease number of damages and to mitigate their
effects. Responses to the questionnaire were sent by:
1) HR - Croatia - Hrvatska Pošta d.d.;
2) CZ - Czech Republic – UNMZ;
3) DK - Denmark - Post Danmark Logistik A/S;
4) IE - Ireland - An Post;
5) DE - Germany - Deustche Post AG;
6) HU - Hungary - Magyar Posta Zrt;
7) MT - MALTA - MaltaPost p.l.c.;
8) PL - Poland - Poczta Polska S.A.;
9) PT - Portugal - CTT - Correios de Portugal, S.A.;
10) SK - Slovak Republic - Slovenská Pošta, a. s.;
11) CH - Switzerland - Swiss Post.
Volume of damaged items (1 and 3)
After we had analysed the results from the second questionnaire, we were faced with some facts. The
volume of damaged items is very small. The typical number of damaged items largely depends on the
type of postal service. Only one operator led separate statistics for small packets.
Table 1 — Percent of damaged items
Maximu
Service Average Deviation Minimum Replies from
m
Ordinary HR, DK, DE, HU, MT, PT,
0,005 62 0,012 0 0,000 031 0 0,03
letters/postcards CH
HR, CZ, DK, HU, MT, PL,
Registered letters 0,005 71 0,010 3 0,000 071 9 0,03
PT, SK, CH
HR, CZ, DK, HU, PT, SK,
Ensured letters 0,007 74 0,010 3 0,000 646 0,03
CH
Small packets (up to 2kg) 0,020 1 0,014 6 0,0034 0,03 DK, MT, PT, CH
HR, CZ, DK, DE, HU, PL,
Parcels 0,015 8 0,023 5 0,000 1 0,075 6
PT, SK, CH
HR, CZ, DK, HU, PL, PT,
Herein ensured parcels 0,038 6 0,077 6 0,000 45 0,196 7
SK, CH
NOTE 1 Part of operators sent collective data for a few services.
NOTE 2 Only Denmark provides separately statistics to small packets. Other operators include this service in the
ordinary letters.
NOTE 3 Germany provides statistic for 4 degrees of damages. Spread is huge, from level of small damage (e.g.
dirty wrapping) 0,2 % to the highest level of damage - complaints because of the damage 0,001 %.
7

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SIST-TP CEN/TR 16915:2016
CEN/TR 16915:2015 (E)
Table 2 — Keeping statistical data about the cause of damage
Number of YES are Percent of
Service Countries which collect the statistics
answers collected YES
Ordinary
11 4 36,36 HR, IE, DE, PT
letters/postcards
Registered letters 11 4 36,36 HR, CZ, IE, PL
Ensured letters 10 4 40,00 HR, CZ, IE, PL
Small packets (up to 2kg) 9 2 22,22 HR, IR
Parcels 11 6 54,55 HR, CZ, IE, DE, PL, CH
Herein ensured parcels 10 5 50,00 HR, CZ, IE, PL, CH
NOTE The following sources of information are given:
— complaint database - 5 countries (1 country - only for complaint with compensation),
— complaint database + other sources - 1 country,
— collected daily in the sorting centres in every processing line - 1 country,
— only for the samples of the external measurement system - 1 country,
— no statistic, each “case” is assessed individually – 1 country,
— 2 counties do not provide the statistic.
Table 3 — Volume of the damaged items with partly or fully missing content
Service Average Deviation Minimum Maximum Replies from
Ordinary letters/postcards 0,000 076 5 0,000 107 0,000 0124 0,000 2 HR, DK, HU
Registered letters 0,000 362 0,000 357 0,000 085 2 0,001 06 HR, CZ, DK, HU, PL, SK
Ensured letters 0,003 57 0,004 20 0,000 64 0,010 8 HR, CZ, HU, PL, SK
Small packets (up to 2kg) 0,009 7  0,009 7 0,009 7 DK
HR, CZ, DK, HU, PL, SK,
Parcels 0,005 27 0,005 50 0,000 01 0,015 8
CH
Herein ensured parcels 0,030 2 0,058 6 0,000 337 0,118 CZ, HU, PL, SK
8

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SIST-TP CEN/TR 16915:2016
CEN/TR 16915:2015 (E)
Table 4 — Documentation of the damage
What contains the documentation
Service Replies from
Notes +
Notes Packaging Other
Photos
Ordinary HR, CZ, DK, IE, DE, HU,
4 1 1 3
letters/postcards MT, PT, SK
HR, CZ DK, IE, HU, MT,
Registered letters 5  1 3
PL, PT, SK
HR, CZ, DK, IE, HU, MT,
Ensured letters 3 1 1 3
PL, SK
Small packets (up to 2kg) 1  1 1 HR, DK, MT
HR, CZ, DK, IE, DE, HU,
Parcels 5  4 2
MT, PL, PT, SK, CH
HR, CZ, DK, HU, MT, PL,
Herein ensured parcels 3  3 2
SK, CH
NOTE The following other documentation form is used:
— dedicated protocol of postal items irregularity,
— damage are recorded by the Customer Services Team using a special software package,
— an IT system QSB, by Ipsos or in an IT system CCS (for letters),
— an IT system Dolfin (for parcels).
Table 5 — Documentation of the damage items with missing contents
What contains the documentation
Service Replies from
Notes +
Notes Packaging Other
Photos
Ordinary HR, CZ, DK, IE, HU, MT,
letters/postcards 3  1 3 SK
HR, CZ, DK, IE, HU, MT,
Registered letters
3  1 4 PL, SK
HR, CZ, DK, IE, HU, MT,
Ensured letters
4 1 1 2 PL, SK
Small packets (up to 2kg) 1  1 1 HR, DK, MT
HR, CZ, DK, IE, DE, HU,
Parcels
5  4 2 MT, PL, SK, CH
HR, CZ, DK, HU, MT, PL,
Herein ensured parcels
3  3 2 SK, CH
NOTE The following other documentation form is used:
— dedicated protocol of postal items irregularity,
— damage are recorded by the Customer Services Team using a special software package,
— an IT system Dolfin (for parcels),
— CN43/BDV and inquiries.
9

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SIST-TP CEN/TR 16915:2016
CEN/TR 16915:2015 (E)
Table 6 — Action related to postal item which is identified as damaged in any technological
process; cross-border items
Service/ action Number of % of Number of answer with
answers answers

5 x YES 4 x YES 3 x YES 2 x YES
YES YES
Ordinary letters/postcards   0 0 4 5
A) CN43 / BDV is sent 4 36,4
B) The item is re-packed 11 100,0
C) The item is sent with a remark 9 81,8
D) The item is sent as ”Fragile” 0 0,0
E) Scanning of barcode is performed and an
0 0,0
event is noted
Registered letters   0 3 5 2
A) CN43 / BDV is sent 8 72,7
B) The item is re-packed 10 90,9
C) The item is sent with a remark 9 81,8
D) The item is sent as ”Fragile” 0 0,0
E) Scanning of barcode is performed and an
4 36,4
event is noted
Ensured letters   0 3 4 1
A) CN43 / BDV is sent 6 54,5
B) The item is re-packed 8 72,7
C) The item is sent with a remark 8 72,7
D) The item is sent as ”Fragile” 0 0,0
E) Scanning of barcode is performed and an
4 36,4
event is noted
Small packets (up to 2kg)   0 0 2 2
A) CN43 / BDV is sent 2 18,2
B) The item is re-packed 5 45,5
C) The item is sent with a remark 4 36,4
D) The item is sent as ”Fragile” 0 0,0
E) Scanning of barcode is performed and an
0 0,0
event is noted
Parcels   0 0 2 2
A) CP78 / BDV is sent 8 18,2
B) The item is re-packed 11 45,5
C) The item is sent with a remark 11 36,4
D) The item is sent as ”Fragile” 1 0,0
E) Scanning of barcode is performed and an
6 0,0
event is noted
Herein ensured parcels   1 3 3 2
A) CP78 / BDV is sent 6 54,5
B) The item is re-packed 9 81,8
C) The item is sent with a remark 9 81,8
D) The item is sent as ”Fragile” 1 9,1
E) Scanning of barcode is performed and an
5 45,5
event is noted
10

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SIST-TP CEN/TR 16915:2016
CEN/TR 16915:2015 (E)
Table 7 — Action related to postal item which is identified as damaged in any technological
process; domestic items
Number of % of Number of answer with
Service/ action answers answers
4 x YES 3x YES 2 x YES 1 x YES
YES YES
Ordinary letters/postcards   0 0 9 2
A) The item is re-packed 11 100,0
B) The item is sent with a remark 9 81,8
C) The item is sent as ”Fragile” 0 0,0
D) Scanning of barcode is performed
0 0,0
and an event is noted
Registered letters   0 4 6 0
A) The item is re-packed 10 90,9
B) The item is sent with a remark 9 81,8
C) The item is sent as ”Fragile” 0 0,0
D) Scanning of barcode is performed
5 45,5
and an event is noted
Ensured letters   0 5 4 0
A) The item is re-packed 9 81,8
B) The item is sent with a remark 9 81,8
C) The item is sent as ”Fragile” 0 0,0
D) Scanning of barcode is performed
5 45,5
and an event is noted
S
...

SLOVENSKI STANDARD
kSIST-TP FprCEN/TR 16915:2015
01-september-2015
Poštne storitve - Kakovost storitev - Poškodbe poštnih pošiljk
Postal Services - Postal services - Quality of service - Damage to postal items
Postalische Dienstleistungen - Dienstqualität - Beschädigung von Postsendungen
Services postaux - Qualité de service - Dommages aux envois postaux
Ta slovenski standard je istoveten z: FprCEN/TR 16915
ICS:
03.240 Poštne storitve Postal services
kSIST-TP FprCEN/TR 16915:2015 en,fr,de
2003-01.Slovenski inštitut za standardizacijo. Razmnoževanje celote ali delov tega standarda ni dovoljeno.

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kSIST-TP FprCEN/TR 16915:2015

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kSIST-TP FprCEN/TR 16915:2015

TECHNICAL REPORT
FINAL DRAFT
FprCEN/TR 16915
RAPPORT TECHNIQUE

TECHNISCHER BERICHT

July 2015
ICS 03.240
English Version
Postal Services - Postal services - Quality of service - Damage
to postal items
Services postaux - Qualité de service - Dommages aux Postalische Dienstleistungen - Dienstqualität -
envois postaux Beschädigung von Postsendungen


This draft Technical Report is submitted to CEN members for Technical Committee Approval. It has been drawn up by the Technical
Committee CEN/TC 331.

CEN members are the national standards bodies of Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia,
Finland, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania,
Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey and United
Kingdom.

Recipients of this draft are invited to submit, with their comments, notification of any relevant patent rights of which they are aware and to
provide supporting documentation.

Warning : This document is not a Technical Report. It is distributed for review and comments. It is subject to change without notice and
shall not be referred to as a Technical Report.


EUROPEAN COMMITTEE FOR STANDARDIZATION
COMITÉ EUROPÉEN DE NORMALISATION

EUROPÄISCHES KOMITEE FÜR NORMUNG

CEN-CENELEC Management Centre: Avenue Marnix 17, B-1000 Brussels
© 2015 CEN All rights of exploitation in any form and by any means reserved Ref. No. FprCEN/TR 16915:2015 E
worldwide for CEN national Members.

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kSIST-TP FprCEN/TR 16915:2015
FprCEN/TR 16915:2015 (E)
Contents Page
European foreword .3
Introduction .4
1 Scope .5
2 Terms and definitions .5
3 Main issues concerning the damages of postal items .6
3.1 General .6
3.2 Solutions applied by operators .6
4 Prevention actions . 16
5 Measurements . 17
5.1 General . 17
5.2 Analysis of the database of complaints . 17
5.3 Reference to EN 14012 . 19
6 Activities to mitigate impact of damages . 19
7 Parameters of postal items affecting the number of damages . 20
Bibliography . 21

2

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kSIST-TP FprCEN/TR 16915:2015
FprCEN/TR 16915:2015 (E)
European foreword
This document (FprCEN/TR 16915:2015) has been prepared by Technical Committee CEN/TC 331 “Postal
services”, the secretariat of which is held by NEN.
This document is currently submitted to the Technical Committee Approval.
This document has been prepared under a mandate given to CEN by the European Commission and the
European Free Trade Association.
3

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kSIST-TP FprCEN/TR 16915:2015
FprCEN/TR 16915:2015 (E)
Introduction
The postal services sector offers an essential communication infrastructure of major economic and social
importance for commercial users and consumers. Postal services have a substantial effect on the
competitiveness of other sectors and European cohesion in general. In particular, the effectiveness of postal
services is crucial for the development of business to business and home delivery in Europe and therefore is
considered as a service of general economic interest (SGEI).
Directive 97/67, in particular its Article 20, recognizes the importance of the role of standardization and also
takes into account the wellness of users in particular. The European Commission has further supported the
process of technical standardization in the postal sector through mandates to the European Committee for
Standardization (CEN). A first standardization mandate (M/240) was issued in March 1996. Based on the
progress achieved within this mandate, a second CEN mandate (M/312) was issued by the Commission in
2001.
The European Commission has recently issued another mandate to CEN (M/428) requesting CEN to perform
standardization activities in order to adjust the existing European Standards for postal services in a multi-
players environment, to develop new technical standards to improve the interoperability in the postal sector
and to study the feasibility of new standards in the area of quality of service (QoS).
This document was developed based on experiences of project team PT-I, in working group
CEN/TC 331/WG 1. A final result of PTI project was Feasibility study when the PT-I came to the conclusion,
that:
— the project as a European Standard (EN) is not feasible,
— it is feasible to develop a guide with the best practice/benchmark list,
— the guide can be published either as TR or attached as an informative annex to the EN 14012.
Finally, the TR as guide to EN 14012 related to best practice related to minimizing number of damages and
actions to mitigation effects of damages of postal items was chosen.
4

---------------------- Page: 6 ----------------------
kSIST-TP FprCEN/TR 16915:2015
FprCEN/TR 16915:2015 (E)
1 Scope
This Technical Report is an extension as a guide to the European Standard EN 14012 with regard to damage
of postal items. EN 14012 recommends:
The continual improvement of the overall quality of service is an objective of the complaint handling system,
and using the information from the complaint handling process to improve the overall quality of service should
be a permanent objective of any postal organization.
Complaint handling processes should allow analysis of complaint causes.
However, it does not contain detailed guidelines to possible solutions. Damages are a rare event and a
standard for measurement proved not to be feasible. This document contains a set of best practices dedicated
to use by postal operators regardless of their size and users of postal services.
2 Terms and definitions
For the purposes of this document, the following terms and definitions apply.
2.1
CN43/BDV
verification note, i.e. a form to report an anomaly or a set of anomalies with a letter mail dispatch or a
consignment to a partner postal operator
Note 1 to entry: BDV - bulletin de vérification, the form in French.
2.2
CP78/BDV
verification note, i.e. a form to report an anomaly or a set of anomalies with a parcel dispatch or a
consignment to a partner postal operator
Note 1 to entry: BDV - bulletin de vérification, the form in French.
2.3
damaged postal item
postal item which is not in the same condition as the provider accepted it from the sender
Note 1 to entry: The term “damage to postal items” usually implies that the contents of postal items are partially or
completely damaged so that they became partly or whole unusable for their intended purposes, especially, for the purpose
which that content had for the sender when he sent it to the recipient.
2.4
postal item
item addressed in the final form in which it is to be carried by a postal service provider
Note 1 to entry: In addition to items of correspondence, such items also include for instance books, catalogues,
newspapers, periodicals or containing merchandise with or without commercial value.
2.5
postal services
services involving the clearance, sorting, transport and delivery of postal items
5

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kSIST-TP FprCEN/TR 16915:2015
FprCEN/TR 16915:2015 (E)
3 Main issues concerning the damages of postal items
3.1 General

Figure 1 — Damage of postal item
The definition from EN 14012:2008, 3.16 item damage complaint also includes damage to the wrapping /
envelope. From the technical point of view, the wrapping protects the contents from the damage during the
whole technological process and, if the wrapping had been damaged before the delivery to the addressee,
that event would likely lead to the damage of the content. Therefore, analysis of causes of damage to the
wrapping may also be relevant.
It should be taken under consideration that only damages covering loss or damages of contents will be
complained about. What's more, the client cannot raise the complaint if item was damaged and repaired
without damage or loss content. Therefore complaint database can be source of information only for postal
items damaged in big degree.
3.2 Solutions applied by operators
All participated parties that are the sender, the addressee and the operator are interested in delivery of letter /
parcel in good condition. There are two cases that should be considered:
a) E-commerce. The sender sells things generally in factory made, good quality packaging, which is
resistant to typical events related to transportation. Usually the shop adds corporate packaging, which is a
next layer of wrapping and make packaging more safe.
b) Private sender, who hasn't experienced in packaging and in this case support of operator is expected.
Tables 1 to 11 contain information collected from 11 European operators in PT-I project related to number of
damages in postal services, activities to decrease number of damages and to mitigate their effects.
Responses to the questionnaire were sent by:
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kSIST-TP FprCEN/TR 16915:2015
FprCEN/TR 16915:2015 (E)
1) HR - Croatia - Hrvatska Pošta d.d.;
2) CZ - Czech Republic – UNMZ;
3) DK - Denmark - Post Danmark Logistik A/S;
4) IE - Ireland - An Post;
5) DE - Germany - Deustche Post AG;
6) HU - Hungary - Magyar Posta Zrt;
7) MT - MALTA - MaltaPost p.l.c.;
8) PL - Poland - Poczta Polska S.A.;
9) PT - Portugal - CTT - Correios de Portugal, S.A.;
10) SK - Slovak Republic - Slovenská Pošta, a. s.;
11) CH - Switzerland - Swiss Post.
Volume of damaged items (1 and 3)
After we had analyzed the results from the second questionnaire, we were faced with some facts. The volume
of damaged items is very small. The typical number of damaged items largely depends on the type of postal
service. Only one operator led separate statistics for small packets.
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kSIST-TP FprCEN/TR 16915:2015
FprCEN/TR 16915:2015 (E)
Table 1 — Percent of damaged items
Maximu
Service Average Deviation Minimum Replies from
m
HR, DK, DE, HU, MT,
Ordinary letters/postcards 0,005 62 0,012 0 0,000 031 0 0,03
PT, CH
HR, CZ, DK, HU, MT,
Registered letters 0,005 71 0,010 3 0,000 071 9 0,03
PL, PT, SK, CH
HR, CZ, DK, HU, PT,
Ensured letters 0,007 74 0,010 3 0,000 646 0,03
SK, CH
Small packets (up to 2kg) 0,020 1 0,014 6 0,0034 0,03 DK, MT, PT, CH
HR, CZ, DK, DE, HU,
Parcels 0,015 8 0,023 5 0,000 1 0,075 6
PL, PT, SK, CH
HR, CZ, DK, HU, PL,
Herein ensured parcels 0,038 6 0,077 6 0,000 45 0,196 7
PT, SK, CH
NOTE 1 Part of operators sent collective data for a few services.
NOTE 2 Only Denmark provides separately statistics to small packets. Other operators include this service in
the ordinary letters.
NOTE 3 Germany provides statistic for 4 degrees of damages. Spread is huge, from level of small damage
(e.g. dirty wrapping) 0,2 % to the highest level of damage - complaints because of the damage 0,001 %.
Table 2 — Keeping statistical data about the cause of damage
Number of YES are Percent of Countries which collect the
Service
answers collected YES statistics
Ordinary letters/postcards 11 4 36,36 HR, IE, DE, PT
Registered letters 11 4 36,36 HR, CZ, IE, PL
Ensured letters 10 4 40,00 HR, CZ, IE, PL
Small packets (up to 2kg) 9 2 22,22 HR, IR
Parcels 11 6 54,55 HR, CZ, IE, DE, PL, CH
Herein ensured parcels 10 5 50,00 HR, CZ, IE, PL, CH
NOTE The following sources of information are given:
— complaint database - 5 countries (1 country - only for complaint with compensation),
— complaint database + other sources - 1 country,
— collected daily in the sorting centres in every processing line - 1 country,
— only for the samples of the external measurement system - 1 country,
— no statistic, each “case” is assessed individually – 1 country,
— 2 counties do not provide the statistic.
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kSIST-TP FprCEN/TR 16915:2015
FprCEN/TR 16915:2015 (E)
Table 3 — Volume of the damaged items with partly or fully missing content
Service Average Deviation Minimum Maximum Replies from
0,000 076
Ordinary letters/postcards 0,000 107 0,000 0124 0,000 2 HR, DK, HU
5
HR, CZ, DK, HU, PL,
Registered letters 0,000 362 0,000 357 0,000 085 2 0,001 06
SK
Ensured letters 0,003 57 0,004 20 0,000 64 0,010 8 HR, CZ, HU, PL, SK
Small packets (up to 2kg) 0,009 7  0,009 7 0,009 7 DK
HR, CZ, DK, HU, PL,
Parcels 0,005 27 0,005 50 0,000 01 0,015 8
SK, CH
Herein ensured parcels 0,030 2 0,058 6 0,000 337 0,118 CZ, HU, PL, SK
Table 4 — Documentation of the damage
What contains the documentation
Service Replies from
Notes +
Notes Packaging Other
Photos
HR, CZ, DK, IE, DE,
Ordinary letters/postcards 4 1 1 3
HU, MT, PT, SK
HR, CZ DK, IE, HU,
Registered letters 5  1 3
MT, PL, PT, SK
HR, CZ, DK, IE, HU,
Ensured letters 3 1 1 3
MT, PL, SK
Small packets (up to 2kg) 1  1 1 HR, DK, MT
HR, CZ, DK, IE, DE,
Parcels 5  4 2 HU, MT, PL, PT, SK,
CH
HR, CZ, DK, HU, MT,
Herein ensured parcels 3  3 2
PL, SK, CH
NOTE The following other documentation form is used:
— dedicated protocol of postal items irregularity,
— damage are recorded by the Customer Services Team using a special software package,
— an IT system QSB, by Ipsos or in an IT system CCS (for letters),
— an IT system Dolfin (for parcels).
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kSIST-TP FprCEN/TR 16915:2015
FprCEN/TR 16915:2015 (E)
Table 5 — Documentation of the damage items with missing contents
What contains the documentation
Service Replies from
Notes +
Notes Packaging Other
Photos
HR, CZ, DK, IE, HU,
Ordinary letters/postcards
3  1 3 MT, SK
HR, CZ, DK, IE, HU,
Registered letters
3  1 4 MT, PL, SK
HR, CZ, DK, IE, HU,
Ensured letters
4 1 1 2 MT, PL, SK
Small packets (up to 2kg) 1  1 1 HR, DK, MT
HR, CZ, DK, IE, DE,
Parcels
5  4 2 HU, MT, PL, SK, CH
HR, CZ, DK, HU, MT,
Herein ensured parcels
3  3 2 PL, SK, CH
NOTE The following other documentation form is used:
— dedicated protocol of postal items irregularity,
— damage are recorded by the Customer Services Team using a special software package,
— an IT system Dolfin (for parcels),
— CN43/BDV and inquiries.
Table 6 — Action related to postal item which is identified as damaged in any technological process;
cross-border items
Number of answer with
Number of % of
Service/ action answers answers
3 x
5 x YES 4 x YES 2 x YES
YES YES
YES
Ordinary letters/postcards   0 0 4 5
A) CN43 / BDV is sent 4 36,4
B) The item is re-packed 11 100,0
C) The item is sent with a remark 9 81,8
D) The item is sent as ”Fragile” 0 0,0
E) Scanning of barcode is performed
0 0,0
and an event is noted
Registered letters   0 3 5 2
A) CN43 / BDV is sent 8 72,7
B) The item is re-packed 10 90,9
C) The item is sent with a remark 9 81,8
D) The item is sent as ”Fragile” 0 0,0
E) Scanning of barcode is performed
4 36,4
and an event is noted
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kSIST-TP FprCEN/TR 16915:2015
FprCEN/TR 16915:2015 (E)
Number of answer with
Number of % of
Service/ action answers answers
3 x
5 x YES 4 x YES 2 x YES
YES YES
YES
Ensured letters   0 3 4 1
A) CN43 / BDV is sent 6 54,5
B) The item is re-packed 8 72,7
C) The item is sent with a remark 8 72,7
D) The item is sent as ”Fragile” 0 0,0
E) Scanning of barcode is performed
4 36,4
and an event is noted
Small packets (up to 2kg)
  0 0 2 2
A) CN43 / BDV is sent 2 18,2
B) The item is re-packed 5 45,5
C) The item is sent with a remark 4 36,4
D) The item is sent as ”Fragile” 0 0,0
E) Scanning of barcode is performed
0 0,0
and an event is noted
Parcels   0 0 2 2
A) CP78 / BDV is sent 8 18,2
B) The item is re-packed 11 45,5
C) The item is sent with a remark 11 36,4
D) The item is sent as ”Fragile” 1 0,0
E) Scanning of barcode is performed
6 0,0
and an event is noted
Herein ensured parcels   1 3 3 2
A) CP78 / BDV is sent 6 54,5
B) The item is re-packed 9 81,8
C) The item is sent with a remark 9 81,8
D) The item is sent as ”Fragile” 1 9,1
E) Scanning of barcode is performed
5 45,5
and an event is noted
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kSIST-TP FprCEN/TR 16915:2015
FprCEN/TR 16915:2015 (E)
Table 7 — Action related to postal item which is identified as damaged in any technological process;
domestic items
Number of answer with
Number of % of
Service/ action answers answers
2 x
4 x YES 3x YES 1 x YES
YES YES
YES
Ordinary letters/postcards   0 0 9 2
A) The item is re-packed 11 100,0
B) The item is sent with a remark 9 81,8
C) The item is sent as ”Fragile” 0 0,0
D) Scanning of barcode is performed
0 0,0
and an event is noted
Registered letters   0 4 6 0
A) The item is re-packed 10 90,9
B) The item is sent with a remark 9 81,8
C) The item is sent as ”Fragile” 0 0,0
D) Scanning of barcode is performed

5 45,5
and an event is noted
Ensured letters   0 5 4 0
A) The item is re-packed 9 81,8
B) The item is sent with a remark 9 81,8
C) The item is sent as ”Fragile” 0 0,0
D) Scanning of barcode is performed
5 45,5
...

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