So far, the Flats Sequencing System seems to be increasing rather than decreasing the Postal Service’s sorting and delivery costs, according to a postal expert.
“The FSS has at times been seen as the technological fix that would reduce flats costs” and make the Periodicals class less of a money loser for the U.S. Postal Service, noted Halstein Stralberg in comments Time Inc. submitted Friday to the Postal Regulatory Commission. But based on USPS’s data for fiscal year 2011, “FSS processing was in fact very costly and most likely made Periodicals costs higher than they would have been without FSS.”
“In FY2011, far too many flats were rejected from the FSS, and some either disappeared or had unacceptable delays. Additionally, relative to the volumes sorted by the FSS, there must have been far too many manhours spent on a system that was supposed to be highly automated,” Stralberg wrote on behalf of Time Inc., which is challenging the way USPS calculates the Periodicals class’s costs.
“It appears most likely that the majority of the flats that were rejected in some way by the FSS during FY2011 were diverted to manual processing,” Stralberg concluded. “Considering that the majority of flats processed by FSS are flats that without FSS would have been carrier route presorted [making their handling costs low], the flats that are diverted to manual from FSS will experience higher delivery costs, as well as much higher processing costs, than they would had they simply remained as carrier route presorted flats going directly to the carriers.”
USPS’s $1.4 billion investment in FSS was supposed to revolutionize the labor-intensive process of delivering catalogs, magazines, newspapers, and other flat mail. The last of the 100 machines was fired up several months ago, but the system is still plagued by machine downtime, late deliveries, and other problems.
The efficiency problems Stralberg noted in FY 2011 continue in FY 2012.
“At a recent meeting with USPS management, we were informed that FSS is now finalizing for delivery approximately 50% of the available volume in the FSS zones,” wrote Jim O’Brien, Time’s Vice President of Distribution & Postal Affairs, in comments the big magazine publisher also filed with the PRC on Friday. “This means that the other 50% of the available volume is being manually cased. While specific cost and mail-processing data are unavailable, it makes intuitive sense that having two systems processing mail for the same zones will add cost.”
One problem Stralberg pointed out is that more than 1 out of 10 pieces fed into the FSS do not end up in delivery-point sequence. That can lead to a lot of manual work and delayed deliveries.
“If a piece is rejected, for whatever reason, in the [FSS's] second pass, it is already too late for it to be entered into Pass 1 for that particular zone on that day,” Stralberg noted. “In one case, a subscriber to three Time Inc. weeklies reported that none of them had arrived in a given week. The Postal Service could not explain, but when provided with the IMB [Intelligent Mail Barcode] codes for the three copies, they could confirm that all three had been read into the first FSS pass, but none had made it to the second pass.”
Stralberg found one piece of good news for USPS in the data: Overall, the proportion of flats that undergo expensive manual processing has dropped dramatically – probably by more than a third -- in the past two years.
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Any talk of cost cutting has to include the fact that there are still far too many in management with much too much downtime.Over the years many suspect jobs were given to "friends"and when the current crisis hit,the chickens came home to roost and the house of cards fell.If this isn't discussed, the the workers will bear the unjust burden of the coming cuts and reforms.This overburdening of the workload will cause legit sickleave and comp time;thus repeating the old policy of penny wise and dollar foolish.
ReplyDeleteIt would be very interesting to find the link(s) between the manufacturer of the FSS machines and upper-level postal management. Maybe some people can do serious jail time.
ReplyDeleteThe vendor of the FSS now wants nothing to do with the system. USPS put to bid a support contract, which Northrop Grumman did not even attempt to win. That is telling.
ReplyDeleteAny carrier will also tell you that it takes more time to deliver a route withan extra bundle.
ReplyDeleteWhen FSS rejected flats come in to be manually sorting they are just selectively pulled out by management and returned to the FSS machines for a second or third try. Carrier route mail and all. Periodicals too. Anything they think the machines should have run. That's where the damage,loss and delay comes in.
ReplyDeleteFSS = Financial Savings Swindle, great job on Managements part. As usual more bosses and not enough employees to handle and deliver the mail. Nice going Headquarters! Thats why carriers are out till dark, the processing plants can not get the mail on time, the routes are over burden. The customers get lousy service now as it is. Now you want to close post offices????? Clean house at the top, instead of the bottom as usual!!!!
ReplyDeleteas a carrier working under fss i find it offensive by the amount of letter size mail being run through the fss machines. i know that the reason is to justify the fss machines by unjustly raising the pieces of mail being run through the machine making managements numbers look better. it makes it more difficult for those of us on walking routes when the letter size mail either falls on the ground or stays in the carrier bag when you pull out the supposedly flat size mail. this is totally unacceptable and bogus.
ReplyDeleteI've been a letter carrier for the past ten years, and I do agree it takes longer to deliver more bundles. There are times when I have up to five bundles of mail, getting back after 6pm is the norm now a days.
ReplyDeleteUSPS MANAGEMENT IS A TOTAL. DISGRACE TO THE AMERICAN PUBLIC .
ReplyDeleteAlso there has been more delayed mail since FSS came to our station. This past fall and winter we had literally none of our magazines come to our office on time. Customers were rightly upset and some issues would arrive at the station 2 issues at a time. I literally delivered Thanksgiving issues in December. I have been a letter carrier for 34 years and have never seen so much late mail.
ReplyDeleteDon't worry the delays are still abundant in areas without the FSS. Some of the Mail Some of the Time! We regularly have to tear down our cased mail, go to waiting time until mail arrives and is worked. Wait I know lets move back the starting times again! Then carriers get back later, Non OTDL carriers get forced to carry to make "window" mail gets to plant later, mail gets processed later, wait does this sound repetitive? Well at least some boss somewhere is saying I did a good job today and have the computer reports to show it!
ReplyDeleteLike anonymous said we have way to much management in my office with 27 routes we have a station manager and three supervisors. They also just repainted the whole inside of our building and its only ten years old talk about foolish spending.r
ReplyDeleteA box of rocks is just that:a box of rocks.If It becomes expensive to keep, It then becomes an expensive box of rocks.
ReplyDeleteThe FSS machines may not have been a wise investment, but a lot of money and time have gone into them to pull the plug on them. I fully expect them to continue in use until the LIGHT goes on and somone somewhere comes to his or her senses and failure is finally declared.
ReplyDeleteDoes the added labor cost also include the personel cost of the level 21 & up inspection "teams" that come out to evaluate the fss routes several times per month?!
ReplyDeleteIt seems the USPS thinks that the best way to trim the costs of all the overburdened routes is to have a 70,000 dollar a year stupidvisor go out with the carriers multiple times to try and fudge route data to meet the "savings" they projected they would create. When this doesn't work, we repeat the process and see if it works the next time. Teams of 15-20 show up for weeks at a time soaking up their salaries by watching the carriers do the actual work. We need an independent audit of this practice to see where the hell so much of our money is going. Endless route inspections are a financial black hole within the Post Office.
The inmates are clearly running the asylum!!
We will be broke and out of business before the light comes on for management. After all they are NEVER WRONG. Everything is the fault of lazy union workers according to headquarters.
ReplyDeletepetition to fire PMG, take the time to register and sign only 20 days left
ReplyDeletehttps://wwws.whitehouse.gov/petitions/!/petition/fire-and-replace-postmaster-general-donahoe/V8r8t83V?utm_source=wh.gov&utm_medium=shorturl&utm_campaign=shorturl
they should give us 20 minute breaks & hour lunches so the runners can give even more free time
ReplyDeleteThis country and the Postal Service will not thrive until we get back to basics,treat each other with mutual respect as humans and stop thinking we're better because of our 'title'. Just give the mail to the carriers in any sequence-they know exactly what to do with it. Stop wasting 'profits' on the lastest 'fad'. Mail in- Mail out!
ReplyDeleteJust like deciding on which plants get closed, senior management decided to put the FSS machines where they would best protect thier own jobs, rather then where the machines and transportation routes would be most efficient. Now we are faced with closing down efficient plants and moving operations to plants that cant even handle the work they have now. I see a disaster ahead.
ReplyDeleteIt would have been more cost effective had management allowed carriers to case FSS up and deliver, at a higher standard. I have gained one division lost 45 minutes of office and gained 1 to 1.25 hours on the street. Street time use to be 5:50 now 7 hours by casing in could have left office 20 minutes later and cut my street time from 7 to about 6:15 with about 15 - 20 minutes down time.
ReplyDeleteFalse data is just that,false.MSP scans are just more computer data fodder for bosses to justify that they are doing something for their daily bread,most of whom lately seem to be the spawn and friends of spawn of higher paid driftwood downtown.Everyone lies to everyone else,it really destroys your morale when management can utter outright drivel with a straight face. The scariest part is the creeping realization that the rest of our society(government-military-corporations..)is run the same way
ReplyDeleteDo any of you individuals who want to cry and complain ever wonder whats its like not to have a job at all? In these public blogging areas, all you do is complain about the Postal Service and tell customers how bad your service is. Whether its you or your supervisor the public doesnt care. They just see that you cant get the mail out, and perhaps they will take their business elsewhere. Then what, you people have no common sense.
ReplyDeleteBoth on the maintenance side and while I was still a carrier, it was known and easy to see that the FSS was and would be a failure. Management just refused to accept failure, time and time again ignoring the reality that this project should have been cancelled. This is not an efficient system for the carrier and it's not working for operations either. It's a boondoggle that we're spending billions on. The real question would be to see who the real beneficiary is and whose pockets have been lined... It sure hasn't helped the post office or our mailers.
ReplyDeleteAS THE FSS HAS FAILED THE WALK SEQUENCE MAIL THAT IS RUN THREW THE ST. PAUL PLANT/AUTOMATION IS FAILING ALSO...THE VALUE OF THE MAIL HAS LEFT DUE TO THE LARGE DISCOUNTS AND THERE STILL RUNNING IT CAUSE THEY THINK THE MAILING GETS TO THE BOX QUICKER. AND BARRY THE CARRIER ON MONDAY. THE SENDER SHOULD TAKE THE ADDRESS OFF AND ALLOW THE USPS TO PUT IN EVERY BOX AND CALL IT A DAY.
ReplyDeleteWILL SPEED UP THE DELIVERY. SOME MAGS AND CERTS WOULD HELP DEL. TIME ALSO.
Anonymous ..DID YOU ALSO KNOW THAT ALL FFS MAIL GETS PREFEANCE OVER PRIORITY, PARCEL POST, UNWORK FLAT AND LETTER ( FIRST CLASS) MAIL THAT LEAVES A PLANT/// AMAZING THE FSS FLATS ARE NOT FIRST CLASS AND ARE SORTED RIGHT TO A CARRIERS DESK.. NO CLERK HAS TO TOUCH THAT MAIL BUT ITS HAS TO GET DIPATCHED FROM PLANT BEFORE ALL WORKING MAIL DOES
ReplyDelete"Do any of you individuals who want to cry and complain ever wonder whats its like not to have a job at all? In these public blogging areas, all you do is complain about the Postal Service and tell customers how bad your service is. Whether its you or your supervisor the public doesnt care. They just see that you cant get the mail out, and perhaps they will take their business elsewhere. Then what, you people have no common sense."
ReplyDeleteYes we have. No one is complaining about having a job. They're complaining about how a company that is supposedly losing so much money is being run ass backwards so as to lose even more money. This has nothing to do with public perception of the mail, it has to do with a business being run into the ground by fools. As for sense, it is anything but "common". Especially in th PO!!
there was 2 postcons filled with magazines in my office...i said hey boss what about those magazines over there.....he said they were slated to go to fss........so magazines that were in my office already were shipped out to fss only to be brought back to my office
ReplyDeleteSome of the reasons why the FSS costs the USPS and why it will continue to bleed red ink
ReplyDeleteOne of the hidden expenses not likely considered or counted in discussions about the FSS are the costly expansions that approximately 125 sorting facilities across the Nation incurred [in the millions / plant] in order to accommodate the massive FSS machines. [each machine requires approximately 40,000 sf of floor space and needs a ceiling height of nearly 25’]. Some of the plants that expanded, will never receive an FSS machine.
When the original bids were put out, the USPS wanted 240 FSS machines to be built. By the time the Post Office awarded the bid to Northrup-Grumman, the mail volume for flats had plummeted (and is continuing to drop) so the Post Office cut the order to 100 machines. From Northrup-Grumman’s perspective, they could not recover their R&D costs (building prototypes, hiring engineers, programmers, etc.) with only 100 machines. Not surprisingly, N-G dissolved the division the day after the 100th FSS machine was bolted in. The USPS was left with a system with no software / hardware support, limited knowledge of how the system worked and poorly trained maintenance personnel to keep the project afloat.
Another cost that is hidden is the training costs. The initial training for Electronics Technicians (ET’s) was part of the ‘deployment’ of the machines and budgeted for. The additional training will not be. In addition to the $15,000 / seat to train each ET (and this requires two six-week stints out in Oklahoma) there are room & board as well as travel costs. [because of the length of the schools, besides flying each employee out & back twice for the training, each is also flown out & back once in the middle of each training phase for a total of 8 flights / trainee. At the end of the 12 weeks, ET’s have a familiarization with this complicated system and still require weeks of OJT before they are able to keep the machine running reasonably well. As ET’s abandon the machine (they are required to stay on the machine for one year after training), more ET’s will need to be trained. [Another burden on the individual facilities is to continue to provide support for all of their systems while significant portions of their staff are away for training. All of the overtime required to cover for those losses is usually not accounted for either.]
Both Northrup-Grumman and the National Center for Employee Development (NCED) [the USPS training facility in Norman, Oklahoma] have suggested / recommended that the FSS machines be staffed with a minimum of 2 ET’s and one Mechanic / machine. For a facility with 4 FSS machines that run all 3 shifts this would require a minimum of 42 ET’s to allow for scheduled days off. This is in addition to any ET’s required for other systems in the plant. Most facilities are currently running with fewer than half that number of ET’s in the entire shop and few, if any, Mechanics. Add to this, the fact that 100 machines are being tasked with the mail volume that was intended for 240 machines and you can see the looming disaster. Already, Mail Processing is taking away maintenance windows to process more mail so instead of having 16 hours of run time and 8 hours of maintenance & testing / day and a full day on Saturday [since there is no Sunday dispatch / delivery]; there is often 20 hours or more of run rime and 4 or fewer hours to perform maintenance & mail search. Many of the plants are running on Saturday as well. Most of the FSS machines have been up and running about a year. Already, they are proving to need far more maintenance than anticipated to keep them running. With less scheduled maintenance, and especially as the machines begin to show signs of wear, and with increasing pressure to run them longer to process more mail, the breakdown time and costs of repair & maintenance will only increase.
In response to the argument that the FSS machines will reduce human handling of the mail, I see just the opposite. Before mail can even be sent to the FSS area, it must first run through the APPS machine. When it arrives in the FSS area it must first be ‘prepped’ on the SAMP machine. The SAMP requires 7 operators. 5 of the operators work mail prep stations. In order to prep mail for the FSS, EVERY mail piece is handled (straps cut plastic removed, etc.) and then faced in a specific manner [spine down & address facing you] . EVERY SINGLE PIECE OF MAIL IS HANDLED AND ORIENTED. Next it is sent over to the FSS machine itself. When it gets to the 4 feeding stations (4 more employees), the Clerks hand-justify the mail while it’s on the feeder table so it won’t jam the infeed line. After the mail is transferred to RCTs they have an employee ‘groom’ the mail (justify it to one side) so that it doesn’t jam the ITC portion of the machine. From there it is transferred back to ACTs, justified on the feeder tables again (for second pass), groomed again before the ITC (second pass) before it is transferred to street trays to be dispatched to the area offices. The mail is processed through essentially the entire machine twice in order to accomplish Carrier Route Sequencing. That means that the same mail is groomed twice and justified on the feeders twice. Even with all the extra nursing, the machine loses, missorts, and damages a fair amount of mail. ETs are required to constantly monitor the machine and clear jams. They need to request permission (or get a relief person) to go to the bathroom and are often told to work through their lunch. Because of the understaffing, most of the ETs get unlimited overtime. Some are getting so burned out that they are refusing to work their days off or before or after tour (shift). I’m sure that when the year requirement is up, there will be many ETs who bid off of the FSS machines when positions become available.
ReplyDeleteWith the exorbitant one-time costs of procuring the FSS machines and preparing the sites, add to that the new contracts to improve the software and make hardware modifications and the continuing repair & maintenance as well as the personnel costs (staffing & overtime) the FSS machines will likely NEVER recover the expenses that the USPS incurred and those costs will continue to mount. The prudent thing to do would be to admit to it’s failure, cut their losses and move on. What will, in all likelihood, happen is that the Postal Service will continue to throw money at the problem until they have no choice but to literally scrap it.
Even all of the savings gained by reducing the number of Letter Carrier’s, will be far offset by the initial expense of reconfiguring the carrier routes, disposing of and eventually buying new mail cases and, in the end, hiring more carriers and reconfiguring the routes, essentially back to where they started. With the FSS machines, we are not expending fewer manhours or handling the mail any less than we were when the carriers cased it for 1-2 hours before their routes. The mail now, arrives later, sometimes damaged and is more often misdirected. To the customer, we are doing a worse job. The sad part is that they are paying dearly for it.
APWU has been having intense secret meetings to find a way to put a stop to USPS’ early out contemplations.It’s obvious that the APWU doesn’t want its older senior lemmings to leave cause junior employees are not exactly breaking down doors to join the APWU. A certain regional coordinator was heard to say that if another early out takes place together with the loss of jobs that is taking place at a dizzying rate…that this will spell the death knell of the APWU.
ReplyDeleteSo, save yourselves some money right now by filling out that PS Form 1188 and pocket that dues money along with the impending dues assessment that’s coming round the bend! The party’s over, my friend
C'mon folks...lets not be naive. The FSS could not pass acceptance when it was put in a trial situation with contractor personnel trying to make it work. There was no way this machine was going to function well in the real world with ETs trying to maintain it. Ask headquarters why, when the OIG advised not to buy the machine until it passed acceptance, the USPS not only went ahead with acceptance, but actually accelerated the installation process. Money changed hands.
ReplyDeleteI'm a mailhandler on the FSS. I'm constantly amazed at how much mail is rejected from the FSS machine.
ReplyDeleteWe never have enough help in the ITC.....i'm getting burned out. Became a mailhandler after the plant I was at for over 10 years closed. Now as a flexie, I'm stuck doing the job of two.
ET's never come over to fix the jams.
Still trying to find out what the policies and procedures are for ITC as far as mailhandlers vs ET's. We fix everything. There is no chain across a certain section. We're told to go in and clear any jams. Even though we signed a form saying we understand we're not to be in that area.
Lots of overtime working in FSS.
I see it as a big waste.
APWU Members Urged to Take Action As Senate Reviews Postal Reform
ReplyDeletePostal reform is a hot topic in Congress as the Senate prepares to vote on the 21st Century Postal Service Act, and APWU President Cliff Guffey is urging union members to contact their senators and let them know: Senate bill 1789 is only acceptable in its current form.
As lawmakers review the bill, Guffey is asking union members to let their senators know that S. 1789 must be passed. “ It is crucial that we get our point across,” he said.
“The bill would force the Postal Service to keep open hundreds of mail processing centers, and thousands of post offices,” Guffey said. “By giving more substantial financial relief, the bill would strengthen the Postal Service, save jobs, and drive customers our way,” he added.
“APWU members have done a great job of getting the word out to legislators about our concerns,” Guffey added. “At this critical time, union members must keep up the good work.”
S-1789 will;
Set strict service standards.
Allow the USPS to recover over-payments the Postal Service made to its retiree pension funds.
Allow the USPS to offer Early Retirement Incentives.
Adequately address the requirement that forces the USPS to pre-fund future retiree health benefits.
Prevent the closing of small post offices.
Protects 6 day delivery.
John H. Dirzius
Northeast Region Coordinator
American Postal Workers Union
Why don't they make sure every route is on DPS before they start messing with the flats. I thought DPS was supposed to be a money saver. It cut 3 hours from my route. But there are several routes in my area that still are NOT on DPS. Talk about an unlevel playing field. No common sense in management!!!
ReplyDeleteMailhandlers know how to handle this FSS machine if people from the top don't bypass Safety Operating Procedures. This Machine is about Numbers First Safety Is Not An Issue.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous says
ReplyDeleteWhy doesn't the post office look at evaulating the city carriers like the rural carriers . the rural carriers take ALL mail EVERYDAY no curtailed mail. we case everything , carry more deliveries, & make it back in the daylight. oh but wait Who would Management harass???? They wouldn't have anybody to micromanage WAKE UP
We the carriers have always said that the FSS is slowing us down and we are on the streets longer dealing with the mail
ReplyDeleteCarrier routed bundled mail should never be opened to be put on machines. The mailer pays a reduced rate for the mail to go directly to the carriers, bypassing automation. You don't have to be a rocket scientist to figure that out. Then the mailers want to know why there is delayed mail and higher costs. Its all at the expense of managers showing higher machine volumes so they can collect their unearned bonuses!!
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, northrop grumman is no longer making the postal equipment,when they first time test the FSS ,the postal service hired all retired postal worker to evaluate instead of hiring expert from outside it was all inside job.
ReplyDeletelet's compare this machine with AI(auto induction)machine. the AI can keep loading the mail more precisely because you can face up the mail on the conveyor every time each loading so when the prepper does not have to flip over when they prep so amazingly you can prep most fast and effectively,what about the FSS loader? when the mail handler load the whole container(wire cage or skid) always getting all kind of jam,let's break down this jams and you will know why it caused from.
1. dumper fault-they have too many sensor inside the dumper since they want to make automatice dump,it is sensitive ,too
2.lip jam- the design of the lip opening is so narrow like thick size of mail bundle especially with tall skid always getting jam it reqired to clear the jam is one big pain in the ass.
3.incline conveyor jam-this kind of jam occur in the auto induction machine but not as many as FSS conveyor the belt width is too small and weak compared to AI machine.
overall, the loader have no control over once the loading starts which means all the single piece of mail flow to the conveyor there is no control to take the piece out like Auto induction,or SPBS(small parcel bundle sorter)machine,that means everytime single piece flow to the conveyor belt, the prepper has to flip flop the mail it slows down entire prep operation, it seems like the automatic but actually it needs more care by manually to just keep the machine flowing.
what about the dolly induction?
when the ACT jams inside the elevator it is another of entire SAMP opration on hold.
let's go to the MAIN section of the FSS.
The FSS has so good brain it can load only one zone of mail at a time,that means they can load only so much for 8 hours opration,if the jam occurs in RCT area it down for few hours to just get back running again.sometimes you load only 2-4 zone for the whole 8 hours oprations.
what about the auto induction machine?
they can load up to as many zone as you want it just depend how big is each zone,if it is small,you can load 15-20 zones without worrying about the sweeping part.
my conclusion about the FSS is...
Most double work(glooming twice) and manual work required to just keep the entire machine running as a mail handler,maintanance,clerks wise.
it is so shame the postal service knew this machine has a problem with software,designwise,operationwise from the start,but they just ignore the problem now it became the one big giant machine with no brain, the mail is missing in action between the first and second pass(it might be felled off from the rct after it read the intelligent bar coder)they cannot explain to the mailer why it is missing.
they sent the tiger team to FSS to evauate the FSS operations,the recommendation does not say anything about these problems but the blame the workers.
it also create more overtime for the carriers because they have to carry one more extra bundles.
thanks for reading.
I forgot to mention about more jams in the right above my article,
ReplyDelete4.seperator jams- it occurs when the mail or mail piece jams on the T section of the ABSU conveyor belt,it occurs very frequently sincle the T section area is easily gets congested even if without loading on the side of the belt.
5.metering jams
6.tub sp misload-if you load the tub or tray before the main ABSU loader's mail come down
7.catch bin-it occurs when the mail goes to the end section of the conveyor
on the top of that, when you load the wire container to the ABSU loader,9 out of 10 times does not makes the clean dump ,it leaves the at least 5-10 pieces of the mail bundle,the mail handler has to crawl inside of the dumper to clear the loader by manually, I mean every single he or she load the wire container it happens.
you cannot hook to clear like the small bundle sorter machine,it never happens for the AI machine because you only dump once vise versa FSS ABSU loader goes up and down average 9-10 times to dump one single container(average load),let's go to the dolly induct.
the mail hadler has to push the dolly into chamber and when it gets 12 ACT's he or she has to pull the dolly out just like the pulling out the caster maker in MAIN section, you just call dolly induct but actually you doing sweeping by pulling the dolly out.
and the mail handler has to carry the dolly to induct one more time in the MAIN dolly induct section,
it just like you load and sweep in the SAMPS and you load and sweep in the mail section so everything twice again.
all of these tremendus manual effort to make the walk sequence to the delivery point.
one more thing, the FSS cannot process certain kind of flat's which means majority of the known mailer's mail it says FSS compatible,in reality cannot process by FSS because too thick,too small,too heavy so on.
of course all of these non compartible mail end it up AFSM 100 or manual casing.
on last thing about the so called throuput (postal serveice wants to run at least 00 amount of mail per hour),i want to ask is this fairly accurate?
in the FSS operation frequenly they run the FLATTERs(mail between the size of flat and letter),I would say 1 ACT can filled with 50-150 normal flats depend of the thickness of the flat,on the contrary,1 ACT can be filled with 6-8 times more if you filled with only flatter because they are actually over-sized letter usually in the letter container.
so if your opration has a lot those so called flatters, it will pick up the numbers as wells as the throughput.
if not you there is more chance you might not get the numbers you want.
so if this office has more flatters gets more numbers?
I do not see the accuracy of the so called ranking in the nationwide thing,because it could be cheated easilly,sometimes they run twice if the reject occurs in the caster maker section , sends the caster back to the SAMPS and reprep and rerun again, these mail already went through intellgent barcode once already in the MAIN section,but you run again in the name of mechanical failure,I would say that is falsefication of the official record just like not following instruction.
I saw some office on the top of the list but when you take a look how many pieces they ran does not match up with other offices also.
I do not see fairness on the list.
it is sad upper management can justify performance with unfaireness method like this.
how do we carry fss,pennysaver papers, dps ,slugs scanner and parcels. I got a idea,the the pencil pusher walking with you carry something else besides his clip board.
ReplyDeleteThe FSS will handle machine-able mail reliably. Many mailings were never designed with covers rugged enough to be handled by automation, so naturally there are jams and rejects. If all mailers follow the requirements for automation, the FSS will meet expectations.
ReplyDeleteThe fss machine are a joke, skinny ads you will find clumps of 2 to 3 stuck together,thruout your fss.In our office i don't know one carrier who actually works the fss out of their bag, all of us out in the street merge the fss with our residual bundle before starting a swing.Also when you have a third bundle on a park and loop route which is like about 4 out of the six days a week, you have to merge the fss in with the residual bundle your fss flats before hitting the street. This causes your office to have crappy percent to standard scores most of us are averaging 102-130 percent to standard, this is caused by dois saying you have only 40 minutes of office time, but dois does not give you any time to merge the flats with the fss when you have a third bundle(probably the geniuses who designed fss just assumed that the routes were all mounted or cluster boxes where you can take out more than 3 bundles). The station where I work has heavy flat volume,but has virtually no mounted. All in all , fss has been a disaster, during the fall mailing season the fss machine would break down , on some days you would get no fss, and on some days they would run gobs of flat volume where you could easily get 12-15 trays of fss, you would be out till 8:oopm.Finally not all the stations in our bidding area in our area get fss, they just targeted heavy flat volume stations, we have had about 30 percent of our senior carriers bid out , to stations that do not have fss.A word to the wise, if your your station is about to get fss, BID OUT IF YOU CAN!
ReplyDelete