Parcels are moving faster than ever through five USPS plants that are testing new small-package sorting equipment — and exceeding expectations.
Since installing the machines earlier this year, the Postal Service has found they can sort more than 6,000 small parcels per hour, or roughly 1,000 more per hour than expected.
The top-performing site is the Royal Palm P&DC in Opa-Locka, FL, where use of the equipment was recently expanded to additional shifts.
“Our employees worked hard to demonstrate what we can do,” said Plant Manager Linda Gray.
The equipment — called the Small Parcel Sorting System (SPSS) — represents a major investment for USPS, which is striving to grow its package delivery service.
Plans call for additional SPSS machines to be installed at 26 sites across the nation. The Royal Palm P&DC’s performance will be used as a baseline to measure national performance.
“This pilot site established strong performance indicators that will greatly benefit us,” said Headquarter Operation Specialist Lane Stalsberg.
SPSS machines also are being tested at the West Valley, AZ, L&DC; Los Angeles International Service Center; North Houston P&DC; and Queens, NY, P&DC, where the machine was the subject of a recent CNBC report.