Miami P&DC Mail Handler Improves Automation Performance with Pins

Franco Parodi (pictured right), mail handler at the Miami Processing and Distribution Center, utilized the IdeaSMART platform to propose and promote his “Miami Pin” concept.

IdeaSMART is the online platform to encourage, develop, and assess new ideas to improve the U.S. Postal Service. Employees may share a new idea in response to a posted business challenge; comment on other ideas, or respond to comments; and vote on ideas that are worth pursuing and developing.

Parodi proposed the installation of pins on all Delivery Bar Code Sorter tray racks, training on rack placement for DBCS operators, and the posting of daily Out-Of-Sequence (OOS) scores per zone. His proposal was implemented on the 50 DBCS machines and raised awareness of the cost of OOS scores to the Postal Service.
Now that tray racks are aligned, the possibility of operators sweeping the DBCS bins and placing mail in the incorrect tray has significantly reduced. 

The national OOS goal is .30. The Miami P&DC has improved its OOS scores with some zones averaging .10.

“If the Miami pin concept is implemented nationwide, the Postal Service could save on the labor cost to manually sort out-of-sequence mail, and that’s about 50 million dollars a year,” said Parodi. “I give all the credit to our DBCS operators because they are the key to our success.”

 
Delivery Bar Code Sorter Operator Maria Brown helped the Miami P&DC automation operation surpass the national out-of-sequence goal. 

Delivery Bar Code Sorter Operator Mary Mathew was instrumental in the Miami P&DC automation team’s success.

Photos: John Goble