Our objective was to evaluate Flats Sequencing System (FSS) performance in the Capital Metro Area.In October 2008, the U.S. Postal Service began nationwide deployment of 100 FSS machines to sort flat-shaped mail (flats) such as large envelopes, newspapers, catalogs, and magazines into letter carrier delivery order.The Postal Service completed FSS deployment in August 2011, with a projected per machine throughput of 16,500 pieces per hour and 280,500 pieces per day. The Postal Service also established an average daily runtime goal of 17 hours per machine. Since the initial deployment of FSS machines began in 2008, flats mail volume has declined by almost 10.3 billion pieces, or about 46 percent.Because of the decline in flats mail volume, management in 2010 reduced the nationwide FSS projected per machine throughput goal to 11,500 pieces per hour and 195,500 pieces per day, for an overall reduction of about 30 percent per FSS machine.The Capital Metro Area has a total of 18 FSS machines at nine mail processing facilities. This is the first in a series of FSS area audit reports.
DC
United States
