Postal Service Awards $874.6 Million Contract for Flat Sequencing System
USPS Press Release
Postal Service to Employ State-of-the-Art Technology to Improve Delivery Capabilities
Agency Awards Northrop Grumman $874.6 Million Contract For Mail-Sorting System
The Postal Service has moved forward with another initiative to improve its delivery capabilities by awarding Northrop Grumman Systems Corporation an $874,639,000 contract to build a sophisticated system that will sort “flats” — large envelopes, magazines, newspapers, catalogs and circulars — in the order in which they are delivered.
Letter carriers today spend a portion of their workday in the “office” manually sorting flat mail, a labor-intensive process. The Flat Sequencing System (FSS) — designed in collaboration with Postal Service engineers -sorts mail in delivery sequence at a rate of 16,500 pieces an hour, helping letter carriers start delivering mail earlier in the day.
“The Flat Sequencing System will enable the Postal Service to provide more efficient service to our business customers, who rely on the mail to advertise, generate revenue, and get information into their customers’ hands as quickly as possible,” said Walt O’Tormey, vice president, Engineering.
A pre-production FSS will be installed and tested in Dulles, Va., in August, and nationwide deployment of 100 systems will begin in summer, 2008.
Last year, the Postal Service delivered 53.2 billion flats, consisting of 8 percent First-Class mail, 17 percent Periodicals, and 75 percent Standard mail.
Related link: USPS facilities slated to receive FSS machines during the Phase 1 deployment (PDF) (via PostCom.org)
Northrup Grumman Press Release
BALTIMORE, March 1, 2007 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) — Northrop Grumman Corporation has been awarded a $874.6 million fixed-price contract from the United States Postal Service (USPS) to provide 100 Flats Sequencing Systems (FSS) designed to further automate the flats mail stream, which includes large envelopes, catalogs and magazines.
“The FSS award is the latest in a series of programs reflecting our strong relationship with the Postal Service to integrate Northrop Grumman flat mail technologies into innovative postal automation solutions. We have focused on developing a comprehensive system that will enable the agency to realize operational efficiencies, and we are extremely proud and excited at the opportunity to make FSS a reality,” said Vicki Spira, vice president of Postal Automation at Northrop Grumman’s Government Systems Division.
Northrop Grumman’s first generation of flats sorting technologies is in operation at Postal Service processing centers nationwide. FSS represents the next generation of flats automation by sorting mail to the delivery sequence of each carrier, thereby reducing manual sorting. Flat mail is a labor-intensive category of mail to process and deliver due to variations in size and thickness
Northrop Grumman is serving as the FSS prime contractor. The company jointly developed the key technologies incorporated into FSS with Solystic, a company subsidiary in France, and Siemens Energy & Automation, Inc. in Arlington, Texas. This team will field a pre-production version of the system later this year, which will be used by USPS to develop system operational procedures.
Installation of the first FSS production units at USPS facilities nationwide is expected to begin in 2008 with the remaining FSS installations scheduled for completion by 2010.
Northrop Grumman Corporation is a $30 billion global defense and technology company whose 120,000 employees provide innovative systems, products, and solutions in information and services, electronics, aerospace and shipbuilding to government and commercial customers worldwide.
March 1st, 2007 at 3:51 am
Let the next mismamgement clusterfu*k begin!!!
March 2nd, 2007 at 4:03 am
Remember, Grumman is the same bunch that teamed up with mismgt. to bring you the dangerous, cheap, hazardous, unreliable POS known as the LLV, so you know what their flat-sorters will porbably be like!
March 4th, 2007 at 12:26 pm
If you think you’re mail is screwed up or late now, you ain’t seen nothing yet! Mail carriers will be sorting more and more on the street!
March 4th, 2007 at 1:15 pm
They can’t even get the f-king DPS letters right!!!!!!!I’ll have to grow another f-king arm to carry the S**T! F-king Morons!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
June 1st, 2007 at 5:42 pm
I will be a nightmare.Just like dps letters.I get the wrong route and wrong city and wrong state in my dps letters everyday.It is like having to do the clerk’s job while deliverying the mail. So when they (management) wants to now include the flats for dps (delivery point sequencing) will make it more of a nightmare for carriers. I am glad i will be retired before flats come dps. I’d like to msee the fat PMs and SPOs go out to do our jobs even now.They would not be phyically able to do it all day.
June 10th, 2007 at 3:01 pm
what a waste of money,doesn’t grumann make the llv’s?
July 12th, 2007 at 6:53 pm
DPS Flats….Has anyone decided where they’ll put the flats in the LLV. Why should we be punished for management’s mismanagement on office time. This is what is really causing us all the nightmares.
July 14th, 2007 at 2:26 am
3 years and 3 mths to go-what a long haul with dps flats. what next! always something new on the carriers - never the clerks. sure hope the machines wont be in maintence as much as the llvs!
just wonder who we are competing against?!? oursevlves I guess.
July 24th, 2007 at 4:49 pm
Is our union really signing up for this?
July 26th, 2007 at 4:20 pm
How bout those of us on walking routes? Will I need to grow another freakin arm.
August 2nd, 2007 at 11:23 am
What a bunch of whiners you all are. It sounds as if you are planning to fail; or possibly sabotage the system. I’m ashamed to call you my coworkers!
August 16th, 2007 at 5:04 am
Where will we stack all these trays in teh llv? have they though of that? or dont they care what happens once we hit the street! Now they can dictate how much mail we have to take to the street!! Time for that doctor appointment!!
September 19th, 2007 at 12:34 pm
Wow! As a postal customer, I’d say that privatizing the postal service is the way to go, especially if that’s your attitude towards your company’s efforts at innovation. Every other company in the entire world is moving towards automation. It sounds like you people are in favor of taking the company backward, if not downward.
September 24th, 2007 at 5:08 pm
this is NOT for customer service, it is ONLY to cut carriers office time and therefore increase street time with a final result of cutting carriers pay
October 14th, 2007 at 6:50 pm
They going to keep the routes as close to 8 hours as possible. Not a chance in hell this will work, because they are going to load us up with like 15 feet of flats and plus our dps and then headliners and then a 4th bundle letters and flats. I HOPE THE people WHO CAME UP WITH THIS IDEA BURN IN HELL! They going to write us up all the time now too and try to completely eliminate overtime.
November 25th, 2007 at 1:19 am
with global warming and the bad economy and bad mr bush and the mean old post office why dont we just pack it in and blow up the world!!!!!!
December 5th, 2007 at 6:04 pm
As a clerk who has seen working letters mannualy to processing them on dbcs machines.I can tell you that change can be hard.When dps first came to letters, carriers didn’t like that either but in time it will be just another day at the office.I don’t like to see people lose jobs or time being cut from my work week but these changes will come and probably like dps letters flats will have it’s own set of bugs to be worked out of the system.In a time of war and a country whose people are loseing their homes I would like to say be glad you have a job and pray the impact on existing jobs will be small.
December 6th, 2007 at 7:11 am
It does not matter what you think about this, it is going to happen whether you like it or not, so either deal with it or quit and allow someone else the opportunity to earn a decent living. Besides, the only ones complaining about this are the people who are not giving a hard day’s work and escaping with 8 hours of pay a day anyway.
December 13th, 2007 at 8:05 pm
Automation is a way of keeping a company in business… Keep fighting it - and you’ll be looking in from the outside, or watching another company do your job!
January 29th, 2008 at 12:33 pm
Anyone know what is going to happen to the PTF’s? I’ve been waiting to make regular for 7+ months now since a senior carrier retired (and vacated a position), and management is quoting ‘article 12′ as a means not to promote me. So in the meantime, I’m not guaranteed 40 hours, not paid for holidays, and I’m doing express mail on Sundays. But on the other hand, someone told me they thought that when the DPS flats go online, they’ll be eliminating routes and therefore the regular with the least seniority could be shipped out. Anyone been around to know what happened with the DPS letters? Thoughts?
February 3rd, 2008 at 2:51 am
Another one of their great ideas. They dont have the time to get all the flats out now…so just wait till they have to run all the zones twice like they do in the DBCS area. Also all that wear and tear on peoples bodies by running all that mail twice. Unreal!
February 3rd, 2008 at 2:55 am
yvonmenk………honey they are doing it to us clerks…bet your behind. At the moment they are going to be getting rid of the manual letter clerks job…that is we throw the mail to the correct carrier that the machines cant. Sooooo all of the unworked manual mail will be arriving at the stations every morning between 4—7 am. I guess they think it will still be processed by 8:00 before the carrier goes out….LOL. Before that they abolished all of the flat sorters and the letter sorters to make way for the automation machines so how can you say it never affects the clerks is beyond me!
February 3rd, 2008 at 2:58 am
Whats a postal customer on here for? Working the mail is hard work…I dont care which job you have here…oh I forgot you can be in management.
April 2nd, 2008 at 5:31 pm
You know I have not been in the Post Office that long, but I know one thing I am not only a carrier but a customer. The Public (the ones on the outside looking in) do not face the challenges of a mail carrier, (walking in rain, sleet, snow, hail, icy conditions) with a 3rd bundle of mail. All they see is the mail being delivered late and act as if it is our fault (as if I want to deliver anything to anyone at night instead of being at home with my family). Now we will be forced to carry 4 bundles or carry a third bundle everyday. As a result of FSS, our routes will probably be 2hrs if not more longer than what they are know. I dont know about other stations just the one I work in and the routes are sooooo far out of adjustment that we are already forced to be out on the street longer, we are constantly harrassed by mgmt. because we all know that DOIS does not work, now we will have to walk not drive but walk with another bundle of mail flatted any kind of way (most carriers have a specific way that they carry their mail sm. to lg flats. It will take longer of course but what can we do they (mgmt, people who dont do our job will always make decisions and think that it is the best for us lol. This sisters and brothers is will continue to sabotage the poatal Service until it is no more.
April 2nd, 2008 at 5:42 pm
You know I have not been in the Post Office that long, but I know one thing I am not only a carrier but a customer. The Public (the ones on the outside looking in) do not face the challenges of a mail carrier, (walking in rain, sleet, snow, hail, icy conditions) with a 3rd bundle of mail. All they see is the mail being delivered late and act as if it is our fault (as if I want to deliver anything to anyone at night instead of being at home with my family). Now we will be forced to carry 4 bundles or carry a third bundle everyday. As a result of FSS, our routes will probably be 2hrs if not more longer than what they are know. I dont know about other stations just the one I work in and the routes are sooooo far out of adjustment that we are already forced to be out on the street longer, we are constantly harrassed by mgmt. because we all know that DOIS does not work, now we will have to walk not drive but walk with another bundle of mail flatted any kind of way (most carriers have a specific way that they carry their mail sm. to lg flats. It will take longer of course but what can we do they (mgmt, people who dont do our job will always make decisions and think that it is the best for us lol. This sisters and brothers is BIG BIS. THEY WANT TO PRIVATISE AND THE MORE THESE MORANS CONTINUE TO MAKE THESE DUMB ASS DECISIONS THE MORE PEOPLE “THE PUBLIC” WILL LEAN WITH CONGRESS TOWARDS IT.MGMT will continue to sabotage the poatal Service until it is no more.