USPS Seeking Vendors For Small Footprint Flat Sequencing System (FSS Lite)
Filed under: fedbizopp, flat sequencing system, FSS, postal, postal news, usps
USPS posted the following notice on the Federal Business Opportunities website:
The United States Postal Service (USPS) is currently conducting market research and seeking to identify potential sources for a Phase II of our Flat Sequencing System (FSS) Program. Our Phase I designed machine currently in deployment is a large system that was primarily intended to accommodate high mail volume processing runs and targeted for our most highly populated flats mailing markets. Phase II is seeking and envisions a smaller footprint FSS (FSS Lite) machine as a solution to efficiently, reliably, and accurately sort and sequence flat mail to the order in which the mail is delivered on a letter carrier’s route (Delivery Point Sequence or DPS). The USPS seeks a system which can be deployed nationally and incrementally to provide maximum flexibility and efficiency in the DPS of flat mail within the existing and future Postal Service infrastructure.
The desired system would automate the DPS of flat mail for the purpose of reducing costs, absorbing growth and stabilizing postage rates at the USPS. Delivery point sequencing of flat mail reduces a carrier’s office time at the delivery unit by providing flat mail that is machine sorted, thereby avoiding manual casing. DPS also reduces clerk manual handling at delivery units.
The intent of this initial notice is to seek information from suppliers that currently have a small footprint system that sequences flat mail, or that will have a fully functional system available for demonstration in calendar year 2011. The USPS may request additional discussions relating to a responding supplier’s design, capabilities, and qualifications to manufacture production quantities of the proposed system.
Critical factors for flats DPS success include: sort and sequence accuracy, time to market, price, system reliability, accept rate, operating costs, and overall machine space requirements. As space is a cost consideration for the USPS, the solution should accomplish this task within the smallest footprint possible to allow for a wide range of implementation at USPS facilities. The system would be required to maintain a consistent throughput and be volume independent concerning the number of delivery points processed. We are seeking a solution which would maximize our ability to handle a high number of delivery points as a critical design element.
source: Federal Business Opportunities
USPS: FSS Celebrates Third Anniversary With Record Efficiency, Savings
The Postal Service recently marked the third anniversary of its first fully-operational Flats Sequencing System (FSS) at the Dulles, VA, Processing and Distribution Center (P&DC) — a milestone in the way the Postal Service sorts flats.
Each FSS can sort mail in delivery point sequence (DPS) at a rate of 16,500 pieces an hour, or 280,500 pieces per day to more than 125,000 delivery addresses — allowing letter carriers to start delivering mail earlier in the day.
The first FSS arrived at the Dulles facility Nov. 30, 2007, and sorted flats for the Reston, VA, Carrier Annex — the first delivery office in the nation to receive its flat mail completely in DPS. Today the Dulles P&DC has four FSS machines, processing mail for 95 ZIP codes assigned to 51 delivery units.
“FSS processed 5.6 million pieces last week,” said Isaac Cronkite, Dulles P&DC acting senior plant manager. “The machines set records for weekend and monthly processing in November.”
FSS technology also has helped the Northern Virginia District reduce costs. The district has eliminated 150 letter carrier routes, reduced letter carriers’ base delivery time by more than 400,000 hours each year and lowered rural carriers’ delivery time by more than 75,000 hours annually. Reducing routes produced additional savings by making it possible to reassign long life vehicles to rural carrier routes.
“FSS has removed a significant number of workhours and we continue to see improvements weekly,” said Northern Virginia District Manager Michael Furey. “These savings will allow us to pay for the machines quickly.”
The Postal Service plans to have 100 FSS machines deployed and operational at 47 locations nationwide by the summer of 2011. Currently about 20 machines are fully operational at eight sites.
source: USPS News Link
DPMG Donahoe:USPS FSS Deployment On Track To Deliver Improved Efficiency
Filed under: flat sequencing system, FSS, usps, USPS News Link
As national deployment of flats sequencing system (FSS) equipment continues, DPMG and COO Pat Donahoe emphasizes that communication is key to successful implementation. This means delivery, processing, transportation and maintenance must be sure they complete all identified readiness activities.
“Right now, about two-thirds of all FSS systems are either currently installed or in the process of being installed,” says Donahoe, explaining that 12 machines are now fully operational in five sites — Dulles, VA; Columbus, OH; Kansas City, MO; Phoenix, AZ; and South Florida.
According to Donahoe, more than 140 delivery units with 259 zones are now on-line with FSS, and more than 4,100 routes are receiving sequenced flats. By mid-December, USPS expects to have a total of 28 systems operational in nine sites and all 100 systems will be operational by the summer of 2011.
USPS Updates Flat Sequencing System Deployment Information
“The USPS® is deploying a new technology that will boost efficiencies in the processing, distribution, and delivery of flats–the Flats Sequencing System (FSS). FSS will automatically sort flat-sized mail into delivery point sequence at high speeds. The efficiencies gained by employing FSS are influencing many changes within both the Postal Service® and the mailing industry.”
FSS facility summary by FSS location – 47 sites
FSS Locations as of May 2010
FSS Deployment Schedule for 100 machines to 47 sites
FSS Deployment Schedule – Updated August 2010 – RIBBS Version
Zone listing for 9 FSS operational sites
A list of zones and their anticipated live mail dates for each site and corresponding machine(s) activated up through November 29, 2010.
Zone List by Operational Site
Zones for all sites as of September 7, 2010 Zone List for RIBBS – September 2010
USPS OIG Audit Report – Flats Sequencing System: Program Status and Projected Cash Flow
This report discusses the Flats Sequencing System (FSS) program status and its projected financial impact and addresses both operational and financial risks (Project Number 09YG052DA000). The objective of this audit was to assess procedures for reporting of FSS performance and program savings shortfalls. See Appendix A for additional information about this audit.
In December 2006, the U.S. Postal Service approved a (redacted) project to develop,purchase, and deploy 100 FSS machines, which are designed to sort flat mail in the precise order in which it is delivered. The first two contract requirements tests of FSS machines (designed to ensure functionality, quality, and compliance with specifications) have shown shortfalls in expected performance. Typically, when there is a First Article Test (FAT) failure, Postal Service acquisition guidelines call for retests before beginning deployment. However, in this case, the Postal Service has decided to deploy FSS machines despite major performance shortfalls in order to capture savings earlier; however, deploying FSS machines that do not meet contract requirements could reduce
expected savings. Although the Postal Service has adjusted its savings expectations and project assumptions have changed, it has remained optimistic when communicating expected financial outlooks.
Conclusion
The Postal Service’s revised performance projections in Quarter 1 (Q1) of fiscal year (FY) 2010’s Investment Highlights report do not use current actual machine performance and its projection of a gain of at least $872 million from FSS appear optimistic. In addition,there have been significant changes in assumptions for FSS machines and measurement criteria since the 2006 approval of the original investment. For example, flats volumes have decreased significantly, expected throughput rates have not been met, planned FSS sites have increased, the program schedule has changed by a year, and additional savings for transitional employees (TE) have been introduced to the investment return.These changes make it challenging for the Postal Service to measure project success as initially defined.
Particularly, we believe adding TE savings to the evaluation of FSS program success is questionable for several reasons. First, these savings were never considered as part of the original investment decision. Second, 44 percent of TEs are not in districts that will eventually host FSS machines. Lastly, management claimed these savings prior to FSS deployment and has the option of reducing TE complements for volume declines irrespective of the FSS program’s success. Thus, much of the savings from these employees will likely not be associated with FSS deployment.The Postal Service’s Q1, FY 2010 Investment Highlights report shows a projected gain for the FSS program of at least $872 million and a return of at least 27 percent. Using current actual performance data for the highest performing machine and operational target metrics, we calculated four financial scenarios for measuring program status and progress
against program goals. These scenarios were at least $431 million lower than the scenarios the Postal Service presented. Such a large difference exists because the Postal Service used more optimistic performance assumptions rather than actual machine performance or operational target results.
Our analysis shows that using current FSS performance data to calculate projected savings results in a net present value (NPV) of $215 million (a rate of return of 14.49 percent). If we remove the questionable TE savings, the NPV decreases to a negative $311 million (a rate of return of 5.18 percent). Assuming the FSS machines reach the operational target metrics, we calculate gains from FSS to be $441 million (rate of return of 19.26 percent). If we remove the questionable TE savings, there is a projected NPV of a negative $85 million (a rate of return of 8.54 percent).
The Postal Service’s Handbook F-661 requires accurate analysis and reporting of program impact. One purpose of the Investment Highlights report is to show the progress of large-scale programs within the Postal Service. Reporting program performance based on actual and operational target data is critical so that key decision-makers (such as the Board of Governors) have sufficient information to monitor program progress on projects of significant duration. See Appendix B for our detailed analysis of this topic.
We recommend the vice president, Engineering:
1. Use actual machine performance and operational target data to more accurately report the progress of the Flats Sequencing System program’s financial outcomes in compliance reports such as the Investment Highlights report.
1 General Investment Policies and Procedures (November 2005, updated with Postal Bulletin revisions through October 11, 2007) provides a single source overview of investment projects.
Management’s Comments
While management agreed with the recommendation to use actual machine performance data for compliance reports, they took exception to certain findings and our recommendation to use operational target data. Specifically, the Postal Service will include an additional FSS financial scenario when reporting outcomes in Investment Highlights reports. Management will take this action in time for the Q3, FY 2010 Investment Highlights report. The reported scenario will represent the Postal Service’s most current assessment of actual machine performance. In reference to using operational target data,the Postal Service does not believe they are representative of long-term expectations and elected not to present them in future Investment Highlights reports.
Management also said the financial outcomes presented in the report do not recognize:
- Throughput improvements demonstrated during tests in November 2009 and April 2010.
- Performance improvements over the 10-year program life and performance levels already achieved by the first article machine.
- Over 17 hours of daily runtime for unconstrained machines.
- The relevance of TEs, their strategic use, and the resulting savings attributable to the FSS program.
- Scheduling adjustments that address lower mail volumes.
- Additional savings related to delivery unit space reductions and vehicle capital investment and maintenance avoidance.
Thus their lower bound outcomes represent the likely worst case scenario. We have included management’s comments, in their entirety, in Appendix D.
full report from the USPS Office Of Inspector General
USPS Update On Flats Sequencing System
Filed under: automation, flat sequencing system, FSS, mtac, usps
USPS Update on FSS presented at the MTAC meeting last montn.
Download PDF file of the presentation
Craft Jurisdiction for Flat Sequencing System (FSS) Awarded To Postal Mail Handlers
Letter sent out by the National Postal Mail Handlers Union
October 28, 2008
To: All Local Union Presidents
All National RI-399 Advocates
From: John F. Hegarty, National President
William J. Flynn, Jr., Manager, CAD
Re: Craft Jurisdiction for Flat Sequencing System (FSS)
We are pleased to enclose a copy of an October 24, 2008 letter that sets forth the Postal Service’s determination of craft jurisdiction for employees working on the Flat Sequencing System (FSS). As you know from prior meetings and reports, the National Office has been working to obtain this determination for some time, before the FSS will be deployed in the coming months and years.
As set forth in the attached, the mail handler craft has been determined to be the primary craft to perform most of the work associated with this piece of equipment. In particular, the duties performed at the Automated Bundle Sorting Unit (ABSU), the preparation stations, the dolly maker, the dolly induction unit, as well as the removal of mail containers from the FSS machine and the movement of containers between parts of the FSS, have all been assigned to the mail handler craft. The work at the feed station of the Automatic Induction system has been assigned to the mail processors. Finally, allied duties such as clearing jams have been assigned to whichever craft can perform the work most efficiently and effectively.
Should you have any questions about this letter or its implementation in any particular facility, please contact the National CAD. Also, if you are encountering resistance or opposition from management when implementing this letter, please contact the National CAD so that we can address particular implementation problems with USPS headquarters.
Please disseminate this memorandum and the attached letter as you deem appropriate
source: NPMHU
Postal Service Awards $874.6 Million Contract for Flat Sequencing System
Filed under: automation, FSS, postal, postal news, press releases, usps
BALTIMORE, Maryland – 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.
SOURCE: Northrop Grumman Corporation