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Innovation nation

Employees helped USPS improve in 2015

Los Angeles International Service Center Clerk Sheila Rice operates a new SPSS machine.

Postal Service employees displayed their innovative spirit throughout 2015, helping the organization achieve new breakthroughs.

The new Small Parcel Sorting System (SPSS) machines exceeded expectations at several locations — including the Los Angeles International Service Center, where the machine sorted 754,000 pieces in a single week.

“This team thinks of itself as a championship racing crew,” said Pacific Area In-Plant Support Manager Tracie Hill-Sandifer. “The SPSS is the car, the operator is the driver and the machineable parcels are the gas that fuels our success.”

Employees also demonstrated their ingenuity: Houston technician Larry Turner improved sensors inside mail-processing machinery, while Kansas City, KS, mechanic Chuck Vellar created a tool to efficiently install replacement parts.

Elsewhere, the Troy, MI, Post Office boosted efficiency after adopting a process called “scan, clear and deliver,” while the Wichita, KS, Post Office became one of several sites that use dynamic routing, a technique that improves package delivery.

Employees also helped the Postal Service complete deployment of Mobile Delivery Devices, which make it easier for customers to know the whereabouts of packages.

“[W]e’re excited to be part of that change,” said Craig, MO, Postmaster Barney Farley, whose office received the 200,000th device in June.

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