The U. S. Postal Service will spend $74 million to modify 537 Automated Flats Sorting Machines (AFSM)100s, according to Northrop Grumman spokesperson Debbi McCallam.
The USPS hopes that this investment will solve a long-running problem that resulted in untold cost to mailers.
The changes, which will primarily affect the sorting machines’ feeder mechanisms, will begin to be implemented in mid-2003 and are scheduled to be completed by the end of 2004. When the USPS installed the machines in 2001, they were expected to handle more than 26 billion pieces of flat mail per year, at a top rate of more than 17,000 pieces per hour. But haste made waste: Some catalogers and magazine publishers found that their publications had their covers torn off (Direct, Sept. 25, 2002). Mailers ranging from Time Inc. to L.L. Bean reported having to send replacement copies or extend subscriptions. Some modified their covers and binding processes in hope of strengthening the books.
In some cases, subscribers have received a plastic bag containing only the cover of the magazine. Others received the cover of one magazine combined with the inside pages of another. One publisher had covers and a renewal notice wrap ripped off.
The post office initially responded by issuing an instructional video demonstrating the best practices for using the machines to its employees. It also consulted with printers and publishers to determine optimum weight, paper grade and binding practices.
The final step in the Post Office’s response was to begin its negotiations with Northrop Grumman for the modifications.
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