USPS Board OKs Major Capital Projects
The U.S. Postal Service Board of Governors approved several major capital projects at its monthly meeting yesterday, including the third phase of its Surface Air Support System.In the first phase, an infrastructure was developed to track FedEx and Amtrak shipments. In the second phase, SASS was expanded to include commercial air visibility. In the latest phase, wireless scanners will be used to track several visibility points, from container loading to the unloading of both USPS and postal customer trailers. The system will be deployed at 129 facilities.
The board also approved money to:
· Increase efficiency in its automation system by purchasing 1,587 stacker modules and 2,041 tray carts, which will help letter mail be sorted to Delivery Point Sequence, the order in which letter carriers deliver the mail. The existing system was originally installed in the late 1970s, with additional tray lines added in 1983.
· Expand the existing Arlington, VA, Main Post Office to consolidate mail delivery operations currently split among three postal facilities -- the MPO and the Buckingham and Rosslyn stations -- and to renovate the historic MPO lobby.
· Extend the lease at the Busse Surface Hub in Chicago for six years. The hub processes Priority Mail and serves as a surface hub for mail processing and distribution centers in the Chicago area. The lease was due to expire in November.
