For postal service providers, a tricky task is to make flats sequencing a profitable business. A good solution has to optimally support delivery preparation processes and – at the same time – fit into the overall sorting process. To achieve these targets, the Open Mail Handling System (OMS) was created. Its unique machine architecture with an internal sort engine and advanced sorting algorithms provides maximum freedom and opportunities in process design.
What’s more, the OMS offers excellent ergonomics; operators benefit from a tray unloading device that minimizes the workload. The mail is sorted directly into trays and no outlets have to be emptied. The process is solidly supported by automatic full tray removal and a tray commissioning and buffering area at the machine’s side.
Gentle handling of a wide mail spectrum
The smart system is ideal for processing flats and rest mail streams, all the way to the small parcels and packages associated with e-commerce (up to 32 mm thick). Even open and plastic-wrapped magazines are no longer a problem. That means that a large proportion of mail that was previously processed manually can now be sorted automatically with the OMS – right down to the carrier sequence. The system architecture ensures that all items are processed gently. This starts with multistage singulation at the feeders; continues with smooth, guided injection into the pocket carousels at low transfer velocities into and out of the stationary transfer pockets; and ends with the transfer to the tray. The moderate physical parameters allow the mail spectrum to be extended up to a weight of 2 kilogram.
Cost- and space-efficient flats sorting
The open architecture allows for a cost-efficient combination of throughput and sorting capability. The counterrotating tray carousel, which determines the number of outlets, and the pocket carousels for ascertaining the throughput are basically independent sub-systems, linked by the stationary transfer pockets in the sorting section. The high-speed automatic flats feeder boasts an hourly capacity of up to 12,500 mail items per infeed line. The Open Mail Handling System is offered with two or four induction lines for a total nominal throughput of 25,000 or 50,000 mail items per hour, respectively.
Full trays with perfect stacks
Full trays are important for minimizing handling and logistics costs. The OMS is equipped with a tray-filling level measurement system on the tray carousel. In combination with intelligent algorithms, trays are filled optimally. High-quality stacking is achieved through individual control of the transfer from the stationary transfer pockets into the trays.
Fingerprint technology for digital identification
Identification is not as straightforward for flats as it is for standard letters. Because of the need for labels, barcoding flats is costly and unreliable. Fingerprint technology, however, identifies mail pieces based on an image. By using Fingerprint, investments in process devices like labelers, barcode printers and barcode readers are unnecessary, and that means money can be saved on labels, ink and maintenance.
