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New Multiple reports of damage
This article is a good launch point for the variety of issues.
https://spokesman-recorder.com/2020/08/15/dismantling-the-u-s-postal-service/

3 weeks backlog in Philadelphia. People are not getting their social security checks of which many are mailed, or their medication. And this is for the stuff that's arriving in the local PO for the local people. Due to the variety of rules he implemented before the mail sorting machines were yanked.


I used to code software to produce labels. The rules are very exact for placement and quality of address. Those machines are finicky to start off with. When they are set up they are set up exactly. Every scanner they yanked (and there are many on a single line as they kick out the mail to each chute) has to be recalibrated. And these are not just barcode scanners. They are high-speed real-time OCR scanners.
New Any idea what kind of manpower each one replaces?
Or in other words, how many people would need to be hired full time to replace the capacity of one of these machines being taken out?
--

Drew
New No
Envelopes are flying by it far faster than any human could read and push a direction. So number one you have to slow the line to probably a hundredth of what it currently runs. At that point you'd have to multiply the size of the line to 100 times that line to even fit the people on.
New Capacity is almost 10 pieces/second
So Crazy's 100x scale is not too far off. Plus these run 24/7 so you're looking at about 300 people total (minus the 2 it takes to run the sorter.)
New What about database lookups and printing on the envelope?
Isn't this also the stage that additional information will be printed as a barcode onto the envelope based on the full address as now figured out to the zip plus four level?

This is so they can use less OCR machines at the later stages of SCF and then local post office distribution. Much cheaper more accurate laser barcode scanners at this point in the process.

Multiplying manpower by thousands and slow down by thousands to actually have humans type this information into a database lookup and then press a button to print something on an envelope.

We have reached the collapse of the postal system if anyone ever tries to revert to manpower for these machines.
New You need to write a brief explainer
I'm sure I'm not the only person here who knows someone with a bunch of Twitter followers. I want to share a short "Here's exactly what they're breaking, how bad it will screw things up, and how hard it will be to replace" because I suspect most people think no matter what Trump does we can just undo it when we vote in Biden.
--

Drew
New I haven't cracked open my laltop in about a year
All voice dictate on the phone with crappy editing. And right now I don't feel like being Trump's target. So I'll whine to a limited audience.
New Consolidated and combined a few things
This is what I want to share. What do you think?
We’ve all seen the stories about how Trump is sabotaging the Post Office. But if you’re like me, you haven’t seen much detail of what the impact is. These are not changes that can be reversed quickly or cheaply when he leaves office. The changes he’s making, while not permanent, are going to take a long time to undo.

The following is from a friend of mine who used to work with a high-volume Postal customer. They don’t want to get involved in the public debate, but if you want to dispute any of the facts, cite a source and not just “It doesn’t sound right.”

---

This article is a good launch point for the variety of issues.
https://spokesman-recorder.com/2020/08/15/dismantling-the-u-s-postal-service/

3 weeks backlog in Philadelphia. People are not getting their social security checks of which many are mailed, or their medication. And this is for the stuff that's arriving in the local PO for the local people. Due to the variety of rules he implemented before the mail sorting machines were yanked.

I used to code software to produce labels. The rules are very exact for placement and quality of address. Those machines are finicky to start off with. When they are set up they are set up exactly. Every scanner they yanked (and there are many on a single line as they kick out the mail to each chute) has to be re-calibrated. And these are not just barcode scanners. They are high-speed real-time OCR scanners.

What kind of manpower does each one replace?

There are two kinds of sorters (for letters). The first stage is where optical character recognition [OCR] reads the address and prints additional information as a barcode onto the envelope based on the full address as now figured out to the zip plus four level.

The second stage are the Delivery Bar Code Sorters. I’ll address these first.

Vice reported (https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/pkyv4k/internal-usps-documents-outline-plans-to-hobble-mail-sorting):

In May, the USPS planned to remove a total of 969 sorting machines out of the 4,926 it had in operation as of February for all types of letters and flat mail. The vast majority of them—746 out of 3,765 in use—were delivery bar code sorters (DBCS), the type that sort letters, postcards, ballots, marketing mail and other similarly sized pieces. But a subsequent document distributed to union officials in mid-June said 502 of those machines would be removed from facilities.

On these, envelopes are flying by far faster than any human could read and push a direction. So number one you have to slow the line to probably a hundredth of what it currently runs. At that point you'd have to multiply the size of the line to 100 times that line to even fit the people on.

Capacity is almost 10 pieces/second. Plus these run 24/7 so you're looking at about 300 new people total - minus the 2 it currently takes to run the sorter.

Taking the 502 number, that means it would take roughly 150,000 employees to replace the capacity of these machines. Plus the space to house all those people and the new equipment. Because yes, even if you pull out the automated sorter, you’ll still need all the bins and tracks for the people to use to do the work.

Now back to that first stage. They do the OCR and print the bar code so they can use less OCR machines at the later stages of SCF and then local post office distribution. Much cheaper more accurate laser barcode scanners at this point in the process.

Multiplying manpower by thousands and slow down by thousands to actually have humans read and type this information into a database lookup, and then press a button to print something on an envelope.

We have reached the collapse of the postal system if anyone ever tries to revert to manpower for these machines.
--

Drew
New Does the job
New WAPO just came out with a similar thing, fewer numbers though
https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2020/08/20/postal-service-mail-sorters-removals/

And here's another good one:

https://apnews.com/4a3de5a041fe6353a4d055f866a1b62a - "Thousands of chicks arrive dead to farmers amid USPS turmoil"
Regards,
-scott
Welcome to Rivendell, Mr. Anderson.
New That equipment is impressive.
I've only ever seen it once in operation in a mid-sized city's postal center and that was decades ago. I was working in the publishing business back then and was familiar with PC based OCR solutions which were in their infancy. I distinctly remember how awe struck I was after seeing the accuracy and speed of those machines in operation. If you were involved in the development of that stuff, my hat's off to you.
bcnu,
Mikem

It's mourning in America again.
New I was on the supply side
Largest junk mail printer in the world. Production plants in East Coast, West Coast, mid-country state. We had our own zip code at our plant. many many tractor trailers leaving and inserting our mail at various points in the postal stream. Which in turn meant following the rules perfectly. I learned about the ability to mail alligators and chickens in those days because I studied that god damn manual.

So anyway, it was just paying attention to the development from the early days on and occasionally visiting places.

While simultaneously doing our own OCR reader implementations on our own production lines.

When I wasn't in the middle of that database project or putting together a rack of sun servers my boss would go tell me to wander the floor and make it better. I was the guy with the clipboard and a very large budget and a boss who loved technology and gave me toys to play with.
     what a blatant hypocrite! - (lincoln) - (67)
         Probably using his own sorting machine too... - (scoenye) - (43)
             'Impeachment' ..a disused word about to be removed from the O.E.D. - (Ashton) - (42)
                 She's calling them back. - (mmoffitt) - (41)
                     hard to figure the whole issue with mail in ballots - (boxley) - (40)
                         No - (drook) - (36)
                             ✓✓ (GMTA) -NT - (Ashton)
                             Colorado, Hawaii, Oregon, Utah, and Washington State, where all voting is postal - (boxley) - (34)
                                 Are you stupid or pretending? - (drook) - (33)
                                     hardly please explain how you would run the post office - (boxley) - (31)
                                         Must be nice. - (malraux) - (7)
                                             must be a regional thing, of course I am not in a high density urban setting -NT - (boxley) - (6)
                                                 Our mail comes via Pontiac -NT - (malraux) - (4)
                                                     pontiac concerns, apparently pontiac sorts a buttton of mail - (boxley) - (3)
                                                         They took 2 sorting machines from Pontiac - (malraux) - (2)
                                                             Stop lying - (drook) - (1)
                                                                 To be fair, that's what the union reps are saying. - (malraux)
                                                 You know who is? Likely Democratic voters. I'm sure that's a coincidence. -NT - (drook)
                                         By not sabotaging it - (drook) - (3)
                                             Re: By not sabotaging it - (boxley) - (2)
                                                 Re: By not sabotaging it - (malraux)
                                                 Re: By not sabotaging it - (drook)
                                         You don't cripple them with the 75-year pension requirement - (crazy) - (18)
                                             got a link to show that the pension requirement was a republican requirement? -NT - (boxley) - (17)
                                                 What's the point? - (crazy)
                                                 Re: got a link to show that the pension requirement was a republican requirement? - (malraux) - (15)
                                                     Now Box admits he was wrong in 3 ... 2 ... oh who am I kidding? -NT - (drook)
                                                     thank you, acknowledged -NT - (boxley) - (9)
                                                         Seems less like deliberate sabotage and more like convenient target for something unrelated - (malraux) - (1)
                                                             at a glance it looks like a union members wet dream, why I thought it wasnt republican -NT - (boxley)
                                                         Receipt of information or that you are wrong? -NT - (crazy) - (2)
                                                             both why? -NT - (boxley) - (1)
                                                                 Because you make silly arguments based on a glance - (crazy)
                                                         SIMPLEST factoid of which you seem (also) emotionally-unaware - (Ashton) - (3)
                                                             The USPS is a Federally mandated SERVICE yes it is - (boxley) - (2)
                                                                 some good ideas on how to enable better stewardship of the postal service (longish read) - (boxley) - (1)
                                                                     So you googled and read for a bit - (crazy)
                                                     So, are y'all proud of how well you danced to his Gish Gallop tune there? -NT - (CRConrad) - (3)
                                                         Still waiting for official reply: Why'd Norm & Bryce get the treatment they did, but not the BOx? -NT - (CRConrad) - (2)
                                                             Re: Still waiting for official reply: Why'd Norm & Bryce get the treatment they did, but not the BOx - (crazy) - (1)
                                                                 Yeah I kinda draw the line at implied violence and off-the-hinge stalking/harassment - (malraux)
                                     A: Yes, he is. -NT - (CRConrad)
                         Absentee ballot requests are way up this year. - (malraux) - (2)
                             That's because Democrats are liberal. Republicans are opposite. Not conservative, illiberal. -NT - (mmoffitt) - (1)
                                 Not quite-Right enough: These are REACTIONARIES; the word ''conservative' ..was brutally murdered. - (Ashton)
         well when you have to vote in NY NJ and florida, hard to do in person -NT - (boxley) - (2)
             And not in Scotland? :) -NT - (a6l6e6x) - (1)
                 YOU keep my ancestral home out of this! - (mmoffitt)
         DeJoy said they're postponing the changes until after the election - (malraux) - (19)
             "Oops, did someone keep pulling sorting machines? Guess they didn't get the memo." -NT - (drook) - (1)
                 (General Patton said that a bit more forcefully). -NT - (Ashton)
             Multiple reports of damage - (crazy) - (12)
                 Any idea what kind of manpower each one replaces? - (drook) - (9)
                     No - (crazy)
                     Capacity is almost 10 pieces/second - (scoenye) - (7)
                         What about database lookups and printing on the envelope? - (crazy) - (6)
                             You need to write a brief explainer - (drook) - (5)
                                 I haven't cracked open my laltop in about a year - (crazy) - (4)
                                     Consolidated and combined a few things - (drook) - (3)
                                         Does the job -NT - (crazy) - (1)
                                             Twatted - (drook)
                                         WAPO just came out with a similar thing, fewer numbers though - (malraux)
                 That equipment is impressive. - (mmoffitt) - (1)
                     I was on the supply side - (crazy)
             Dallas tried to put them back online - and failed - (scoenye) - (3)
                 Oopsie! -NT - (drook)
                 As I said - (crazy)
                 Just heard: House gets a whack at D'Joy next week (gloves off, one hopes) -NT - (Ashton)

Courage is your greatest present need.
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