Siemens Postal, Parcel & Airport Logistics (SPPAL) has been contracted by national postal operator New Zealand Post to supply and install the latest mixed-mail sorting machines and corresponding software.
Three new open mail handling systems (OMS) will be installed in the cities of Auckland and Christchurch, where they will be used for the efficient sorting of letters, flats, newspapers, open and plastic-wrapped magazines, and small parcels.
With two induction lines, the OMS can process up to 25,000 items of mail every hour. Siemens will also implement a suite of comprehensive software packages that will control all mail sorting operations across the whole country. New Zealand Post’s existing sorting machines will be integrated into the overall system so that they can interoperate seamlessly with the new software.
Michael Reichle, CEO of SPPAL, said, “We view the collaboration with New Zealand Post as a strategic project that sets an important precedent. We’re delighted that our technology meets the rigorous requirements set by the customer with regard to process efficiency and individual solutions.”
The key features of the OMS include a high level of automation for letter and flats sorting, coupled with fast sequencing in an ergonomic environment. The software suite comprises fingerprint technology; open reading coding architecture (ORCA) address reading software; and an address data and sort plan management (ADM-SPM) system.
The fingerprint technology and ORCA guarantee high read rates with the lowest possible error rate. The system is designed so that it can be adapted to changes in requirements in the future. Because the machines are connected to statistics software, the customer is able to obtain a comprehensive overview of the system’s capacity utilization at any time.
Nicola Wright, program manager processing innovation project, New Zealand Post, said, “We opted for the high-performance technology from Siemens because the OMS is capable of processing the maximum bandwidth of New Zealand mail types and formats, in an ergonomic way. This ensures our people’s health and wellbeing is preserved. We feel that in Siemens, we have an experienced partner that can provide us with an integrated solution that has been proven in many other postal organizations around the world and will provide us with the flexibility to adapt our solution as the volume and mix of mail products changes over time.”
October 13, 2016